From Destination to Journey: Rediscovering the Gospel as a Way of Life

By David Broodryk

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash‍ ‍

After 30 years of ministry, I discovered something unsettling: the gospel I read in the New Testament was communicated in a slightly different way to the gospel I heard. This realization has reshaped how I think about discipleship, movements, and the kingdom of God.

The Gospel We Received Vs. The Gospel They Lived

The gospel I heard was simple: Pray this prayer and you won't go to hell. You'll go to heaven, and in between doesn't really matter - maybe go to church and pay your tithes.

I was invited to a destination, but Scripture shows something fundamentally different.

The gospel in the New Testament was an invitation to a way of life - walking with Jesus, being attached to the Father through Jesus and filled with the Spirit.

It was an invitation to a growing attachment and relationship with God, not "one day when you die," but right here and now.

Before They Were Christians: The Original Label

Before they were called Christians, they were called ‘followers of the way’.

This wasn't just an internal nickname - it was observable to outsiders. Acts 9:2 mentions Saul seeking letters for anyone found belonging to the way. Acts 19:9 speaks of people speaking evil of ‘the way’. Acts 19:23 records that there arose no little disturbance concerning ‘the way’.

This ‘way’ was so counter to the culture and so offensive that people could observe it. Here were people just living differently. Both outsiders and insiders called it by that name. Paul says, "I persecuted this way to death." In Acts 24:14, Paul declares, "According to the way, which they call a sect."

The Greek word is "hodos" - a road, a path, a journey.

The early description of Christianity was people living a way that was different to those around them.

Ancient Roots: The Way in Hebrew Thought

This emphasis on "the way" has deep echoes in the Old Testament.

"Teach me your way, O Lord." (Psalm 27:11)

"Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord." (Psalm 119:1)

Abraham was chosen so that he might command his household to keep the way of the Lord. (Genesis 18:19)

Following Yahweh was a way of living, a way of life. Christianity, based on Judaism, was not merely a transaction - not "Okay God, I'll pray this prayer and I'll get a ticket to Heaven."

From Transaction to Transformation

God invites me into a different way of life.

There are certain rhythms, certain patterns that help me grow in that. I have the option to be creative, but I don't necessarily have the option to add or remove important elements. This isn't about earning salvation - it's about living in the reality of what salvation means: walking with God daily.

Paul describes it as the pattern of life - a fixed outline, a template, a sketch that you trace.

Remember tracing paper as a child?

You had a picture, put tracing paper on it, and traced with a pencil. Paul uses that same implication when he talks about the pattern of life.

The Disciple-Making Implication: Are We Living What We're Teaching?

A couple of years back, we challenged ourselves as a team: Are there things we're asking others to do that we are not living? Are we living what we're asking others to do?

Here's the thing about disciple making: People will do what you do. They will not do what you say. People copy and imitate what you do, but if you say it and don't do it, there's no authority in it whatsoever.

We began to wrestle with this.

It's changed even how we communicate the gospel to people. It's changed how we think about movements. As a team, we challenge ourselves: Are we growing in attachment, dependence, relationship with Jesus? Are we doing that through simple patterns and rhythms given to us through the apostles?

This realization has been transformative. When we understand the gospel as an invitation to a way of life rather than just a destination, everything changes. Our discipleship becomes about embodiment, not just instruction. Our movements become organic, not just organizational. Our leadership becomes fractal - true at every level - not hierarchical.

The question for each of us is simple but profound: What would change if we stopped selling a destination and started embodying a way?

Getting Practical

As you think about God's vision for your city and/or affinity group:

1) What would change in our personal lives if we stopped selling a destination and started embodying a way?

2) What would change in our team if we stopped selling a destination and started embodying a way?

3) How would others describe my Christian life?

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David Broodryk has been on a long journey into discipleship movements and seeking to see cities impacted by and for Jesus. He and his team now serve teams and leaders in cities all over the world. You can read more from David at davidbroodryk.org/blog/.

© 2026 D. Broodryk. All rights reserved.