3 Spheres of Discipleship Formation
HEART: Character Formation
Being = who a Christ follower is…
Personal Identity
"UP"
HEAD: Biblical ("mind of Christ") Formation
Knowing = what a Christ follower understands…
Relational/Community Hermeneutic
"IN"
HANDS: Ministry Formation
Doing = what a Christ followers does…
Mission-driven action
"OUT"
Thanks Bob...I adapted your idea and put it into my context...I love the Body!
Disciplemaking Strategies: Bible Storying
I’ve been doing an intense study on the issue of discipleship. In past posts (which you can take a peek at on your own), I have attempted to spell out issues such as “discipleship as journey of maturity”, the identity of a disciple, and who/what a disciple is/does. Just the other day, I was doing my “usual” blog browsing when I came across this ‘strategy’ of disciple-making…story-telling. Now, the “bible as story” is, again, something on which I have posted in the past…but these suggestions have more to do with US telling the story of the bible versus us understanding the bible as story.
The Bible Storying strategy is based upon a couple of assumptions: first of all, even followers of Jesus don’t know many of the stories of the bible. So to understand the text well enough to “tell it” (oral tradition is a time honored methodology of passing on truth) not only cements the story in a person’s heart but also gives the listener an opportunity to hear the story without a “formality” of a text-based reading. In addition, it gives the storyteller HUGE flexibility in sharing the story in ways that can be effective and consistent relationally. Lastly, it's based on the reality that "even if people like learning through reading, reading by itself is not the best way to move information from the head to the heart." It has been shown time and again that stories can change lives..
I would suggest you start by “bible story telling” in the context of some of your other relationships with followers of Jesus. Maybe you can do this at a bible study, adult class, small group, or some other gathering a people who love and follow Jesus. Here's how the one blogger said it could work…
1. Choose a story from the Bible that is relevant (Old Testament history books, the Gospels, Book of Acts, etc.)
2. A group facilitator learns one of the stories or assigns someone else to learn the story. (Learn so the story is told without reading it, but not word for word.)
3. While the two storytellers tell the story, the rest of the group can read along to see if the storytellers have missed anything.
4. When finished, the storytellers will rebuild the story, pointing out anything that was missed.
5. The facilitator can ask someone else in the group to tell the story back to everyone without reading. (in this instance, don’t tell anyone who will be asked ahead of time so everyone pays attention during the storytelling process)
6. Once the story has been told, rebuilt, and told again, the facilitator can ask questions to draw out the important truths in the story. For example:
7. Lastly, ask each person to identify application points for their own life.
You will quickly discover that you don't have to be an expert to tell a story. By simply telling the story, asking questions, and looking for application, you can see how the Spirit can use these stories in your everyday life.
Confessions of a Recovering Ecclesiastical Hipster
“Hipster” – (def) “A person who follows the latest trends and fashions”
Ok – my name is Robin and I am a recovering ecclesiastical hipster.
For years when I was younger and naïve and, frankly, more egocentric and narcissistic than I am today (yes, leaders DO struggle with these issues – if you are a leader and you say, “that’s not me” you are a liar or delusional or in denial), I confess that I was attracted to that which was the “latest and greatest.” For a period of time in my life, I became an ecclesiastical hipster. I admit that I tried the “latest and greatest”…I went to the conferences…I bought the books…I had the discussions…I changed many things in the spheres of life and ministry of which I was a part. And, I also have to admit, I enjoyed it. Hey, it’s fun being a hipster. It’s cool to think you are cool too! I was in my 30’s…I thought I was at the top of my “game”…and so I jumped on the bandwagon in order to see if success as it was being defined by the “lead hipsters” was going to come my way. Sidebar here – the issue is not whether you ARE a person who embraces change and innovation…that is God’s wiring pattern for many of us…the issue is the embracing of change and innovation for their sake alone in order to merit or achieve or even predict specific outcomes. Then innovation borders on that which is manipulative, prescriptive, manufactured or formulaic and not authentic. I must again admit, I bought all that hipster stuff for a while and you know what? It worked! Even so, over time, I realized it wasn’t me…it wasn’t my heart or my gift or what God was asking and calling and equipping me to do in my context. More on that below…
Now before I move on, one more comment: I’ve spent considerable time reflecting, conversing with pals and praying through my hipster days and I have to ALSO admit, all that I went through in my younger years as a Jesus following leader wasn’t JUST BECAUSE I was an ecclesiastical hipster…there were some “righteous” reasons. You see, I was also doing what I was doing because I was watching and listening to what God was doing not only around me but also in the world at large. I could see the “waves” of the Spirit breaking over the landscape and many people taking HUGE spiritual risks to ride those waves. In addition, due to some of the encouragement and challenge of some close friends and mentors, I decided it was time to take some risks and to allow the Spirit to do what it wanted to do in and through me in a variety of contexts.
