Discipleship Challenge

Reflections from Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden

Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden provides some challenging reading.  He focuses on the failure of churches (particularly in the West) to disciple people, and poses the question if we had three years left in our ministerial post, what could we do to ensure that discipleship continues once we depart?  He looks at the example of Jesus, and also Paul.  Jesus spent three years teaching and training his disciples for the task of ministry.  Greg argues that most of our discipleship programs are ineffective, and that we expect people to be discipled by listening to sermons, or attending meetings.  He argues that our understanding of ministry is that the vicar/minister is there to provide pastoral care to the church, and to disciple the congregation, but it limits the effectiveness of the church.  Greg argues that the most effective form of discipleship is in groups of three people, over a period of a year or two, where close relationships can be formed, and where people can hold one another accountable.  He believes this is the primary ministerial calling and responsibility of the clergy, to be discipling a couple of people at a time, who then in turn will disciple others.  

Greg gives this challenge in his book: 

Here is a challenge to all pastors and Christian leaders.  Where are the men and women in whom we are multiplying ourselves so that ministry carries on long after we have gone?  How would your minister be different if you placed the highest priority on selecting, motivating and training lay leaders that could carry on as much as possible the mission of the parish after you were gone?  Take a moment to evaluate how your ministry would be different if you made a few the priority, as Jesus did.  What if you adopted Jesus' model of training a few... to the point where their ministry was not reliant upon you?  How would the way you spend your time change?  How would this affect your weekly schedule?  What would you have to give up doing in order to train people?  What skills would you have to acquire that are not currently part of your repertoire?  

Jesus employed an empowerment model of servant leadership and training.  Whereas pastors and ministry leaders today tend to be satisfied in having people become dependent upon their teaching and care, Jesus wanted self-initiating, reproducing, fully devoted followers.  Today's pastor often looks at the church as the context in which he or she can minister while gathering a congregation as the audience.  Jesus, by contrast, through that multiplication of ministry in a chosen few was the measurement of success.  I'm sorry to say that what Coleman prophetically wrote in 1963 is still largely true: 'Jesus' plan has not been disavowed; it has been ignored.' (Coleman, Master Plan of Evangelism, page 112).  If we want to see self initiating, reproducing, fully devoted followers be the mark of our ministry, we must adopt Jesus' method of investing in a few as the foundation upon which to build our ministry. (Transforming Discipleship, pages 97-98)

I find Greg Ogden's book very challenging, and it is making me reflect on my priorities as a minister, it's worth getting and reading for yourself.  My question is what do others think about what Greg writes?  Have you invested on trying to disciple just a few people, in the hope that they will then go onto disciple others?  Please do comment.

Transforming Discipleship

Notes from 'Transforming Discipleship' by Greg Ogden

There has been a real emphasis on church growth, but not enough emphasis on discipleship.  Chuck Colson said the church is 3,000 miles wide and an inch deep.  Discipleship is the churches key priority.  The superficiality in discipleship comes into startling focus when we observe the incongruity between the numbers of people who profess faith in Jesus, and the lack of impact on the moral and spiritual climate of our times.  

Cal Thomas writes, "The problem in our culture... isn't the abortionists.  It isn't the pornographers or drug dealers or criminals.   It is the undisciplined, undiscipled, disobedient, and Biblically ignorant Church of Jesus Christ." (Christianity Today, April 25 1994).

There are seven marks of discipleship in the Bible:

1 Proactive ministers

The Scriptures picture the church as full of proactive ministers, but the reality is that the majority of church members are passive recipients.  The NT picture of the church is an every-member ministry, yet in most churches a 80/20 rule applies, e.g. in a typical church 20% of the congregation do the work, whilst 80% are consumers of their efforts.

We often attend worship with a reviewers mentality - worshippers see it as the responsibility of those 'on stage' to provide an engaging, meaningful and entertaining show. We come as passive recipients not active participants.  

2 A disciplined way of life

The Scriptures portray the followers of Jesus as engaged in a disciplined way of life.  

Athletes put countless hours of practice into honing their skills, and the NT uses this imagine in relation to the Christian life.  "Athletes exercise self control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one." (1 Corinthians 9:25)

Studies show that only one in six adults who attend Christian worship services is involved in a group or relational process designed to help them grow spiritually.  

3 Discipleship affects all of life

The Scriptures picture discipleship as affecting all spheres of life; the reality is that many believers have relegated faith to the personal, private realm.  

Greg Ogden writes that for the Christian all life should comes under the authority of Jesus Christ.  "We are a kingdom people, which means that Jesus is Lord in our hearts, homes and workplaces; our attitudes, thoughts and desires; our relationships and moral decisions; our political convictions and social conscience.  In every area of our interior life, personal relationships or social involvement, we seek to know and live the mind and will of God."

However for many Christians there is a disconnect between seeing ourselves as representatives of the kingdom of God, and in what we spend most of our time doing - our jobs.  

4 A countercultural force

The Scriptures picture the Christian community as a countercultural force; the reality is that we see isolated individuals whose lifestyle and values are not much different from those of the unchurched.  

5 An essential chosen organism

The Scriptures picture the church as an essential, chosen organism in whom Christ dwells; the reality is that people view the church as an optional institution unnecessary for discipleship.

The church of Jesus Christ is nothing less than his corporate replacement on earth.  Jesus continues his incarnation by dwelling in his people. Ray Stedman writes "The life of Jesus is still being manifest among people, but now no longer through an individual physical body, limited to one place on earth, but through a complex, corporate body called the church."  The church IS the body of Christ, there place where Christ dwells.  Therefore the church is central to God's plan of salvation.  To be a follower of Christ is to understand that there is no such thing as solo discipleship.

6 Biblically informed people

The Scriptures picture believers as biblically informed people whose lives are founded on revealed truth; the reality is that most believers are biblically ignorant people whose lives are a syncretistic compromise.  

Many Christians are ignorant about the content and central teaching of Scripture.  

7 People who share their faith

The Scriptures picture all believers as those who share the story of their faith in Christ with others; the reality is we are an intimidated people who shrink from personal witness.  The question we need to ask ourselves is: is our experience of the love and joy of Jesus worth transmitting to others?

The Challenge

Barna writes: "Christianity would be incredibly influential in our culture if Christians consistently lived their faith.  Most non Christians don't read the Bible, so they judge Christianity by the lives of the Christians they see.  The problem is that millions of Christians don't live like Christians - and that's partially because they don't know what they believe and therefore cannot apply appropriate scriptural values to their lives." (Barna Research Online, Setpember 25, 2000, www.barna.org)