This started as a conversation between my Dad and I via email. I've edited down the emails a bit so they have a broader appeal here. My Dad has graciously allowed me to use his experience here, and I hope that he will continue contributing to this conversation.
Here it goes:
From Chris (my dad):
I wanted to run something by the two of you and see if you'd every thought about or heard of discipleship being taught in this way.
We've always talked about needing to have discipleship and we've kicked around the idea of a discipleship class, but none of the ideas have really felt "right" to me. All the discipleship curricula has seemed to be missing something or just too sterile.
In reading through the book that I spoke to Daniel about on the phone, I really felt an urging that this is the foundation of the right discipleship model for the church. Their ideas, in "Simple Church", are to really focus why we do what we do in the church to make sure that we are making disciples. That IS the ministry of the church. The second part of their idea is that vibrant churches' discipleship models follow their "programs" sequentially through the week. All this is backed up with statistical data from vibrant churches and comparison (non-growing) churches.
Sunday morning, I rolled out an idea to our congregation of what a discipleship process at Cornerstone Fellowship of Monroe (CFM) could look like. This is something that we've not really had a good grasp on since day-one at CFM. I correlated the acronym for our name, CFM, with the steps of the our proposed discipleship process (Connect, Follow, Model); each step of which corresponds to a specific service throughout the week.
While in the midst of preaching/sharing this process with our congregation, I used the scripture from Matthew 4:18-20:
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19" Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19" Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
Each of the three steps that we have corresponds to Jesus' call of His first disciples; "come" (Connect), "follow" (Follow), and "I will make you" (Model). While I was preaching, it hit me like a brick that we, in the church, may have been guilty of doing discipleship all wrong.
First, we wait until someone to get "saved" before we start the discipleship process. Jesus didn't do that! He call His disciples-to-be to begin the process before they were saved, before they were following, and before they were modeling. They weren't disciples during the process but that didn't stop Jesus.
In the middle of my sermon I felt God opened my eyes to the fact that we in the church are guilty of thinking that someone has to get saved and then sit through a bunch of classes where we as "spiritually mature" leaders proceed to throw wet blankets on their new-found faith, hope and excitement until they settle down and become "mature" like us. I think that the word is "luke-warm" like us!
What we need to do is to invite them to come on the journey with us. They won't be saved at first but we must Connect with them to connect them to Christ. Then we need to invite them to follow and they still may not be saved but we teach them to follow nonetheless! Finally, we invite them to come with us as we Model the love of Christ in servant leadership ways. The real epiphany for me is they may not be saved even when they enter the Model stage, but when they do trust Christ, they will be able to plug in what they have already connected to, followed and seen modeled.
I was sharing this with R. and S. after the service and R. really set him to thinking about the concept. I kidded him that I was going to write a book called "RAW Discipleship" about what I felt God had opened my understanding (revelation?) to.
So, all this being said, I was wondering whether you two had heard/read anything along these lines with regards to this almost backwards Jesus-model of getting people involved in the discipleship process before salvation?
Daniel's response:
Sounds really great. It encourages me that you guys are moving this direction. You might check out what's commonly called "The Celtic Way of Evangelism." There is actually a book by that name, and here's a link to a summary of some of the basic ideas of the book: http://i.b5z.net/i/u/696577/h/krueger/newsletter/archive/0402/index_files/page0003.htm
It encourages me to see you guys and a lot of churches rethinking the whole evangelism scheme. I think that this direction is far more biblically sound and more in keeping with the character of how Jesus interacted with his followers. The confrontational/ proof method of evangelism where Jesus is presented as an argument seems to have come out of the Enlightenment period when the church felt like it had to compete with science, and thus started using scientific methods to go about turning the faith into a formula for conversion. What Jesus taught wasn't a method at all, in fact, the earliest name for Christians was "followers of The Way."
It's more than interesting that The Way of Jesus predates Modernism and the enlightenment methods of evangelism, and that now as we shift into a post-modern world, it is this non-modern way of being that is still the heart of Jesus' message.
I think that there are a few fundamental claims/ base assumptions that have to be in place for people to get on board with this idea.
The first is a philosophical claim of embracing the cultural shift into postmodernism. You can call this whatever you like, but basically it means that ever since seeing the tragedy of the holocaust, the world has decided that scientific objectivity cannot create a perfect world. Seeing Europe shattered in the peak of the modern period burst this bubble. As a result whether people claim the tag or not, people who have come of age are postmodern in their thinking; that is to say, they believe more what they have experienced to be true than what science or an outside authority tells them is true. They don't reject objective truth altogether, they just believe that no individual human being can have the whole truth in its entirety. Funny, but this is very similar to the claims of the Eastern orthodox church and most of pre-enlightenment Christianity. Truth is never completely objective when it comes to human's ability to know things. That is the realm of God alone. That is why finding the truth about God must come in community with other believers, we each have a bit of the truth, a piece of the Imago Dei in all of us, and we come and submit ourselves to the word of God and to the community of God in order to learn from, correct, and balance one another out.