Maybe you “were there”…maybe you were not…so let me tell you, growing as a leader and Christ follower in the 70s and 80s were exciting times. The boundaries and constraints that had been shackling expressions of faith through redemptive community were coming off…people were attempting to listen to the Spirit and try new things. I learned HUGE lessons in creative relational ministry through Youth for Christ and along with my friend, Kevin, in Lutheran Youth Alive. I discovered the power of biblical teaching and effective communication in working side by side with some powerful people who shared the truth of God’s Word with accuracy and vitality (thanks Bob, Tony and Bill). I discovered more about how God could work in a faith community’s life as I was exposed to some in depth teaching and encouragement about God’s Spirit through the ministry of John Wimber, the Vineyard Movement, and Lutheran Lay Renewal. I was challenged as a musician to offer the best of my gifts in and through worship music through the encouragement of Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, Andre Crouch, John Fischer (someone I actually can call, “friend”), Tommy Walker, Hillsong music, and the artists of Maranatha Music as well as some close friends who started to “get it” that music could be more than a “lecture” or doctrinal statement but something that could touch the head AND heart. Then there was the “Seeker Driven/Targeted” movements…the Willows and Saddlebacks and Community Church of Joys that started to ask questions about congregational ministry that I had never heard posed before. I even deeply investigated contemplative and historical spiritual practices by becoming a regular at monasteries and conferences dealing with spiritual disciplines. Of course, in those days as now, I wanted to do great things for God…my thinking at the time was if it benefited me, that was extra icing on the cake. I wasn’t doing it for me but doing it for God, asking God’s blessing upon it and then waiting for blessings to come my way.
But now, my hipster days are over. Coolness is something that young pups strive for…us “older dogs” come to some new realizations and start to embrace new dreams and visions where the issue of “us” is fortuitously sidelined. I’ve spent considerable time reading Richard Rohr’s book, Falling Upward, regarding “first and second half of life” issues…and I couldn’t agree with him more. Over the years, achievement and making a name for ourselves drives the soul…whether we want to admit it or not (I would have NEVER admitted that when I was younger because it wasn’t in my consciousness to admit), that was something we all have lived. Now? Now I simply want to live my life as a follower of Jesus – doing what He wants me to do – living out the giftedness and loving the people that He has moved within my sphere. If something “good” or culturally defined “successful” comes out of it…so be it. That’s God’s business. I used to think that I could help God out with a definition of “successful ministry”…I was wrong. God’s perspective is higher than mine…His view of success different than what I can imagine. One smile on a child’s face…one elderly person sensing His love…one person prayed for…one Kingdom moment experienced is enough for the angels of heaven to celebrate. Big churches, big programs, fancy buildings, and cool programs…they will all pass away. They will. If that is something that God wants here and now, that’s His business. To tell you the truth, I’ve studied large churches and small churches…why God decides to bring MORE fruit out of one ministry and not another is completely baffling to me. Essentially, every faith community I’ve seen is attempting to love and follow Jesus as they have been taught and mentored over the years as faithfully as they can…they want to do “right” with the Lord. Every faith community is “founded” with joy and anticipation of all the blessings of the Spirit over time. I know that there are those who think if you do “x” or “y” or “z”, you can get predictable outcomes…but that hasn’t been my experience and, trust me, I’ve looked for how a “hipster” can pull off a fast one on the Lord and come up with a strategy to insure “success” and I’m still confounded. No one has ever been able to conclusively prove to me that there is a one-to-one correlation between our strategies and God’s blessings. And if there was such a thing, then we would need to redefine our theology…because then it wouldn’t be us serving the Lord but vice versa and that is blasphemy.
