The “cost of discipleship”, is a well known book written by Dietrich Bonhoffer. Ditrech Bonhoffer was a Lutheran German Pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissiedent who was hung in 1945 by the Nazi government. Gudina Tumsa’s understanding of the cost of discipleship came from what Paul E. Hoffmann describes as Gudina’s following of Dietrich Bonhoffer, “Using the striking phrase in English drawn for Dietrich Bonhoffer, Gudina Tumsa called for “costly discipleship.” (Life and Ministry Pg.27).
“To Believe in Christ is to take the form of a servant, to be a servant for others.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.71). Gudina Tumsa himself paid the ultimate price of discipleship according to Jesus Christ in (John 15:13). Gudina Tumsa was a martyr for the sake of the Gospel. His stance for the Gospel can be seen in a letter he wrote to an unidentified individual, “We as Christians cannot simply tolerate a bad situation and keep quiet. It is our duty to act, to speak, and even to risk our life. The power of resurrection is experienced only through death.” He wrote this during the Red Terror which was a time for great scrutiny for the Churches in Ethiopia. Soon after he refused to join the Derg government on a goodwill tour to Europe and was then abducted and killed. All of this shows that Gudina Tumsa is someone worthy to write on the Cost of Discipleship as he had to pay a price for his. The cost of discipleship to many of us is a foreign concept, and even if we do understand the concept we are not ready to make the necessary sacrifice for our discipleship. Although Gudina Tumsa paid the ultimate price for his discipleship, he makes it clear that each one of us has a different way of sacrificing for our discipleship, “The demands for the cost of discipleship will be met by various responses from each one of us.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.74).
Gudina understood the body of Christ and how each part has a different function, but all the parts have one thing in common: they all serve the same body. Gudina defines the bases of discipleship as servanthood to the body of Christ (Matthew 23:11). To become a disciple is to serve one’s Lord and country, give up luxury and personal interests for the purpose of the Gospel. Gudina’s writings on the cost of discipleship should influence believers today to make a decision to completely follow the call of their Lord Jesus Christ, and make the necessary sacrifices to become His disciples. We conclude in giving an example of what truly following Christ looks like according to Gudina Tumsa, “In this matter, which is so personal to every one of us, we have to make decisions affecting our personal interest, our living standard, the luxury that we enjoy, thereby setting an example for the government as for others concerned, not by words but by actions of sacrificial nature. This is what it means to be the church for others. Jesus Christ lived and sacrificed himself for us.” (Witness and Discipleship Pg.73)