Making Disciple-Makers in the Local Church Context

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MAKING DISCIPLE-MAKERS

Making Disciple-Makers in the Local Church Context:

Analysis and Strategy for Living Way Fellowship

Peter Henderson

Advisor: Jim W. Adams

Life Pacific College

February 20, 2015

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to close the gap between knowledge and experience in the area of Christian discipleship. While many local church models of discipleship have been recognized and replicated by other churches, it remains difficult to measure the efficacy of local church discipleship programs at creating healthy, multiplying disciples. This project examines the nature of discipleship from a practitioner’s perspective and how disciples are produced in the local Christian church context. Moreover, five successful, reproducing church discipleship models are analyzed to determine which elements of their discipleship methodologies are most effective and reproducible. Finally, the findings of this study are synthesized and contextualized into a strategic application for the congregation at Living Way Fellowship in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Introduction4

Procedure9

Literature Review12

Findings22

Strategic Application38

References46

Appendix 1 – Informed Consent Form48

Appendix 2 – Preliminary Questions50

Appendix 3 – Interview Questions for Participants51

Appendix 4 – Interview Transcription: “Lucas”53

Appendix 5 – Interview Transcription: “Paul”77

Appendix 6 – Interview Transcription: “Sam”99

Appendix 7 – Interview Transcription: “Marie”104

Appendix 8 – Interview Transcription: “Andrew122

Introduction

The call to discipleship is central to the Christian life and certainly a dominant discussion within the Church (Brow, 1981). Ever since Jesus called Matthew, beckoning “Follow Me,” Christ-followers have endeavored to discover the true meaning of discipleship (Matthew 9:9, NASB). While there is no shortage of biblical teaching on the subject, there is great disagreement about the best means of developing faithful disciples in the world today. Although the vast majority of biblical scholars can agree upon the definition of “disciple” and “discipleship” as depicted and described in the New Testament, there is great debate among practitioners about how the local church develops disciples of Jesus Christ. The methods used by various Christian communities are as diverse as the adherents of the faith; every imaginable strategy has been employed, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Despite the variety of approaches to discipleship among different congregations, scholars and practitioners recognize several standard aspects of discipleship that all methodologies must address. The challenge for practitioners in local Christian congregations is to create systems that will utilize all the components of Christian discipleship to maximize the development and reproducibility of their disciples.

There is remarkable consensus about the nature of discipleship at a theoretical level, as demonstrated in the literature review. Much of this agreement comes from the way Jesus led his disciples. Jesus called his disciples to leave their old ways of living to follow him (Luke 5:10-11). He taught, empowered, and released them to certain learning tasks and then debriefed their experiences with them (Luke 9:1-10). He taught them how to do what he was doing (John 14:12) and commanded that they, in turn, reproduce themselves in others (Matthew 28:19-20). The Apostle Paul continued this practice of discipleship by sharing both the gospel of God and his own life with his disciples (1 Thessalonians 2:8) while exhorting his followers to do the same (2 Timothy 2:2). Scholars and practitioners alike agree that discipleship is the reproducible impartation of the life of Christ from one person to another. It involves many of the same elements that Jesus employed: learning and doing; following God and growing in relationship with him; teaching and discipling others. As the findings of this study will reveal, these components of discipleship are widely accepted. Although the definition of discipleship is essentially agreed upon, the best way to practice disciple-making in the local church context is the subject of great debate. Consequently, a glaring gap exists between the theory and the practice of discipleship.

Although the theory of discipleship has emerged from examining biblical texts, several fields of study engage in the discussion regarding discipleship. The theological implications of discipleship in the New Testament are indeed important, however, the focus of this study is on the practical application of reproducible discipleship models within local Christian congregations. Therefore, this paper will demonstrate an ecclesiological study using practitioners’ insights rather than presenting an exegetical study on discipleship.

Research Questions

How can practitioners bridge the gap between the theory of discipleship and the practice of making disciples in a local congregation? Once this disconnect is addressed, how can a congregation develop authentic disciples who can in turn reproduce the discipling process in other people?

Needs Assessment

There appearsto be agreement among scholars that Christians today are not being adequately discipled. The Literature Review will expose a glaring gap between knowledge and practice at the local church level. According to Brow (2008),discipleship is learning to do and learning to be while following Christ. It is a comprehensive process involving both theory and practice. Yet in many approaches to local church discipleship today, there is a fragmentation of these goals. For instance, many see discipleship as a means of leadership development, relegating the developmental process only to the leaders in a local congregation. While it is true that leaders are developed through the process of discipleship, strategies for discipleship that focus only on leadership development are incomplete. Conversely, some congregations define discipleship as spiritual formation. While spiritual formation is evidence of the progress one is making in discipleship, it does not encompass the total scope of what discipleship should be (Shirley, 2008). Some view discipleship as the natural outcome of belonging to a local congregation. While church services may contribute to one’s discipleship, they are only a small piece of the process. This fragmented conceptualization of discipleship creates inconsistent strategies of how to actually produce disciples as a holistic endeavor that involves multiple dimensions of the Christian life.

