This is the second part of a series on Spiritual Formation Discipleship. The first part of the series (written a couple posts back) talked about a contemplative retreat ministry I was a part of with my friends Jim and Mary. This part introduces the concept of Spiritual Formation Discipleship that we attempted to define.
What does it mean to be a disciple and how do the principles of the Contemplative Tradition relate to discipleship? That was the first question we sought to answer. Most simply, we might initially come up with a definition that involves being a follower of Jesus. Often discipleship is defined academically, in relation to certain biblical and doctrinal knowledge. It often involves practices -- things we do. It certainly should include a theology of the Holy Spirit at work in us. Still, what is meant when we say that one is a disciple? What is the goal of being a disciple? Often people talk in broader terms of being a Christian, which involves salvation. Yet, being reconciled to God is the beginning, not the end. It certainly involves "going to heaven" and eternal life, but what of this life?
Jesus summed up the law and the prophets in the commandment to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourself (Matt 22:37-40). How does this kind of love relate to being a disciple and how does it relate to the process of making disciples?
Actually, the concept of being a disciple is quite foreign to the modern western culture. In Jesus' time, discipleship was more relational. In Jesus' time, people understood the idea of being apprenticed to a master craftsman. They understood what it mean to study under a "master" or rabbi. The biblical disciples were followers of Jesus in a very real sense. They lived and traveled with him. They, in turn, had disciples of their own.
Today, we go to school, or Sunday School. We have small groups and read books. The average person does not have disciples under them. Sure, you might say a parent disciples their child, but today that does not necessarily mean replicating the depth of spirituality that the bible speaks of when it speaks of being a disciple. In addition, the relational and authoritative aspect is often missing when we talk about discipleship. People take a class or join a small group, but that is a very controlled and limited relationship. It is possible to spend years in Sunday School and not ever visit the teacher in their home, or the teacher may never visit the student. The commitment to the group and to the teacher may not go beyond the one hour a week we spend with them, and it often does not extend more than a year.
Because the emphasis is often on subject matter and a limited number of practices such as reading the Bible, prayer, and worship, it is often assumed that once one knows these things, they only need to do them. It is assumed that if you know the key church doctrines and are attending church, and doing "what Christians do" that we have somehow arrived. We have at least arrived as far as anyone else in the church. Heaven forbid that we judge how someone has mastered their Christian faith! (I say this somewhat with my tongue in my cheek.) Besides, the average person does not make disciples, do they? We have seminary trained ministers that do that! Another assumption is that one size fits all. Or if there is more than one size, you might have one size for the average layman and another for "ministers." Yet, I suggest that a careful reading of scripture will reveal that being a disciple and making disciples is much more than what the contemporary church often makes it out to be.
I think a key to understanding discipleship is to understand the goal of life as God sees it. What is that goal? As I studied the contemplative tradition, I came to understand that the goal is much more than eternal life. It is to become transformed in the the image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18), within the context of abiding love, and that is a life long process (cf. Philipians 3:12). It is also intimately linked to the redemptive and healing work which God promised in the Old Testament (Isaiah 61:1-3, Ezekiel 36:22-32), and Jesus came to fulfill (Luke 4:18-21), and we are to carry on in partnership with God (cf. Matthew 28:18-20).
This transformational process is not something we do through our efforts. It is not something we do to others. It is something God does to us (Philipians 2:13, Galatians 3:1-3). God's transformational work is rooted and grounded in love (cf. Ephesians 3:14-21). As such, it is also relational. It involved a day by day relationship with God and with others. This is why John tells us that love is perfected as we love one another (1 John 4:11-12).
This process is not something new that the Contemplative Tradition defined, but it is something the Contemplative Tradition sought to understand and practice, and as such, it is something it preserved. Now with the help of contemporary Christians such as Richard Foster and Dallas Willard, people from many Christian traditions (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox) are rediscovering the process of spiritual formation.
As Jim, Mary, and I reflected on these things, we realized that discipleship had to be defined in broader terms. As a result, we defined Spiritual Formation Discipleship as being:
- A collection of principles and practices that help the believer in their daily walk with the Lord.
- An attempt to establish relational discipleship in today's age.
- A foundational paradigm for the Christian Life.
We realized that this is not a new concept, but rather, it is an attempt to go back to what discipleship was intended to be. We also the need to apply some boundaries to Spiritual Formation Discipleship (SFD).
- It does not try to establish foundational doctrinal knowledge. While teaching and proper doctrinal understanding is important, it is assumed that this is going on in the church. We were attempting to focus on the process of discipleship that involves being formed in to Christ. SFD certainly involves teaching, but we are assuming the a person has been established in the basics of the Christian faith.
- It does not attempt to train people for specific ministries. We understood that kind of training would take place as people participated in various forms of ministry within the church.
- It does not try to "fix" people. We understood that there is the need for a separate counseling or care ministry. However, Spiritual Formation Discipleship can be very helpful in achieving healing from the brokenness frequently found in this life.
- It does not advocate a specific lifestyle or vocation. We realized that being a Christan is something people can do in the context of all walks of life. While we drew heavily from the Contemplative Tradition, we were not advocating the cloistered monastic lifestyle.
- It does not provide a list of do's and don'ts for the believer to follow. We realized that there are certainly things a believer should do or not do, but they are only a means to an end. Also, all of our doing should be a response to our life in Christ.
- It is not a means of excercising control over other people. We are all disciples of Jesus, not men and women. Those who disciple us are only there to help us see and walk in the ways the Holy Spirit is directing us in. (More on this later when discussing Spiritual Direction.)
With this in mind, we summarized our ministry of Spiritual Formation Discipleship with the following mission vision:
To assist disciples of Jesus in abiding in the Love of God, individual and with one another, so that as the Holy Spirit works in them, they reflect Christ in the world.
This presupposes we ourselves are disciples of Jesus, and that we have a certain proficiency and understanding of what it means to be a disciple, and that we have a certain discernment of how the Holy Spirit works in people's lives.
This is all good and fine, but it does not really answer some of the questions I asked earlier. To understand more about what this looks like and how it works, we need to look at the principles and practices we defined as making up Spiritual Formation Discipleship.
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