Discipleship's Superior
It's possible to learn valuable lessons and still miss out on a relationship.
I'm a discipleship guy. I have been for at least four decades. If discipleship is being trained by Christ, I think discipleship is superior to almost any endeavor. Almost. The work of discipleship has its own superior: coming to know God, the Trainer.
I was trained in college by several professors, most of whom I didn't know any better on the day of my graduation than I did at orientation—no big deal. But to miss out on knowing God is to miss out on eternal life.