SimpleChurch Journal aka House Church Blog

More Thoughts on Discipleship Pathways

I wanted to look at three more writer/practitioners on the subject of discipleship.  This is a continuation of my last post.  I am not suggesting that anyone has "the definitive way to do it" (as if there is such an animal), but I am stimulated by reflecting on the different perspectives.

David Garrison

Garrison, author of Church Planting Movements, has seen simple discipleship chains provide the key to the rapid multiplication of disciples and churches.  (Simple churches themselves are also generally present in rapid church planting movements).

Garrison suggests that six basic lessons provide a discipleship foundation for new believers.  One of the six lessons is on how to be the church and start simple churches.  In this way, new believers also immediately become new church starters.

The key, however, is the way that this basic teaching is passed on.  Person A teaches Person B a basic lesson.  He then asks Person B to teach the lesson back to Person A so that Person A knows that he has grasped it.  Then, Person B takes the lesson and teaches it, in the same manner to Person C, Person D, Person E, Person F, and Person G.  Yep.  Five more people are taught the lesson and they are taught how to pass the lesson along to five more people each.  So, everything a person receives he must pass along before a next lesson is given.

Of course, discipleship in this model does not have to be limited to just six basic lessons, but you can see the focus: every person learns to become an immediate discipler as well as a disciple.

Much of Garrison’s material is available online here.

Curtis Sargeant

Curtis, former missionary to China, is also a student of Church Planting Movements.  He encourages us to consider that discipleship is not a knowledge-based process, rather it is about modeling a lifestyle of surrender and obedience.  He asserts that the reason Paul was able to leave behind growing disciples in a short amount of time is because they were in contact with a man who was “thoroughly in love with Jesus Christ, filled by the Spirit, and completely surrendered to the Lord’s control.”  Curtis contends that Paul’s lifestyle “painted an indelible picture in the minds and hearts of the new believer-leaders…”

Curtis also suggests that a simple church, with the above characteristics, will have a dynamic transformational impact just by being the church:

“A simple group in love with Christ and with each other, sharing freely with each other and with a lost world and constantly in his Word and in prayer.  ‘Together,’ discovering more each week about him and his will.  If they continue to abide (John 15) in a relationship with Christ and the Body (church), they will have everything they need.  The Holy Spirit will be their resident teacher…”

Curtis’ book is available free online here.  He asks that when quoting from his book you make reference to his website: https://www.peace.gs/.

Alan Hirsch

Hirsch, in his book “Forgotten Ways,” uses the term “action-learning discipleship.”  He suggests that we should look at the way Jesus discipled:

“As soon as they are called he takes the disciples on an adventurous journey of mission, ministry, and learning.  Straightway they are involved in proclaiming the kingdom of God, serving the poor, healing, and casting out demons.  It is active and direct disciple making in the context of mission.  And all great people movements are the same.  Even the newest convert is engaged in mission from the start; even he or she can become a spiritual hero.”

Hirsch describes his own missional training network:

“[We] host an internship, where the intern is placed in an environment where he or she is somewhat out of his or her depth.  We do this because when people are placed in a situation requiring something beyond their current repertoire of skills and gifts, they will be much more open to real learning.  It’s called jumping in at the deep end.  The vast majority of the interns’ learning is by ‘having a go’ and actually doing things.”

A good summary of Hirsh’s grasp of discipleship is his statement that “mission is the catalyzing principle of discipleship.”

The introduction to “Forgotten Ways” is available online here.

Much here to chew on!

Thoughts on Discipleship Pathways

Our last tele-conversation (previous two posts) raised the issue of “discipleship pathways.”  How do we address healthy disciple-making (spiritual formation) in the context of simple/house church?

I think this issue has much to do with how we view the process of discipleship.  If it is just information downloading (my old way of thinking), then it’s simply a matter of a well-designed program.  If, however, it is about relationship, modeling, life and lifestyle transmission, well… that is going to be a different matter altogether.

To get my own juices flowing on this subject, I decided to review some of the different perspectives and approaches to this topic that I found interesting.

