Discipleship and Gaming

The idea behind Disciple Gaming Ministry came to me one evening as my wife and I drove home from a trip to the mountains with her dad and stepmom. I was nearing the end of my undergraduate degree, looking at the next steps for my pursuit of ministry, and deeply passionate about the Overwatch League (an esports league centered around a game I really enjoyed). One of my favorite pastors growing up had been a chaplain for the Denver Broncos for a time, and I thought it would be amazing to have the opportunity to pair my passion for games with ministering to gamers, possibly by becoming an esports chaplain. Maybe that’s something that’ll happen in the future, but rather than try to wrap my head around the direct path to that destination, I looked at other areas of my life where I could combine my hobbies and my passion for God.

That led to the realization that I’ve been both intentionally and unintentionally ministering to friends in the gaming community (mostly table-top gaming) since 2005. I’d also recently heard about (and written a presentation about) a few organizations across the country that use TTRPGs as counseling aids, and I thought, “Why not use TTRPGs as Bible studies?” The resulting “product” was the Royal Priesthood Roleplaying Game (RP2), and the mission became reaching TTRPG players with the gospel.

After a person dedicates their life to God, the next step they need to take is learning about God and how to live the life that he intends for them. That process, as I had learned growing up in church, is called “discipleship.” But the actual process of discipleship was difficult to define, especially in the context of a gaming ministry.

Even though there are some practical examples of discipleship in the Bible, they’re not exactly modeled in a way that is repeatable for all people at all times. Which, as my wife would probably say (and confirm when she proof-reads this article for me), makes sense because students of different ages, cultures, backgrounds, and personality prefer to learn in different ways. The way I prefer to learn is totally different from the way my wife prefers to learn, and she and I both prefer to learn differently than our friends or work colleagues.

I’m going to break down biblical discipleship, as I’ve understood it through studying Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets, into four steps:

1. The teacher takes on (a) student(s)

In Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 5:1-11, and John 1:35-51, Jesus called specific individuals to follow him as disciples1.

2. The teacher teaches the student(s)

In Luke 6:12-49, we can see Jesus focusing his teaching efforts on those disciples who were actively interested in learning more about what he had to say (compare to Matthew 5-7 at the Sermon on the Mount where he also preached to the crowds who wanted to learn from him). In these passages, he taught his disciples how to act by explaining what God had written in the Old Testament and clarifying how they should apply it to their lives. It’s also worth noting that he performed much of his ministry where people lived their daily lives so that they would have the opportunity to hear him teach (Luke 19:1-10, when Jesus met with Zacchaeus is a great example). This model can be difficult for Christians who came after Jesus because he had a very unique mission on earth, and the work the apostles performed after Christ’s resurrection was different than Jesus’s own ministry1.

3. The teacher sends the student(s) into the world to practice what they’ve learned and teach others

In Matthew 10:16-42, Jesus prepared his disciples for the challenges they would face because of their dedication to him while reminding them of why he came to earth in the first place and what reward they would receive in eternity after they passed away (see also John 14:15-16:33). In Luke 9:1-6, Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to practice what they’d learned from him (see also Matthew 10:5-15, 28:19-20)1.

4. The teacher corrects any errors or mistakes the student(s) make(s)

When the disciples attempted to commit atrocities in Jesus’s name, like destroying an entire city that rejected him in Luke 9:51-56, he rebuked them because they were clearly in the wrong (compare to Mark 4:35-41 where they failed to trust him in the middle of the storm at sea). Conversely, all of John chapter 17 is a prayer from Jesus to the Father on behalf of the disciples, to ensure that they can follow him well. And the example that will be most relevant to this article can be found in Mark 4:10-20 wherein Jesus took the time to clarify his parables to his disciples so they could better understand his teaching1.

The four steps above can also be seen in Acts 16:1-5 and 1 and 2 Timothy wherein Paul made a disciple of Timothy. In the Old Testament, as well, we see the example of Elijah taking Elisha under his wing in 1 Kings 19:19-21 and 2 Kings 21. But neither of those examples, nor any others found in scripture, will be exact copies because each teacher and disciple existed within a specific circumstances in a specific time. This means that, even though many of the practices Jesus used can be generally applied today, how we do so will differ depending on who we’re working with and what culture we’re living in.

