to lead a workshp in our region in February to address the question of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in the 21st century. I'm excited about this emphasis because I really feel that making disciples is something the church often overlooks or goes about it the wrong way.For many years we've associated discipleship with education. When church leaders are asked about the discipleship program in their church too many of them want to talk about their Sunday school or small group programs. We offer Sunday schools on Sunday mornings, Sunday night and mid-week Bible studies, perhaps a women's Bible study during the week, and another one for men on Saturday morning. The theory seems to be that if we fill people's heads with enough information they will become disciples. Unfortunately, this works better in theory than in practice.
Discipleship requires education plus involvement. People have to be given the opportunity to use the information they have been taught, and we don't want to make the mistake of believing that they must first pass all the Bible study programs we offer before they can become involved in ministry. Jesus didn't make His disciples graduate from seminary or from a church-led education program before they could be engaged in ministry. He sent them out to minister while they were being taught. This is the model the church today needs to recapture.
One of the problems is that if we expect members of our congregations to attend all the Bible studies and other church functions we offer, when do we expect them to be involved in ministry? I recently read somewhere that the average person is willing to give four hours a week to church activities. If this is true, it would be very easy to use up all that time in church activities while never providing them the time or opportunity to be involved in ministry outside the church.
Don't accuse me of being opposed to Bible study. I think we need to provide as many ways as possible to help people understand the teachings of Scripture. In the process let's not overlook the value of involving people in activities that will allow them to use what they are learning. Let's teach our people the truths of the Bible and provide opportunities for them to be involved in ministry to others. That is the process that will produce disciples.
I would be interested in knowing how your church balances that process. What is your church doing to develop 21st century disciples, and how effective is it? If you don't have an intentional plan for discipling your congregation what could you do in 2011 to begin such a plan?
2 comments:
I like your idea. The seminary I attended required the students to be involved in an evangelistic ministry (prison ministry, rescue mission, etc.). In this way the knowledge given in the classroom was coupled with practical experience in the field. The result was pastors being more ministry ready than some other institutions.
Terry Reed
Small Church Tools
I liked this a lot. When I think of churches in much of the non westernized world, they often start with someone who is a new believer but is not well educated. While I do believe there is a minimum requirement to get a church going from an educational perspective, in the very early stages, someone with just some level of leadership, discernment, and teaching gifts can do a fine job getting it going.
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