Last week we explored the radical faith of the leper in Mark 1:40-42—the man who pursued proximity to Jesus with utter dependence and worship. He did not stand at a distance. He did not wait for Jesus to notice him. He drew near, knelt at the feet of Christ, and uttered the prayer that reveals the heart of proximity discipleship: “If you will, you can make me clean.”
That is where proximity discipleship begins. It begins with us. It begins with drawing near to the God of the universe with radical trust, bringing Him the untouchable parts of our lives, refusing to keep Him in a box.
But proximity discipleship does not end there.
The writer of Hebrews gives us three imperatives in chapter 10, and each one builds upon the previous. First, we draw near. Then we hold fast. And then—this is where the urgency intensifies—we consider one another to provoke love and good works.
Proximity discipleship is not passive. It is not a solitary journey. It is not a private devotional practice that we keep to ourselves. It is active, relational, and deliberately provocative. We are called not only to draw near to Jesus ourselves but to stir up others to do the same.
This is the work of the Church. This is the work we are called to as disciples. And the language the writer of Hebrews uses to describe it is far stronger than we often realize.
Before we examine the call to provoke one another, we must understand the foundation upon which it rests. The writer of Hebrews has just finished a lengthy theological exposition on the superiority of Christ’s priesthood and the once-for-all sacrifice He made on our behalf. Now he transitions to application, and the language is striking:
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” — Hebrews 10:19–23 (ESV)
The argument is simple and profound. Because of the blood of Jesus, we now have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place. The curtain has been torn. The way has been opened. We are no longer barred from the presence of God. We are invited—commanded, even—to draw near.
Three imperatives follow in rapid succession:
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (v. 22).
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering (v. 23).
Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works (v. 24).
The progression is deliberate. Personal proximity to God. Perseverance in faith. Provocation of others toward the same. We cannot skip steps. We cannot provoke others to draw near if we ourselves remain at a distance. But once we have drawn near, once we are holding fast to the hope we have in Christ, we are then charged with a responsibility toward the Body of Christ.
We are called to stir one another up.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” — Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV)
The Greek word translated “stir up” in verse 24 is paroxysmos (παροξυσμός). It is a compound word: para (beside, alongside) and oxys (sharp). The literal meaning is “to sharpen beside” or “to incite sharply.”
This is not a gentle word. It is not a soft suggestion. It is not a passive hope that others might wander closer to Jesus if we set a good example. The word carries intensity, urgency, and deliberate action. It means to provoke, to spur on, to instigate.
Think of it as “poking with a stick.” It is active engagement. It is intentional motivation. It is the kind of relational investment that does not allow passivity to take root.
The only other time this word appears in the New Testament is in Acts 15:39, where Paul and Barnabas have such a sharp disagreement (paroxysmos) over John Mark that they part ways. The word describes conflict, friction, sharpening. It is not comfortable. It is not polite. It is urgent and active.
And that is the word the writer of Hebrews uses to describe how we are to relate to one another in the Body of Christ. We are to provoke one another to love and good works. We are to sharpen one another. We are to actively instigate proximity discipleship in the lives of those around us.
This is not a call to be harsh or unkind. The goal is clear: love and good works. But the method is deliberate and urgent. We do not wait for people to stumble into spiritual growth. We do not assume they will draw near to Jesus on their own. We provoke them. We challenge them. We ask hard questions. We hold them accountable. We show up consistently. We model the kind of radical trust the leper displayed.
We stir the pot.
Proximity discipleship is the ministry model at the heart of Beehive Global Collective. It is not a program. It is not a curriculum. It is a relational posture that prioritizes nearness—nearness to Jesus first, and then nearness to one another for the purpose of mutual provocation toward love and good works.
But what does it actually look like to stir up proximity discipleship in the lives of others?
First, it requires that we ourselves have drawn near. We cannot lead others into the presence of Jesus if we are content to keep our distance. We cannot provoke others to bring their impossible needs to God if we refuse to bring our own. The leper in Mark 1 teaches us that proximity discipleship begins with personal pursuit of Jesus—kneeling in worship, bringing the untouchable parts of our lives into His presence, praying with utter dependence.
Second, it requires intentionality. The writer of Hebrews says, “Let us consider how to stir up one another.” The word “consider” implies thoughtfulness, deliberation, planning. We do not provoke others by accident. We do it on purpose. We think about the people in our lives—our brothers and sisters in Christ—and we ask ourselves, “How can I stir them up to love and good works? What do they need? What are they avoiding? Where are they stuck? How can I provoke them toward proximity with Jesus?”
Third, it requires relational investment. You cannot provoke someone from a distance. You cannot stir someone up if you barely know them. Proximity discipleship requires proximity to one another. It requires time, presence, consistency, and vulnerability. It requires showing up—not just when it is convenient, but when it is costly.
Fourth, it requires courage. Provocation is not comfortable. Asking hard questions is not easy. Holding someone accountable requires boldness. Challenging someone to bring their impossible needs to Jesus—when they have been content to keep Him in a box—will often meet resistance. But the writer of Hebrews does not give us the option to remain passive. The Day is drawing near. We do not have unlimited time. The call to stir one another up is urgent.
The writer of Hebrews follows his command to stir one another up with a practical instruction: “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (v. 25).