Now that we have a general outline of how to disciple, it’s time to ask: what are we supposed to teach our disciples? In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”1

That verse essentially narrows the “what” down to all of Scripture (see 2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 5:17-201), so next we need to ask how to go from imparting knowledge (like a lecturer) to making disciples. When focusing on how to disciple teenagers, Yenney et al.2 recommended the Aristotelian method of teaching theoria, or theoretical knowledge, techne, or general applicable knowledge and skills (like hitting, throwing, and catching a baseball), and phronesis, or practical wisdom (p. 96). Yenney et al.3 concluded the second part of their study by acknowledging that, even though a lot of resources exist to clarify what types of content should be included in Christian discipleship, applicable curriculum is hard to find and implement, and they called on youth ministry leaders and theologians to write curriculum that is easy for anyone to use (p. 73). However, they stopped short of making practical recommendations that readers could implement in their own ministries.

The two articles are enlightening, and the authors cited many experts who suggested various methods that could be used to teach young people how to live as Christians in their specific culture. When citing and quoting theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas, Yenney et al.2 pointed out that, for many young people who are learning Christian ethics, the best lessons were those that connected with and spoke to the student’s personal narrative while being lived out by the teacher (p. 98). It seems that Jesus understood the power of narrative, as well, because one of his most famous parables is the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-371. It has a plot arc with individual characters who, even in such a brief span of pages, have depth and allow the audience to connect with them. The entire book of Acts, and Genesis through 2 Chronicles, for that matter, are all narratives, displaying human action, both good and bad, all throughout the pages.

In practice, for the modern teacher, this might look like a pastor who is passionate about giving to the poor and is also the first person to show up to the food bank and the last one to leave when setting up church volunteer activities. He’s teaching doctrine and application from the pulpit and then living the example that he wants others to follow. And this is how we make disciples. It’s not through general lists of rules with Bible references tacked on at the end of each item, though that can be helpful for some people. It’s also not through a passive preacher’s weekly talk for a disengaged audience that ends after 45 minutes only to be forgotten as everyone goes about their week. It’s through narrative interaction from a teacher who is living the story for their disciples.

There’s a lot of hemming and hawing about how that can be done for various groups with an apparent desire for some sort of universal method. The closest we can get is by following Jesus’s example of teaching Scripture, following the narrative example above, is sending the disciples out into the world to practice what they’ve learned and then continuing to instruct, correct (lovingly), and redirect (as needed) until they’re ready to step up as the teacher for new disciples.

I submit that anything more specific that’s intended as a (somewhat) universal curriculum for all people at all times (or all people in a specific demographic) ignores the fact that every member of a specific group is going to have unique challenges to overcome when learning. The general outline I listed above is the perfect starting point, and from there teachers should personalize their methods to their disciples’ needs.

The narrative interaction is a challenge, especially for pastors who serve large congregations but don’t have the bandwidth to personally engage every attendee every week. This is where the gaming community can provide guidance. Smaller groups of Christians, led by someone with training and the resources to study God’s word and effectively teach it, can gather once a week, every other week, or even once a month. These regular meetings (typically set up as small group Bible studies) could, and should, add a more active element to their study by roleplaying scenarios wherein the group has to actively apply biblical principles. Plenty of board games and tabletop roleplaying games offer the opportunity to add the narrative element into the study and application processes of discipleship. That narrative element makes it personal to the disciple and allows them to retain the lesson for better use later in life.

Yes, this is going to require time and effort because studying and applying God’s word doesn’t happen automatically in a sinful world. But it’s worth every moment because being disciples of God is one of the greatest blessings we can receive in this world.

Sources and Notes

1 At Disciple Gaming Ministry, we encourage people to read the Bible using an accurate translation that is also easy to understand. With that being said, the translation we use is the ESV® Bible. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Aaron D. Yenney, Tyler S. Greenway, & Lisa Nopachai, “Christian Ethics, Character Education, and Discipleship as Three Types of Knowledge for Virtue Development in Youth Ministry (Part 1).” Journal of Youth Ministry Volume 19, Issue 2, pp. 95-111 (2021).

3 Aaron D. Yenney, Tyler S. Greenway, & Lisa Nopachai, “Christian Ethics, Character Education, and Discipleship as Three Types of Knowledge for Virtue Development in Youth Ministry (Part 2).” Journal of Youth Ministry Volume 20, Issue 1, pp. 59-77 (2022).