How can we become a Diocese where every Christian is a disciple who is making other disciples?
Some Initial Thoughts on Intentional, Relational and Practical Disciple-making.
Basic Definitions
Discipleship: “We understand theosis not as ‘deification’ (man becoming God) but rather as the outpouring of God’s life into our lives so that day by day we more clearly reflect God’s glory, being ourselves made more fully alive, truly human.”
Implications: “Discipleship is a lifelong, whole-life reorientation which will have challenging implications for our self-identity, our belonging within community, our belief systems, and our daily behaviour.”
Centrality: “It is very clear from the study of Scripture, the life of the early Church, and the witness of different Christian traditions over two thousand years, that intentional discipleship and the regular practice of making disciples are central to our understanding of salvation, mission, and ecclesiology.”
Transformation: “As we read the Gospel narrative, we quickly observe that...‘following’ also involves a μετάνοια (a radical turning around) of lifestyle, worldview, and spiritual orientation, a total transformation of the self, so that Paul is led to claim, ‘So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!’ (2 Cor 5.17)”
Intentionality: By ‘intentional’ we mean a deliberate prioritizing of these actions individually and as a Church – the Christian community.
Demands: Meanwhile, intentionally following Jesus Christ will place demands upon individuals, our family relationships, the way we handle money, our attitude towards employment and leisure activities, our exploitation of the environment, our political choices, and much more.
Coherence: Intentional discipleship is radically transformative of the whole of life. It is the totality of our living in God, through the power of the Holy Spirit following the ways of Jesus – and that demands internal coherence.
Quotes from “Intentional Discipleship and Disciple-Making: An Anglican Guide for Christian Life and Formation”, published by the ACC, London, 2016. Edited by The Revd Canon John Kafwanka and the Revd Canon Mark Oxbrow
Called to Grow Disciples
“The church is the effect of discipleship and not its cause. If you set out to build the church there is no guarantee you will build disciples” Mike Breen, ‘Building a Discipling Culture’. London: Zondervan, 2011.
“In a post Christian culture growing disciples is likely to be the only way the Church itself will grow and flourish.” Mark Ireland and Mike Booker, ‘Making New Disciples’. London: SPCK, 2015.
Are Christians Growing as Disciples Today?
- International evidence suggests that churches are better at helping young Christians grow in faith than more mature Christians.
- It’s not uncommon for more mature Christians to be stalled in their discipleship. As a result, many drift and end up not attending church at all. Alan Jamieson’s book ‘A Churchless Faith: Faith Journeys Beyond the Churches’ (2002) found that of the 108 church leavers he interviewed 94% held significant leadership positions and 40% had been in full time, paid ministry or theological study for at least one year.
- Never the less, the most recent Church Life Survey found that, of Anglicans in our Diocese, 85.3% either strongly agreed or agreed that their local church was resourcing their spiritual journey well!
Making Disciples Must be Intentional.
- Church life is super busy. This is what the inherited, attractional church is like.
- Many church members think of the church as offering a ‘service’. They pay and the clergy, by and large, deliver the service. This is especially challenging within our individualistic culture.
- However, we have been called to make disciples not ‘consumers of religious services.’
- Therefore, we need to change our habits of ministry so that we stop doing some things and start doing other things. This will mean running up against the expectations of many church members.
- As a result, becoming a church of missional disciples involves culture change.
- And this will involve being very intentional about what we do with our time and scarce resources.
- It involves prioritizing the future rather than getting trapped by the incessant demands of the present.
Making Disciples Must be Relational.
- There are 29 conversations Jesus had with people recorded in the gospels – not counting those recorded in more than one gospel.
- Jesus spoke to vast crowds but did not neglect one-on-one relationships with people.
- Jesus was in close relationship with the disciples in all kinds of life settings for a period of three years.
- Within Jesus’ relationship with the disciples, knowledge, trust and loyalty grew.
- All but one of the 12 disciples remained committed to Jesus and went on to disciple others in the post-Pentecost church.
- This happened because of the deep spiritual formation that had taken place in the lives of the disciples.
Making Disciples Must be Practical.
- Jesus not only taught the disciples but he sent them out to contribute to his mission
- In Mark 6 and Luke 10 we’re told that the disciples (first the 12 then the 70) were sent out to “proclaim the kingdom, heal the sick and cast out demons.”
- They learnt by doing.
- Jesus debriefed with them (Luke 10:18) – to frame their experiences and help them see reality from a kingdom perspective.
Create a Pathway to Make Disciples.
- Learn about the principles of disciple making with your parish staff team
- Accept that this will involve culture change within your parish and this will take hard work and perseverance.
- Agree that creating a 'Pathway to Make Disciples' needs to be intentional, relational and practical.
- Brainstorm possible aspects of a Pathway to Make Disciples. Aspects might include Alpha, One on one mentoring, Lenten Studies, Small Groups, Bible Familiarisation, Bible Society Notes etc.
- Clergy and staff members need to lead by example. It cannot be delegated.
- It is vitally important to begin small so you start out the way you want to continue.
- All discipleship meetings, no matter what kind they are, need to include the following critical components;
Essential Elements of Disciple-making
Vulnerability/Accountability
- Prayer – set the tone by asking God the Holy Spirit to guide and bless the gathering
- Sharing – asking quesitons like “How is it with your soul?”, “Are you growing spiritually?” or “Where are your faith sticking points?”
- Accountability – How did I follow through with my undertakings from last time?
Learning/Responding
- Input – Bible Study, theological study, discussion questions etc
- Response - Group members ask how they can put thier learning into practice.
Serving/Telling
- In – “What we can do to support each other in the coming week?”
- Out – “How can I help or share with a non-church person in the coming week?”
Close
- Share news or information relevant to group life
- Confirm roles and plans for next time