With this philosophical beginning, we can better see why "becoming a Christian" is a part of a process in community and not an event that happens as the result of proselytizing.
Next I believe that the Theological underpinnings of this way of discipleship are rooted solidly in a deep sense of mystery as to the depths of God's grace. It requires a complete rebuilding of some of our doctrines. What I mean by this is that many evangelical Christian doctrines (Atonement, Justification, Salvation, Evangelism... to name a few) seem to have deep roots in the power of sin. This method of evangelism assumes something opposite. It assumes a deep rootedness in the power of God's grace. If we begin with the strength of God's grace, and build from there, then our view of "saved" and "unsaved" gets completely screwed up. If we assume that God in infinite wisdom and love intended to create us each with the propensity to make choices that move away from God, then we can read in scripture that the power of sin is only powerful if we allow it to drive us to fear it, and to turn farther from God. The immense grace of God reaches out for us from the very beginning of scripture's narrative and chases us through the incarnation. God initiates relationship with the fallen Adam and Eve, and Jesus sought out dinner at the homes of tax collectors and prostitutes. If God's grace is not strong enough, if God's love not great enough, if the work of the incarnation of Christ is not model enough for us to base our doctrines, then we ought not waste our time on this faith.
If we view the foundation for our doctrines as God's grace, then we believe God is reaching for us before we reach for God. So, it becomes imperative for us, as we become more like Christ, to reach out to bring others into community before we convert them, not after. We should mirror Christ and reach out in grace and compassion, and we will find that the straight and narrow path of Christ is not a legalistic command but a metaphor for how difficult it is to come in love alongside those whose lives do not yet reflect the hope of redemption that God has for them.
The practical question will arise, how do protect ourselves/children/new believers from the bad influence of all these people we are inviting into our community. Once again we must rethink our doctrines. What does community look like based on sin? It is a fearful place where people are trying hard not to do wrong and isolating themselves from anything that might taint them. What about a community based on the strength of the grace of God? This kind of community cannot draw such distinctive lines of "saved" and "unsaved." Instead this kind of community does not have walls, but is ever expanding outward welcoming into community all who come in its path. It is not scared of sin, instead it openly admits that sin infects us all. We all bear the stain and the disease of sin, but we live in the greatness of God's grace. Yes this kind of community is dangerous. It doesn't have clear lines to provide comfort and security, and people get hurt, but, again, this is why Jesus calls it a way that only a few find.
The last area that I think must be fundamentally altered in this method is that we must change the practical way in which we mark the journey of faith. Right now most evangelical churches have a doctrine of salvation, followed by baptism--both as distinct events. Pentecostals mark a third arena of baptism in the Holy Spirit, and holiness churches mark a further arena of sanctification.
What I would view as a more Biblical model is that all who are invited to share in the fellowship of the church are disciples. It might scare new people to call them this, and so I'd suggest starting with something more inviting, like "friends" or "neighbors." beyond this, when your friends and neighbors find themselves walking in the way of Christ and they become convinced of the shared testimony of scripture, the life of the community, and their own experience with grace (through inclusion into your community), then they ought to be encouraged to make the Biblical profession of their faith in water baptism. By returning to this sign of outward commitment, we have not done away with the understanding that some are lost and some are securely in the grip of Christ, but instead drawing a line of saved and unsaved, we have returned to a way of being as a community that embraces grace. We don't decide who gets in or doesn't on the basis of conversion. Instead we extend open arms to everyone we encounter and let God determine the Extent of God's own grace (how benevolent of us to let God be God).
These are just some initial thoughts, and I'd love to see how this plays out for you guys.
END
So, that's what we have so far. You can definitely see the difference in our approaches to the topic. Together I think we are wrestling with the questions and tensions of bringing together the theology and praxis of the church.
It is my hope that we can all find ways to marry our belief and our action into the active love of Christ in the world.
I'd love to hear from some other folks on this stuff.
Peace
Daniel's response:
Sounds really great. It encourages me that you guys are moving this direction. You might check out what's commonly called "The Celtic Way of Evangelism." There is actually a book by that name, and here's a link to a summary of some of the basic ideas of the book: http://i.b5z.net/i/u/696577/h
It encourages me to see you guys and a lot of churches rethinking the whole evangelism scheme. I think that this direction is far more biblically sound and more in keeping with the character of how Jesus interacted with his followers. The confrontational/ proof method of evangelism where Jesus is presented as an argument seems to have come out of the Enlightenment period when the church felt like it had to compete with science, and thus started using scientific methods to go about turning the faith into a formula for conversion. What Jesus taught wasn't a method at all, in fact, the earliest name for Christians was "followers of The Way."
It's more than interesting that The Way of Jesus predates Modernism and the enlightenment methods of evangelism, and that now as we shift into a post-modern world, it is this non-modern way of being that is still the heart of Jesus' message.
