People have been following gurus for as long as gurus have been around. Just imagine those first humans walking around and one guy chooses not to eat something poisonous and another one goes “that is one smart dude! What else does he know?”

We follow other people because we want to become better at something they know about. So we become disciples, followers of someone who “gets it” in a way we don’t.

The disciples we encounter fall into two camps: people trying to be better and people trying to implement someone else’s philosophy. Which sounds a little like the old debate: being vs. doing.

As Christians, each generation sees itself as the next generation of disciples, following Jesus. Which we see as both being better and doing better. The point is that we are always learning—and keeping it going.