Determining the best context for the discipleship process has proven to be difficult. Shirley (2008) and Huizing (2011), among others, are convinced that discipleship is best suited for the local church environment. Unfortunately, the local Christian churches’ decreasing relevance has led to ineffective discipleship methodologies (Kinnaman & Lyons, 2007). Barna (2005) contends that local congregations are not sufficiently making disciples; which is part of the reason he believes so many Christians in the United States have stopped attending local congregations on a regular basis. Although discipleship happens at an interpersonal level, Shirley (2008) believes that it is the church’s responsibility to make disciples of all its members. Huizing (2011) is convinced that the responsibility to make disciples lies with the church and that insufficient strategies for discipleship do not negate this aspect of the church’s mission. Huizing (2011) and Shirley (2008) assert that the church is the ideal venue for discipleship, but this belief does not begin to address the church’s insufficient praxis for making disciples.

If there is a great deal of agreement about the nature of authentic discipleship, how has it become fragmented and inconsistent? Furthermore, if there is consensus about what a disciple is and who qualifies to be a disciple, why are disciples not being reproduced effectively? The problem lies within the systems at the local church level; there is a disconnect between theory and praxis. This project, then, will focus on two areas of inquiry: effective local church discipleship strategiesand the infinite reproducibility of disciple-making disciples.

Local Context

Moving from general to specific, this project will seek to determine the best methodologies for creating healthy, infinitely reproducible disciples at Living Way Fellowship (LWF). LWF is a medium-sized Foursquare church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Mounted to the wall of the sanctuary in large letters is the mission statement for the congregation: “We Make Disciple-Makers.” The vision for discipleship at LWF comes from the emphasis on reproducibility in the relationship between the Apostle Paul and Timothy; “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others as well” (2 Tim 2:2). Paul not only passes along his instructions to Timothy, but demands that he teaches them to people who will continue passing them along as well. This paradigm shapes the goal of LWF’s discipleship strategy: to create disciples who in turn make disciples.

The congregation at LWF reflects this same disconnect between knowledge and action that is seen in the broader context of American Evangelical churches. Thus, LWF also needs a comprehensive strategy for implementing infinitely reproducible discipleship into the systems of the church. The mission statement of LWF is sound, but how best should this mission actualized? The goal of this study is to discover theoretically and practically sound methodologies for reproducible discipleship that may be strategically applied to the systems of Living Way Fellowship.

Procedure

Rationale

With the goal of uncovering principles for effective, reproducible discipleship, a qualitative case study is the most appropriate means of research. The research will reflect findings from several participants, analyzed and synthesized in light of scholarly contributions to the subject of discipleship. This paper will focus on the best conclusions of scholarship regarding discipleship and the points of commonality discovered among churches with successful discipleship methodologies.

The discovery phase intends to understand all that is currently known about the problem of the gap between theory and praxis presented in this project (James, Slater, & Buckman, 2012). The nature of discipleship is paramount for determining how to integrate discipleship into the systems of a church. To this end, some critical questions will be answered in this essay: Who is a disciple? What should a disciple look like today? How do the disciplines of spiritual formation and leadership development relate to a more holistic approach to discipleship? In what context is discipleship most effective? Theological and ecclesiological literature speaks to these questions. A thorough review of relevant literature will adequately expose the gaps between theory and praxis.

The research phase will examine five Pentecostal churches whose discipleship models have been recognized for their efficacy and each of which have been reproduced by more than 90 congregations. This section will address the following questions: How do these local churches produce disciples? What elements of these discipleship strategies create faithful disciples? How do these congregations foster a culture of infinitely reproducible discipleship? The findings from the research phase will be analyzed in light of the discoveries from the literature review. Moreover, these strategies will be contextualized to the philosophy of ministry at LWF and a strategic application will present how LWF can more effectively make disciple-makers.

Participants

Determining the most effective strategies for discipleship within the local church context requires an examination of successful discipleship models. The research phase of this project involves an in-depth interview with one key leader at each of the churches. The participants and their churches have been given an alias, described below, to protect their privacy.

The five church models selected for this study maintain a great deal of commonality while providing somewhat diverse contexts. Four of the churches are Foursquare churches, one belongs to another Pentecostal movement. Three of the churches are in the United States while one is located in Africa and another in South America. Each of the churches interviewed meet important criteria to assist in this study; they have all created their own local church discipleship culture and that culture has been replicated by at least 90 other churches and pastors. These churches represent five distinct models that are being rapidly adopted and implemented by local churches all over the world.

Descriptions

Pastor “Lucas” is a district pastor at a Pentecostal mega-church in South America. As a district pastor, Lucas oversees more than 50 cell groups for the congregation. His senior pastor developed the discipleship model that is now being utilized in various renditions at 14,000 churches around the world.

Pastor “Paul” is a retired Foursquare pastor who led a medium-sized congregation on the Pacific Coast of the United States. As the senior pastor who developed his own program, Paul saw his discipleship model spread through church planting as well as through local pastors he consulted personally. Approximately 300 churches have implemented his model.

