Ever since I sat in a river named Río Espíritu Santo in Puerto Rico last year, my approach to discipleship has shifted slightly.
The river’s name in English literally means “The Holy Spirit River.”
I mentioned this river briefly in another article, but throughout the past year I have found myself returning to that moment again and again. As I sat in the current, one simple phrase kept coming to mind:
“Get ’em in the river.”
Let me explain.
As I sat there in the water, I could feel the current gently moving my body. It made me start thinking about the power of water.
Water cuts through the ground over time.
It smooths the rough stones along the riverbed.
It brings life to the land along its banks.
Animals gather around it to drink.
Earlier that day our group had been working in the tropical heat with no running water. Sitting in that river revived us. There is something soothing about the sound of running water. There is a freshness in the air around it.
As I sat there observing all of this, the name of the river seemed more and more fitting. A river is a powerful picture of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is always moving.
He shapes and molds the lives of believers.
He cuts through hearts of stone.
He brings life, joy, and renewal.
“The Spirit is always moving. He shapes and molds the lives of believers. He cuts through hearts of stone. He brings life, joy, and renewal.”
And as I sat in that river, the thought kept returning:
Get ’em in the river.
Since that moment, my thinking about discipleship has shifted. Instead of asking, “How do I change this person?” I now ask a different question:
How do I get them into the current of the Holy Spirit?
If discipleship is about becoming more like Jesus, then the Holy Spirit is the one who actually makes that happen.
He convicts of sin.
He comforts.
He advises.
He advocates.
He transforms.
And He does all of that far better than I ever could.
The Spirit knows the hearts of people. My responsibility is not to manufacture transformation, but to help people step into the flow of the Spirit’s work.
In other words:
Get ’em in the river.
This image is not new. Jesus used it Himself. In John chapter 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well and says something surprising:
“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” (John 4:10, NLT)
“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
A few moments later He explains further, referring to the water from the well:
“Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:13–14, NLT)
Jesus does not simply offer water to drink. He promises a spring within us.
The life of the Spirit is not stagnant water sitting in a pool. It is living water that flows. It flows from the Father, through the Son, and into the lives of those who follow Him. And from there it begins to flow outward to others.
Which means discipleship is not about forcing change. It is about helping people step into the current of what God is already doing. It is about getting ’em in the river.
Get ’Em in the River—Personally
Of course, this begins with us. Before we try to guide others into the river, we must make sure we are still standing in the current ourselves. In more biblical language, we must be keeping in step with the Spirit. 
Robert Mulholland in Invitation to a Journey defines spiritual formation as “the process of being formed into the image of Christ for the sake of others.” Notice the order. Formation begins with us, but it never stops with us. We are formed for the sake of others. But we cannot pour out what we are not receiving.
I know I have stepped out of the river and onto the dry ground of my own effort when I start experiencing things like:
- Irritability
- Insecurity
- Hypersensitivity
- Feeling like everything depends on me
- Emotional numbness
- Out-of-order priorities
- Neglect of my health
- Escapist behaviors
- Isolation
- Spiritual disciplines becoming a checklist instead of a relationship
Those are often signs that I have stepped out of the current and started trying to do the work myself. So how do we step back into the river? The classic spiritual habits place us back into the current of the Spirit:
- Prayer
- Scripture
- Worship
- Gathering with others
- Solitude
- Fasting
These practices are not ways to earn God’s favor. They are instruments of God’s grace that keep us open to the work of the Spirit.
“The classic spiritual habits place us back into the current of the Spirit.”
Mulholland points out that when Paul speaks about prayer, he is describing more than words. He is describing an inner posture of life toward God. When Paul says “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), he is describing a life that remains open and responsive to God throughout the day. Scripture functions the same way. We read not merely for information, but for transformation, allowing the Spirit to shape our hearts.
These habits keep us in the current.
Get ’Em in the River—Together
Discipleship then becomes something surprisingly simple. We invite others into the river with us.
Interestingly, swimming in a river alone can be dangerous. The same can be true of spiritual habits practiced in isolation, when they drift toward legalism and self-righteousness or despair and self-loathing when we fail.
But practiced in community, these habits become powerful means of grace.
Together we pray.
Together we read Scripture.
Together we worship.
Together we seek the Spirit’s leading.
These practices place us together in the current where God does the deeper work. Our job is not to force transformation. Our job is simply to get ’em in the river.
We are often great at teaching what Jesus said but struggle with how to apply what Jesus said. Discipleship is learning to live as Jesus did. The invitation to get in the river together is how to help each other fulfill 1 John 2:6 (NLT): “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
Removing the Dams
Sometimes in ministry we unintentionally build dams. We rely on programs, pressure, or personality to produce change. When that happens, the water stops moving. And stagnant water eventually begins to smell. But when we keep pointing people to Jesus, when we keep practicing the habits that open us to the Spirit, when we live life together with God—the river keeps flowing. And transformation happens the way God intended.
We cannot convict hearts. We cannot manufacture transformation. We cannot force spiritual growth. But we can invite people to Jesus. We can walk with them in the habits that open us to the Spirit who transforms us more into his likeness. Our job is to get ‘em in the river.
