Note: This has now been finished. This is the link to Part One
Discipling According to …
What does discipling mean? It is not unique to the ICoC at all. The Navigators use this terminology and Mark Dever uses the term as a part of his Nine Marks of a Healthy Church ministry. It even appears in many baptist churches and in the Shepherding Movement amongst charasmatic churches. With so many variations, it presents a problem as the word discipling means different things to each group.
Discipling in the Nine Marks tradition is focused on maturity and growth of a Christian. The methodology involves finding someone to ‘disciple’ and someone to ‘disciple’ you, then meeting with them regularly to discuss their goals for spiritual growth and address sin. There are cautions against overdependence and correcting in love. Oddly enough, the inital relationship can be between two people in different churches, but they may later decide to worship together, etc. The most common vehicle recommended is reading a book together and discussing a chapter at time.
Discipling in the Navigators tradition was originally designed to help an individual college student grow through weekly meetings. At these meetings, personal Bible Study was discussed as well as evangelism. Talks tended to be topical studies intended to teach the student and eventually lead them to maturity. After certain topics were covered, the weekly meetings become a chance to discuss person Bible Study about all kinds of topics and books.
Discipling in the ICC tradition was intended to fulfill the ‘one another’ passages found throughout the new testament. At Crossroads, members were chose a ‘buddy’ called a prayer partner to pray with on a weekly basis. As the ICC evolved, these folks were called ‘discipling partners’, but were to be assigned by the evangelists and elders of the local church. The older Christian was instructed to give direction to the younger and they were expected to have daily contact. As churches grew, discipling partners were reassigned periodically, usually every six months. The methodology employed varied from member to member, but in general, members were expected to confess all their sin to their discipleship partner, pray together, discuss evangelism and personal growth. In time, discipleship partners were given a measure of authority that varied from church to church.
All three groups use the term ‘discipling’ but it means vastly different things in the three groups. This is the inherent danger in coining a word without defining it. If I say that I believe in discipling, do I mean the old ICC way? the Navigators way? The Mark Dever way? What exactly do I believe? This series of articles began with the question, “Is discipling biblical?” but turned into something more involved than I thought it would be. Fortunately, the Scriptures show some commonalities to the three approaches.
Goals in Common
All three styles show a desire to help the individual Christian to mature. There’s good reason for this as maturity was expected in the early church. Heb 5:11-14 addresses a concern in the receipients of the letter that there should be more (in number) mature Christians, but the fundamental truths need to be explained again to them. 1Cor 3:1-2 addresses the Corinthian church saying that he started out with simple things, but they are still not ready for mature topics. Later, Peter admonishes the recipients of his letter by urging them to crave spiritual food, i.e. maturity (1Peter 2:2-3). Maturity is normal and should be desired. Regardless of the methodology involved, it is necessary to help new Christians mature.
Two of the three styles are based on the idea that dealing with sin is necessary for growth. The methods are different in the Nine Marks way and the ICC way, but the underlying goal is the same. Romans 6 talks this in some detail. Since we have been raised to a new life, we should no longer offer our bodies to sin. In short, “sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace”, Rom 6:14. There are a few instances of dealing with sin in the New Testament. One, is Paul rebuking Peter because he was being influenced by the Judaizers in Gal 2:11-15. Two more are Matt 18:15-19 and James 5:13-16. In both cases, it proscribes the sinner and the one sinned against working things out. In Matthew, you find the person that sinned against you. In James, you confess your sin to the one you sinned against. Sins committed by an elder require a public rebuke so that others may take warning (2 Tim 5:20), but in general a leader should treat people as his own family (2 Tim 5:1-3).
Dealing with sin can be a thorny issue, but outside of publicly rebuking elders for their sin, no methodology is given, at least not in detail. (One interesting question would be how did the Ethiopian Eunech deal with his sin, he was the only Christian in Ethiopia for a time.) Again, there are general principles, but no real established way of applying those principles. The search for the ‘perfect’ methodology is outside the scope, but suffice it to say that throughout history, churches have required confession to a minister on a regular basis, small groups called ‘collegia pietatis’ were formed to help each other, individuals have inflicted pain to themselves, and others have given over all authority to ‘spritual directors’. Recently, many churches use small groups, discipleship partners, accountability partners and designated leaders that serve as a covering for their lives. Most of these practices began with good intentions and are inherently okay.