Pastor “Sam” is the leader of the Foursquare church in his African nation. As both a local church pastor and a national leader, the discipleship model that he created at his small church has been reproduced by 90 churches in Africa.

Pastor “Marie” directs the discipleship program at a Foursquare mega-church on the Pacific Coast of the United States. The program she leads has been adopted by 150 churches in the United States and many more abroad.

Pastor “Andrew” is an associate pastor of a large Foursquare church on the Pacific Coast of the United States. Over 1000 churches employ their model. A long-time member of this congregation, Andrew provides leadership for the discipleship culture in which he was discipled.

Definitions and Ethical Assurances

For the purposes of this study, congregational sizes will be described by the average weekend attendance. There are four categories used throughout this project: small church (fewer than 500), medium church (500-1000), large church (1000-3000), and mega-church (more than 3000). To maintain relative anonymity, the participating churches’ locations have been given in general terms. The two churches outside of the United States have been labeled according to their continent. The three churches in the United States have been identified by the Pacific Coast of the United States, a region including five states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Finally, each participant has consented to the guidelines of this project (Appendix 1) and a verbatim transcription of each interview is included (Appendices 4-8).

Literature Review

The purpose of this review is to investigate current understandingof Christian discipleship and to understand several scholarly attempts to contextualize discipleship today. The leading scholars in the area of Christian discipleship address both the theory of discipleship and the practical application of discipleship theories. Where does the disparity between theory and practice come from? In order to discover from where this disconnect derives, one must first examine three questions that discipleship scholars seek to answer: First, what is a disciple? Second, what is the process of discipleship? And third, in what context is discipleship best accomplished?

What is a Disciple?

The first question addressed by students of discipleship is a question of qualification — who, exactly, should be considered a disciple? There is a surprising amount of unity here. According to Hull (1990), “from the moment of spiritual birth, every Christian is a disciple” (p. 20). ‘Disciple’ is not a designation reserved exclusively for the twelve apostles: “Initially, all of Jesus’ followers were referred to as disciples” (Shirley, 2008, p. 209). Thus Shirley (2008) would contend, “everyone who expresses faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior becomes a disciple and, by implication, begins a lifelong, Spirit-led journey of growth and formation in the likeness of the One whom they follow” (p. 210).As Brow (1981) points out, “the word ‘disciple’ means a learner, someone who is learning to do something, or to be something, with the help of a teacher” (p. 20). Anyone who is following and learning from Jesus qualifies as a disciple.

What is Discipleship?

The Role of the Disciple

While the qualification for being a disciple is rather simple, the disciple does have a role in discipleship. The disciple’s role begins with learning and following. Collinson (2004) claims that if teaching is “an attempt by one person to cause another person or persons to learn,” then “discipling is a voluntary, personal relationship between two individuals, in community or alone, in which the disciple commits him or herself to learn from the other, by imitation, oral communication, and sharing in the life and work of the discipler” (p. 4). The role of the disciple, as Collinson (2004) and Brow (1981) point out, is to learn as well as to follow.

While learning is certainly a fundamental element of discipleship, many scholars are quick to point out the demarcation between disciples and students. According to Shirley (2008), “in Jesus’ time, disciples were those who were more than pupils in school, they were apprentices in the work of their master” (p. 209). Here the definition of ‘disciple’ is further refined. Shirley (2008) uses apprenticeship as an analogy for discipleship. Huizing (2011) sees a disciple’s learning technique through the lenses of leadership development; “Jesus took a band of relatively untrained individuals and within a short period had qualified them to lead his mission to change the world” (p. 334). For Huizing (2011), a disciple is a leader being identified, trained, and developed. According to Spencer (2005), the disciple’s learning style has a great deal to do with abandoning all other priorities in favor of the Kingdom of God. In a similar vein, Bonhoeffer (1959) reduces the learning methodology of a disciple to obedience; “only obedience to the call of Jesus” (p. 58).

There are several aspects of the disciple’s role — obedient follower of Christ, learner, apprentice, developing leader. It is difficult to determine which element of discipleship, if any, is more important than the others. Although many scholars emphasize different parts of the role, Hull (1990) proposes a unifying theme that may be seen through the aforementioned foci. According to Hull (1990), a disciple is one who is being intentionally trained with both accountability and a personal loving relationship. Much like Shirley’s (2008) reference to apprenticeship, Hull (1990) posits that a disciple’s activity is best described as training: “Discipling means more than developing skills, although it must include that. Training implies a prescribed course of study and a process people undergo in order to reach certain goals” (Hull, 1990, p. 32). Huizing (2011) contends that, although “the discipling method of Jesus certainly involved times of teaching, Jesus’ discipleship model should not be thought of as a strictly teacher-student model” (p. 334). In Hull’s (1990) terms, the intentionality, personal relationship, and accountability involved in discipleship differentiate a disciple from a pupil.