In her new book, E.K. Strawser reminds us that Christ-centered discipleship is accomplished through imitating Christ, not simply through the spectatorship of religious stage productions.
While the author is not opposed to public worship gatherings, she believes we need to make discipleship central (rather than the public worship service) if we want our congregants to become mature disciples of Jesus. To do so is to begin with the end in mind. As Lesslie Newbigin writes:
The task of ministry is to lead the congregation as a whole…It means equipping all the members of the congregation to understand and fulfill their several roles in this mission through their faithfulness in their daily work. It means training and equipping them to be active followers of Jesus in his assault on the principalities and powers which he has disarmed on his cross. And it means sustaining them in bearing the cost of that warfare (page 25).
The two most thought-provoking sections for me were the way she defined discipleship, and the method she recommended for instituting congregation-wide transformation:
The Definition of Discipleship:
WHAT DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT. The author argues true discipleship is not the same as the four disguises of discipleship which are: Supervision, friendship, counseling, or training.
Supervision requires the provision of structures and goals for the sake of the company without much need for personal relationship. But personal relationships are crucial to any true discipleship context. Friendship in our days typically revolves around common interests and compatible personalities, but discipleship is much more than a bond between friends.
Discipleship is also not counseling. A counselor gives advice and services to help individuals in their personal challenges and growth. But discipleship includes much more than a desire for inward transformation. Discipleship is a head, heart and hands endeavor. Christ-like formation cannot happen apart from Christ-centered mission.
And lastly, Discipleship is not simply training. The goal of the trainer is to instill in the trainee a set of specific skills in order to accomplish a specific task. But discipleship is not simply about being driven and equipped to perform a task or accomplish a goal, or complete a program. Formation is not simply about what we are doing, it is about who we are becoming, which is a never-ending process.
WHAT DISCIPLESHIP IS: Discipleship is intentionally abiding in God and living in his kingdom reality and helping others abide in God and live in his kingdom reality. That means discipleship is about formation for mission. The key to discipleship is this: “do you imitate Christ in a way that bears kingdom fruit in God’s world?” (35). If our discipleship is not tethered to real places and spaces, then it will be stunted in its application and power.
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL APPROACH TO CHANGE:
In Chapter 7, Strawser argues that growth, which often presents itself as change, is hard. In Chapter 11, she shows the three main hurdles towards change, which are the hurdle of the lack of commitment, the hurdle of complacency, and the hurdle of the calendar.
In the latter half of her book, Strawser shows how to overcome these hurdles so that we can enact positive changes in our congregations so that everything we do facilitates Christ-like discipleship rather than passive religious consumption.
In contrasting three different types of leading change within a congregational context (traditional, transitional, and transformational) the author shows how the transformational approach is superior. In order to lead our organizations in a transformational way, we need to examine three levels of congregational experience:
We explore our current assumptions. We see this by studying the community’s beliefs, habits, traditions, patterns, culture and paradigms. Assumptions help you to identify why the community does what it does.
We then explore our structures. Structures are any policies, procedures, systems, rhythms, resources and tools. Structures help you to see how the assumptions of a community are acted out in real time.
Lastly: we should examine behavior. Behavior = current practices; real-life activity; participation patterns; language; common vocabulary; what the majority of people perceive as the norm. Behavior is the “what” in what we do.
In essence, what a congregation assumes will drive its structure, which provides an environment for specific behavior. At the heart of transformational change is both assessing and challenging our assumptions because assumptions critically drive structure, which produces behavior. In order for a new plant to grow, we have to first dig deep into the soil.
The three questions church leaders can ask of their communities to begin this transformational process would be the following:
- What does the behavior of my church and community say about what is important about being a disciple of Jesus? Where does the sense of belonging and purpose overlap in our church?
- What structures are in place that support that behavior in our church?
- What underlying assumptions do we have to support this existing structure that produces this behavior?
When we courageously examine our current models of discipleship and clearly see an emerging pattern/narrative based on current behaviors dictated by current structures, we begin to see what our underlying assumptions are.
If we’re not satisfied with these assumptions, then we move into a practice that begins to help us change and grow. Identifying underlying assumptions helps us have an awareness of the need for transformation. Awareness then helps us revisit the vision, which leads to beneficial learning which will produce positive action.
Questions & Hope 