Proximity discipleship requires proximity to one another. We cannot provoke people we never see. We cannot stir up people we do not spend time with. The Christian life is not solitary. It is corporate. It is communal. It is lived out in the context of the Body of Christ.
Some had made it a habit to neglect the assembly. They had withdrawn. They had isolated themselves. And the writer of Hebrews warns against this because he knows what happens when we remove ourselves from the Body: we stop being provoked. We stop being sharpened. We stop being stirred up. And we drift.
The antidote is simple: meet together. Gather. Show up. Be present. Create space for the kind of relational investment that allows for mutual provocation toward love and good works.
This is not about attending a worship service once a week and calling it sufficient. This is about building the kind of relationships where you know someone well enough to see where they are stuck, where they are avoiding God, where they are keeping Christ in a box. And it is about giving others permission to do the same for you—to provoke you, to challenge you, to hold you accountable.
Proximity discipleship is not passive friendship evangelism. It is active, intentional, relational investment in the spiritual growth of one another. And it requires that we meet together.
This is not theoretical for us. We are living this right now.
In just 17 days, on February 23, we will gather with pastors and ministry leaders in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam for our Proximity Discipleship Seminar. This is a five-day intensive training event designed to do exactly what Hebrews 10:24 commands: to stir up these leaders toward love and good works.
The Vietnamese church is growing rapidly, but many pastors and leaders lack formal theological training. They are hungry for discipleship. They are hungry for depth. They are hungry to be provoked toward greater faithfulness, greater boldness, greater proximity to Jesus.
We will spend five days working through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship—a book that confronts cheap grace and calls believers to radical obedience, radical trust, and radical nearness to Christ. We will gather morning and evening for teaching, small group discussion, worship, testimony, and Q&A. We will create space for these leaders to bring their impossible needs to Jesus—the things they have been too afraid to bring, the situations that feel too broken, the ministry challenges that seem insurmountable.
And we will provoke them. We will stir them up. We will challenge them to stop keeping Christ in a box and to pursue proximity with the kind of radical faith the leper displayed.
But the goal is not just to stir them up for five days. The goal is that they will return to their churches, their communities, their families, and they will provoke others. They will model proximity discipleship. They will teach it. They will stir up their congregations toward love and good works. And the ripple effect will spread—from us to them, from them to their people, from their people to their communities.
This is the work of the Church. This is the work we are called to as disciples. And this is the work we are asking you to partner with us in.
We invite you to consider joining us in this mission through prayer and financial support. The cost of hosting this seminar—venue, meals, materials, travel—is significant. But the investment is eternal. Every dollar given toward this event is an investment in the leaders who will go on to stir up countless others toward proximity with Jesus.
If you feel led to give, you can do so here: Give toward the Vietnam Seminar
If you cannot give financially, we ask for your prayers. Pray for the leaders who will attend. Pray for clarity, boldness, and transformation. Pray that the Spirit would provoke them toward radical obedience and radical trust. Pray that they would return to their ministries with fire and urgency, stirring up their own people toward love and good works.
We do not take this work lightly. We know the stakes. We know the urgency. We know the Day is drawing near. And we know that the time to provoke one another is now.
Last week we asked you to consider which faith you bring to Jesus—the small faith of Capernaum or the radical faith of the leper. This week the question shifts outward: Who are you stirring up?
Proximity discipleship starts with you drawing near to Jesus. But it does not end there. You are called to provoke others.
Who in your life needs to be stirred up toward love and good works? Who needs you to model radical trust? Who needs you to ask hard questions? Who needs you to hold them accountable? Who needs you to show up consistently and challenge them to stop keeping Christ in a box?
This is not comfortable work. It requires relational investment, intentionality, courage, and time. But it is the work we are commanded to do.
The writer of Hebrews does not say, “If you feel like it, consider stirring up one another.” He says, “Let us consider how to stir up one another.” It is a command. It is an imperative. It is urgent.
So here is the challenge: identify one person in your life who needs to be provoked toward love and good works. Think about them deliberately. Consider how you can stir them up. And then do it. Reach out. Ask the hard question. Offer accountability. Show up. Model the kind of radical trust and nearness to Jesus that the leper displayed.
And give others permission to do the same for you. Invite them to provoke you. Ask them to hold you accountable. Create space for mutual sharpening.
This is the call of proximity discipleship: draw near, hold fast, and stir up.
The writer of Hebrews ends his instruction with urgency: “and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (v. 25).
We do not have unlimited time. The Day is coming. Christ will return. And in the meantime, we are called to provoke one another with urgency, with love, with deliberate intention.
We cannot wait for people to wander into proximity with Jesus. We cannot assume they will bring their impossible needs to Him on their own. We cannot be passive in our discipleship.
We must stir the pot.
We must provoke one another toward love and good works. We must model radical trust. We must ask hard questions. We must hold one another accountable. We must meet together. We must invest relationally. We must pursue proximity to Jesus ourselves and then actively instigate that same pursuit in the lives of those around us.
This is not optional. This is the work of the Church. This is the call of discipleship. And the urgency is real.
So go. Draw near to Jesus with radical trust. Hold fast to the confession of your hope. And stir up the people around you—with love, with courage, with the kind of intentional provocation that refuses to let anyone drift.
Go stir the pot.
From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. Acts 17:26-27