Neil Cole

Neil encourages discipleship to begin in groups that are smaller than organic/house churches.  He calls these small incubators “Life Transformation Groups.”

"This is a group of two or three people who meet weekly to challenge one another to live an authentic spiritual life.  Members of these non-coed groups have a high degree of accountability to one another in how they have walked with the Lord each week, which involves mutual confession of sins as well as reading a large volume of Scripture repetitively.  LTGs are also missional, in that they actively pray for the souls of lost friends, associates, and neighbors."

These groups, as you can see, focus on accountability, Scripture (lots of Scripture reading), and actively praying for the lost.  Neil feels strongly that one cannot improve upon the Bible for curriculum and that helping people immerse themselves in Scripture provides them with the needed foundation:

"Do we really think we can improve upon God’s Word?  Why do we so often give people our own teachings and curriculum rather than Jesus’ teaching? … The helps that are available to us are not sinister or wrong, but they are also not the seed of God’s Kingdom."

I particularly agree with Neil’s desire to see Christians learn to be “self-feeding” as quickly as possible.

Neil sponsors Greenhouse Conferences and the quotes above are from his book, Organic Church.

Wayne Jacobsen

Wayne’s view of discipleship is far more fluid.  Here are some quotes from his book…

“Jesus didn’t leave us with a system he left us with his Spirit. He gave us his Spirit as a guide instead of a map. Principles alone will not satisfy your hunger. That’s why systems always promise a future revival that never comes. They cannot produce community because they are designed to keep people apart…

“Just keep in mind the simplest lesson that has been repeated countless times since Jesus was here: The more organization you bring to church life, the less life it will contain…

“That’s where religion has done the most damage. By making people dependent on its leaders, it has made God’s people passive in their own spiritual growth. We wait for others to show us how, or even just follow them in hopes that they’re getting it right. Jesus wants this relationship with you and he wants you to be an active part in that process…

“‘But can we do it on our own? Don’t we need some help?’ Marsha asked.

“Who said you’re alone? Jesus is the way to the Father. As you learn to yield to his Spirit and depend on his power, you’ll discover how to live in the fullness of his life. Yes, he’ll often use other people to encourage or equip you in that process, but the people he uses won’t let you grow dependent on them.”

The value of Jacobsen’s writings is that he challenges us to stay away from formulas and remain dependent on our relationship with the Father.

These quotes are from his book that is available free online.

More to come on this subject...

How Did the Tele-Conversation Go?

As per the previous post, we had a tele-conversation (7 of us altogether) on the future of house church.  I was very excited about the opportunity to share stories with people who are on the same journey in different parts of the world.

As is typical of “house church,” the conversation took on a life of its own.  We essentially, over the course of one hour, ended up forming a short-term, exploratory, participatory, peer-learning group.  We spent our time together getting to know one another, hearing about our house/simple church experiences, and then settling on some key issues that we wanted to explore together in future conversations (perhaps three more).

Through our time of sharing we identified the following issues as being most pertinent to us:

1. What are the discipleship/teaching pathways for people involved in the simple/organic/house church movement?
2. How can we facilitate people’s transition from institutional to organic mindset.
3. How do we develop communities that are truly missional.

We decided to “meet” together (by phone) every two weeks in order to explore each of these topics in order.  In between our phone conversations we agreed to send each other articles or resources that relate to the upcoming topic.

So, as mentioned, the phone conversation went in a slightly different direction than anticipated (a good thing).  Rather than force a specific agenda on everyone, we identified the issues that were truly important to those involved.  We are, hopefully, allowing God to lead us into future conversations that will enhance and encourage each one of us through each one of us.  It has become somewhat of a peer-learning, peer-coaching experience.

Some of you are going to ask if you can jump in on this and the answer is no and yes.  This particular group is large enough that it would not be helpful to add several new participants.  However, I am considering offering the same venue again for a second group within a few weeks, so feel free to send me an email if you are interested: rogerthoman@gmail.com.