To summarize, it appears that the common goals of discipling are to help an individual Christian mature in their faith, grow to be more like Christ, and deal with their sin. In other churches, the word discipleship has been coined to explain these concepts as well. Whatever word we use is not as important as knowing what we mean when we use it. I truly believe that the words we use shape what we believe. I want to use a different word because the ICC historically meant more than this when using the word ‘discipling’. Even today, what is called discipling in one place is very different from what is called discipling in another place. This is not a quibbling over words, but an effort to understand what God expects without the historical assumptions of my church past (ICC and before).
Unique Goals of the ICC
The ICC is unique in their prayer partner or discipling partner or whatever-name-is-currently-in-vouge partner, was expected to be the primary vehicle to express the ‘one another’ passages. Outside of the one-on-one relationship, members were assigned to a small group in order to live out these passages as well. It wasn’t discouraged to live out the ‘one another’ passages in the lives of members outside the small group, but at times it became laregely impractical due to various church events and other time constraints. (However, I do not believe that this was an intended effect.)
This makes ICC congregations distinctive as their search for the meaning of discipleship begins with the question, “How do we fulfill the one-another passages?” It is odd that the first question isn’t, “How do we become more like Jesus?” or “How do we teach young Christians the basic truths?” or “How can we cultivate maturity?” This is not intended as a criticism, it is an honest question. If the goals of discipling are to help an individual Christian mature in their faith, grow to be more like Christ, and deal with their sin, why would we arbitrarily start with the ‘one-another’ passages? Personally, I believe that this is because it is easier to measure results. With these passages, it is easier to say, “Have I done “x” today?” rather than ask, “How can I add to my faith or show brotherly kindness?” (2 Peter 1:5-8) It was my experience that the number of “hospitalities” was added to the list of accountable items and I believe that had we continued, the list would have grown.
Unique Goals of the Parachurch Groups
Campus groups like the Navigators, and even Campus Crusade, are unique in that their methods are geared toward college students. An unstated goal was to keep the group together. These groups are parachurch groups meaning that not all participants go to the same church, though they all belong to this campus group. As such, a main concerns with discipling are “How can we bring everyone together?” and “How can every member get good, healthy discipling?” Again, this seems odd as I understand unity as a result and not a method. In any case, the result has been that there have been times where the method has become more important than what was being taught. Campus Crusade used individual discipleship partners for some time since their inception, but one of the leaders in 1987 wrote that this should be discontinued for various reasons. The result has been a search for a good method that meets the two main conerns and various methods have been tried with varying success.
Historically, parachurch groups also have issues with the various churches that their members attend on Sunday. There is a tension between trying to be a part of this group AND be a part of a local church. The parachurch group doesn’t want to be a church, but the member is treated very differently in both places. Problems arise when members wonder about the spiritual health of others in their local group. This happened with John Wesley and his college groups. Members of the collegias pietatis began to question the spiritual health of the various churches and were eventually forced out. Naturally, this led to them meeting together in their own church, and even sparked a great crusade. This is all part of the history of the Methodist church and is treated in detail in their manual of doctrine.
Specifically, Campus Crusade about 20 to 30 years ago specifically did not want to be church to college students. They encouraged members to find a local church and be an active part of it. However, as tensions have grown, it is not unusual for Campus Crusade to have Sunday worship services on campus. Campus Crusade has also grown in the ministries it sponsors such as Focus on the Family. After all, if Campus Crusade is church for you, where do you go when you graduate? As CC’ers get older, more ministeries are bound to be created. In light of Methodist history, it wouldn’t surprise me if they became their own church, if they haven’t done so already.
I mention this because I believe that discipleship is a matter for the local church. It’s fine to coordinate efforts on college campuses to meet spiritual needs. This prevents all kinds of church fights when the real enemy is Satan. Think about it, if I am being taught to be more like Jesus as a part of a separate group like CC or the Promise Keepers, why do I go to my local church? The real work of being a Christian is being done outside the local church. It is difficult to spread attention and energy between a local church and a group doing the work of a church.
A good example of how parachurch groups can work can be seen by Stadia or Let’s Talk or even the Purpose Driven(tm) ministries. All three exist outside the local church, but each one work with the local church to help them fulfill their purposes better. Stadia brings together people that wish to plant a church and trains them in the practicals. They are also an objective voice that can help you decide if you have what it takes to plant a church somewhere. Let’s Talk ministries coordinate world evangelism within your local church and help you get started. Rick Warren’s enterprise makes the local church think about what they want to do and how they will do it. In all three cases, they exist outside the local church as an effective means to help meet the needs of the local church without taking over.
