You may recall that with the rise of “DIY” home improvement TV shows there came a sharp rise in the number of people turning up to hospitals with injuries they’d received as they tried to do some renovation or fixing work at home. The DIY craze was also a DYI craze (do yourself injury). It was never as simple and easy as the actor on TV made it out to be.

Being a disciple of Christ, however, is a simple, “DIY” thing; but Jesus warned it carries risks. Self-inflicted harm is an avoidable risk, if we follow the Master’s directions. When we don’t—maybe working around them, or trying to “improve” upon them—we’ll do ourselves harm.

Jesus sent out his disciples to make other disciples by baptising them and teaching them to obey his commandments (Mt 28:18-20). One command which those disciples taught new disciples — to “make disciples” — shows us that being a disciple of Christ is reproducible. We don’t need Christ to personally make disciples of Christ. We can do it ourselves, by following his instructions. It was passed on, and still is, by teaching and example.

This discipleship doesn’t require a Ph.D. Anyone can follow Christ, and anyone can congregate to serve him together. It doesn’t even require that you be literate! It requires that you believe the truth about Jesus, love him enough to surrender your life to him (which will mean keeping his commandments) and walk as he walked. (Read Acts 2:36-38; 8:35-39; John 14:15; 1 John 2:5-6; 1 Cor 11:1; Phil 3:16-17.) It really is as simple as that, but still a big challenge for naturally selfish people like you and me.

The purity and simplicity of Christ’s Way (2 Cor 12:3) means that we don’t have to “outsource” our discipleship to some “expert”. (That includes our collective discipleship, commonly known as “church”.) We can do it ourselves! But DIY doesn’t mean DIYOW (Do It Your Own Way). That has always been a fatal mistake, running counter to the very essence of discipleship—imitating Christ and keeping his commandments.

DIY doesn’t mean DIOYO (Do It On Your Own), either. “Apart from me you can do nothing,” Christ said in John 15. We must abide in him, and stick close to one another, bearing one another’s burdens and encouraging one another daily (Gal 6:2; Heb 3:13). So even if no one walks the path of the cross by your side, Doing It Yourself won’t mean doing it on your own. There are others far and near who are following Christ, and of course Christ himself is “with you always, even to the end of the age”.