I think that there are a few fundamental claims/ base assumptions that have to be in place for people to get on board with this idea.
The first is a philosophical claim of embracing the cultural shift into postmodernism. You can call this whatever you like, but basically it means that ever since seeing the tragedy of the holocaust, the world has decided that scientific objectivity cannot create a perfect world. Seeing Europe shattered in the peak of the modern period burst this bubble. As a result whether people claim the tag or not, people who have come of age are postmodern in their thinking; that is to say, they believe more what they have experienced to be true than what science or an outside authority tells them is true. They don't reject objective truth altogether, they just believe that no individual human being can have the whole truth in its entirety. Funny, but this is very similar to the claims of the Eastern orthodox church and most of pre-enlightenment Christianity. Truth is never completely objective when it comes to human's ability to know things. That is the realm of God alone. That is why finding the truth about God must come in community with other believers, we each have a bit of the truth, a piece of the Imago Dei in all of us, and we come and submit ourselves to the word of God and to the community of God in order to learn from, correct, and balance one another out.
With this philosophical beginning, we can better see why "becoming a Christian" is a part of a process in community and not an event that happens as the result of proselytizing.
Next I believe that the Theological underpinnings of this way of discipleship are rooted solidly in a deep sense of mystery as to the depths of God's grace. It requires a complete rebuilding of some of our doctrines. What I mean by this is that many evangelical Christian doctrines (Atonement, Justification, Salvation, Evangelism... to name a few) seem to have deep roots in the power of sin. This method of evangelism assumes something opposite. It assumes a deep rootedness in the power of God's grace. If we begin with the strength of God's grace, and build from there, then our view of "saved" and "unsaved" gets completely screwed up. If we assume that God in infinite wisdom and love intended to create us each with the propensity to make choices that move away from God, then we can read in scripture that the power of sin is only powerful if we allow it to drive us to fear it, and to turn farther from God. The immense grace of God reaches out for us from the very beginning of scripture's narrative and chases us through the incarnation. God initiates relationship with the fallen Adam and Eve, and Jesus sought out dinner at the homes of tax collectors and prostitutes. If God's grace is not strong enough, if God's love not great enough, if the work of the incarnation of Christ is not model enough for us to base our doctrines, then we ought not waste our time on this faith.
If we view the foundation for our doctrines as God's grace, then we believe God is reaching for us before we reach for God. So, it becomes imperative for us, as we become more like Christ, to reach out to bring others into community before we convert them, not after. We should mirror Christ and reach out in grace and compassion, and we will find that the straight and narrow path of Christ is not a legalistic command but a metaphor for how difficult it is to come in love alongside those whose lives do not yet reflect the hope of redemption that God has for them.
The practical question will arise, how do protect ourselves/children/new believers from the bad influence of all these people we are inviting into our community. Once again we must rethink our doctrines. What does community look like based on sin? It is a fearful place where people are trying hard not to do wrong and isolating themselves from anything that might taint them. What about a community based on the strength of the grace of God? This kind of community cannot draw such distinctive lines of "saved" and "unsaved." Instead this kind of community does not have walls, but is ever expanding outward welcoming into community all who come in its path. It is not scared of sin, instead it openly admits that sin infects us all. We all bear the stain and the disease of sin, but we live in the greatness of God's grace. Yes this kind of community is dangerous. It doesn't have clear lines to provide comfort and security, and people get hurt, but, again, this is why Jesus calls it a way that only a few find.
The last area that I think must be fundamentally altered in this method is that we must change the practical way in which we mark the journey of faith. Right now most evangelical churches have a doctrine of salvation, followed by baptism--both as distinct events. Pentecostals mark a third arena of baptism in the Holy Spirit, and holiness churches mark a further arena of sanctification.
What I would view as a more Biblical model is that all who are invited to share in the fellowship of the church are disciples. It might scare new people to call them this, and so I'd suggest starting with something more inviting, like "friends" or "neighbors." beyond this, when your friends and neighbors find themselves walking in the way of Christ and they become convinced of the shared testimony of scripture, the life of the community, and their own experience with grace (through inclusion into your community), then they ought to be encouraged to make the Biblical profession of their faith in water baptism. By returning to this sign of outward commitment, we have not done away with the understanding that some are lost and some are securely in the grip of Christ, but instead drawing a line of saved and unsaved, we have returned to a way of being as a community that embraces grace. We don't decide who gets in or doesn't on the basis of conversion. Instead we extend open arms to everyone we encounter and let God determine the Extent of God's own grace (how benevolent of us to let God be God).
These are just some initial thoughts, and I'd love to see how this plays out for you guys.
END
So, that's what we have so far. You can definitely see the difference in our approaches to the topic. Together I think we are wrestling with the questions and tensions of bringing together the theology and praxis of the church.
It is my hope that we can all find ways to marry our belief and our action into the active love of Christ in the world.
I'd love to hear from some other folks on this stuff.
Peace