Unique Goals of Nine Marks and Similar Programs
Nine Marks and Purpose Driven(tm) both began as local church solutions offered to any other local church for help. As such, they are unique in that they address discipleship as a part of being in a healthy church. This leads to the main question of “How does our church handle discipleship?” This holistic approach requires more time and effort being put into addressessing specific needs and can produce very healthy ways to help members of the local church grow. In both programs specifically, Discipleship is considered a lifetime goal for each member. However, the context for discipleship is the local church (moreso in Purpose Driven(tm) than Nine Marks). This presents an issue in situations where the local church leadership may be tempted to adopt a one-size-fits-all appraoch. This can be seen in churches where the method is so well-defined, that there is little room for individual needs. I’ve seen places where discipleship is attending a series of classes as a prerequisite to being in a small group and vice versa. Some people need one-on-one attention. Others do not do well in a classroom setting at all. Practically, I think very few churches really make themselves so rigid that the procedure is more important than the person. However, it is something to keep in mind in order to help someone mature in Christ. Since we all start in different places, there needs to be flexibility to address each person at the point of their need, not an arbirtary starting line.
My Experiences Lately
Shortly after HKL(tm), I began to fall in love with a woman in Minnesota. As was my custom, I asked other Christians for advice. What I found, however, was that no one wanted to say anything that would hurt my feelings. Finally, one person was brave enough to tell me what they thought and I greatly appreciated it.
It was frustrating that when I asked, “What do YOU think?” that the answer was, “whatever you want.” It hurt that I asked for another person’s thoughts, but they were unwilling to share them. One person was my minister. I asked him a specific question three times. On the third time, I discovered a way to get him to share his perspective.
I confessed that I was tempted to choke him.
That got his attention long enough for me to explain that I was frustrated and angry at him. I wanted to know his perspective because I am aware that the right course of action is not determined by my strength of conviction. I trusted him enough to hear whatever he would say, and it felt like a violation of that trust, that he wouldn’t be honest with me. However, I acknowledged that I was hurt deeply by my past, so I thanked him for his love and concern for my heart that I wouldn’t become embittered. We then spoke honestly and affirmed our relationship again. Then he finally told me what he thought.
Oddly enough, I found myself doing the same thing with others. I regret that I may not have understood their frustration at my non-committal ‘advice’. I truly regret that, and I hope that I have corrected that with every individual I frustrated. If not, write me.
So What Do You Call Discipling, Discipleship, Mentoring or Whatever?
I call it maturity because of Hebrews, being able to discern the will of God, dealing with sin is maturity. I also tend to call it discipleship because that term is more common, though it can be vague at times. I do not call it discipling because my church has its roots in a church where this term did not match the biblical concept. I avoid calling it mentoring, because it implies a one-on-one methodology. I certainly do not call it shepherding, because I believe that is a role of leaders and elders, not every member. At this point, though, what it is called is not as important as understanding what it means. I strongly believe that terminology determines theology, so I believe that the use of the word ‘discipling’ should stop. No, I do not believe in Poltical Correctness. PC is concerned with finding the least offensive term, this is about defining what maturity or discipleship means. Thinking about what to call it is only my way of wrestling with what discipleship or maturity is all about. You may find a different way more helpful to you.
The Conclusion of the Matter
Disciple is a noun and I want to be one. Maturity is a noun and I want to pursue it. There are many things that I can DO (evangelize, correct, train, pray, believe, love, hope, exercise my faith) but I have learned that Christianity is not a matter of what I do, but a matter of who I am.
As a local church, my church needs to think about how to help members mature in Christ. We need to think about doctrine, but also think about what is going to help the church as a whole and each member individually. As my long post demonstrates, it is possible to overthink this. The heart of the matter is to take care of people, to help them. The practical method used is not as important.
To this end, the method I am proposing is incorporate Bible studies into our “Study Series” that address the needs of maturing Christians. In other words, becoming a Christian is seen as a starting point, not the destination. There are guided studies on Assurance of Salvation, Ways to Study the Bible, How to Find Your Gifts, Meeting Needs in the Community, etc. This is not a perfect solution; the main danger is that this could be formed into a handbook and the handbook becomes the Word of God instead of the Bible. However, for what is needed at this time, it would be good to go in this direction. It reinforces the point that we should take care of one another as well as teach people to obey everything Jesus commanded.