Disciples are vanishing like wells in a dry land. In today’s spiritual climate, churches are full but hearts are empty. Followers are many, but true disciples—those who are tied to Christ’s pace and pain—are rare. A disciple is not a churchgoer with a Bible app; he is a learner yoked to the Master. As Jesus declared in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me…” The yoke is not forced—it is chosen. And in an age where convenience rules and commitment wanes, few are willing to wear it.
The modern believer wants the crown without the cross, platforms without process, and miracles without mentorship. We now have preachers without scars and pulpits without fire. Discipleship has become an ancient relic, buried under the rubble of fast-paced religion and spiritual consumerism. As A.W. Tozer warned, “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.” That price is too high for a generation wired for speed and allergic to sacrifice.
Gbile Akanni once said, “Discipleship is not about becoming useful in church; it’s about becoming usable in God’s hands.” But to be usable, one must first be broken. Today, few are willing to be shaped, pressed, or hidden. The clay now argues with the Potter. Meanwhile, church has become more of a stage than a furnace, where people perform instead of transform.
In the time of A.A. Allen and Smith Wigglesworth, revival was a reward for waiting. They fasted, prayed, wept, and walked alone until Heaven answered. But today, the spiritual appetite has shrunk. Even a two-hour vigil feels like persecution. We’ve traded upper rooms for conference rooms, and groanings for graphics. “If the Spirit does not move me, I move the Spirit,” Wigglesworth once declared. That bold intimacy is missing in the digital age.
Globalization has also reshaped motives. In regions battling poverty and fraud, faith is now often preached as a business plan. People follow Christ for what He gives, not who He is. The gospel has been turned into a transaction. In such soil, discipleship cannot grow. The Bible says in Luke 14:27, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” But the cross is now too heavy for a generation more concerned with likes than lives.
Social media has turned altars into stages. The devil no longer knocks—he sends friend requests. Discipleship has been drowned in dopamine. Gbile Akanni reminds us, “You cannot disciple a man who is still negotiating with the flesh.” And yet, the flesh is now mainstream—branded, streamed, and monetized. To raise disciples today is like planting mustard seeds on concrete.
Still, there is hope. Jesus didn’t disciple crowds; He trained a few. Five thousand were fed, but only twelve were forged. Revival will not come by noise, but by nurturing. We must rebuild the ancient paths. Let churches become boot camps, not beauty salons. Let Christ be formed in us again. For until we raise true disciples, the Church will remain loud but powerless.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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