So my days as a hipster or over…and you know what? I’m happy and at peace. I must admit though…I still battle that tendency. I still have to pray daily to “put to death” that CEO type of leader within me that thinks that I can come up with THE way to do what I THINK God wants to have happen here in my backyard…but then I get to the point where I just have to let God by God…and leave it at that. My job is to have “eyes to see and ears to hear” and a life lived as a living sacrifice to the Lord…the results? Those are HIS business!
Keys to integrated life:
A guy I'm "following" just posted this on his blog today! Good stuff to consider as you and me live our lives as Kingdom people...thanks Mike!
I'm not ready to give a review yet...truth is, I've only gotten about two chapters into the book. John's writing is crisp as usual. I've enjoyed, been blessed and challenged by John's gifts in the past. I still count a couple of his books as key readings in my own formation as the person the Spirit is 're-creating' in me. That new identity, as well as yours if you are a Jesus follower, is modeled after or, better yet, spun out of the image of our Lord and Master Himself...Jesus. That's why not only knowing about Jesus but knowing Him...knowing as much as we can about what He did, what He said, how He lived, even how He was "wired up" in his personality is key. John makes a good point in the opening of the book...we know more about the actions and teachings of Jesus than we know about who He was and is. So, delving into an "investigation" or at least a "holy imagination" based upon scripture about what Jesus was actually like as a human person is not only understandable but desirable. I'll let you know more about the book as I get into it fully...you can bank on that!
In the meantime, here's a quote I came across in another book that captured my attention as gives you (as well as me) a taste of some of the things we can learn about Jesus:
“What is therefore the task of the Christian today? Shall I answer, “faith, hope, and love”? That sounds beautiful but I would say “courage”. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature. We lack a holy rage. The recklessness that comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets…and when the lie rages across the face of the earth – a holy anger about things that are wrong in the world. To restlessly seek a recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms with the norms of the Kingdom of God. And remember that the signs of the Christian church have always been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish…but never the chameleon”. Danish Kaj Munk
I have said in many places that it is time to "de-sanitize" Jesus. We have made Him all cute, cuddly, full of syrupy love and "political correctness" when the REAL Jesus is more complex, more shocking, less safe, less unpredictable...yes, still full of grace but someone with an intensity and passion for what His purpose was in the world that it changed history. You see, how we see Jesus shapes our mission...
So, more to come...when I get done with John's book, you'll know! In the meantime, take a risk...follow the real Jesus!
I've been down this road before...in fact, I hit it often. On my 'life gps', it seems to be the number one route that I dial in as soon as the morning dawns. URGENT! Got to get everything done...got to be perfect at getting everything done...got to be perfect in everything I do...you would think that after all the years of my adult life that I would have learned my lesson. Even so, as an old friend of mine reminded me years ago (oh, he also charged me tons of money for soliciting his counsel), "the lessons in life keep repeating themselves (and keep getting bigger) until we learn from them and conquer them. So, we are on the rerun side of the "urgency" of life...now the question is, "what are 'we' going to do about it?"
Richard Rohr: Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps
Leonard Sweet: Viral: How Social Networking Is Poised to Ignite Revival
Jurgen Moltmann: The Church in the Power of the Spirit: A Contribution to Messianic Ecclesiology
Peter Rollins: Insurrection: To Believe Is Human To Doubt, Divine
By Mike Breen and Steve Cockram: Building a Dicipling Culture
Alan Hirsch: On the Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church (Exponential Series)
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