I will also be sharing some of the resources that we share with each other and some of the content of our conversations.

“The conversation is the relationship.” Susan Scott

Experiment: a Tele-Conference Conversation

Interested in a tele-conference-conversation, with 6 to7 people, on the future of the house church movement?

Here is what I am proposing…

What: a tele-conference-conversation that will give us the opportunity to interact with others from various parts of the world with an engaging topic: the future of the house church movement.

Who: 6 or 7 people who are currently involved in simple/house/organic church.  I am looking for regular folk, like myself, who want to converse.  You do not have to have “the answers” to take part, just a desire to explore this issue with others.  First come, first served (email below).

How: We will use a Skype conference line (Vapps) which means you can call for free using Skype (no skype-out credits needed) or you can call in using a regular landline or cell phone though certain long-distance charges will apply.

When: Wednesday, April 18, 5:00 pm, United States Pacific Standard Time (one hour in length).
New York 8:00 pm, April 18
London 1:00 am, April 19
Singapore 8:00 am, April 19
Sydney 10:00 am, April 19

Why?  I believe that conversations are the most powerful tool we have for mutual learning, growth, and the development of greater insight.  God does work through his multi-faceted Body.  The benefit of a cyber-initiated tele-conversation is that we can cross-pollinate with people that we would not normally be hanging out with.

I see well-facilitated conversations among peers as a significant tool for developing vision, skills, and resources for people involved in next-generation simple churches.  This initial conversation is a learning opportunity to help me grasp some of the potential and possibilities.

Is anyone up for an experiment?  Shoot me an email at rogerthoman@gmail.com and I will provide you with more specifics.  Please reply only if you have a sincere interest and are available at the time specified.

Hirsch: From Consumerism to Missional Adventure

I am chewing on some excellent food from Alan Hirsch’s book, Forgotten Ways.  He asserts that we have cultivated a consumerist approach to Christianity and that our typical church models feed this consumer mentality.

Sound harsh?  Didn’t church-growth proponents explicitly teach us to mimic the shopping mall and apply it to the church?  In this they were sincere, but they must have been unaware of the ramifications of this approach, because in the end the medium always becomes the message.  They were unaware of the latent virus in the model itself—that of consumerism and the sins of the middle class.  Much of what can be tagged “consumerist middle class” is built on the ideals of comfort and convenience (consumerism), and of safety and security (middle class).

Hirsch goes on to present three diagrams, displaying different church shapes, and the ramifications of these shapes.

The most traditional church looks like this:

Obviously, as Hirsch points out in the diagram, there is physical space for no more that 5% of the church to be active in the gathering.  He goes on to point out that "the vast majority of the church is passive in the equation.  They are in a receptive mode and basically receive the services offered.  That is, they are basically consumptive.  They come to 'get fed.'”

As church-growth models encouraged a more contemporary approach with inspiring music and excellent preaching, churches were built looking like this:

Even so, 90% of the church is on the receiving end.  The church is still a “service provider, a vendor of religious goods and services.”

Hirsch, offering his own confession, did his best to move his church away from monological sermons to dialogical discussions.  They put couches in semicircles and pop art over the walls.  “But in the end all we had succeeded in doing was making 20 percent of the community active in ministry, while leaving about 80 percent passive and consumptive.  The result is this diagram:

Hirsch reflects on the need for the church to move out of its institutional forms in order to involve and engage every member.  But reader take note!  This book does far more than simply challenge that we simplify church or make church more organic and interactive.  Hirsch is convinced that we are missing the mark if we are not becoming truly missional people and truly missional communities:

The absolutely vital issue for newer emerging churches will be their capacity to become genuinely missional.  If they fail to make this shift, then they too will be another readjustment of Christendom.  A mere fad.

We have often asserted that house church / simple church is far more than simplifying structures, rather it is the re-awareness of what it means to be the church—dynamic followers of Jesus in every moment and situation of life.  In keeping with this, Hirsch offers a very rich description of what it means to live fully in God’s missional adventure.

More to come…