These are exciting times to be a Christian. These are exciting times for the work of discipleship and formation. The seismic changes that have happened in recent decades have resulted in significant challenges for Christianity.
Challenges for world Christianity, but especially in the Western world. One of the fundamental challenges is the challenge of formation. In an increasingly secular world how do we pass on, build up, and educate ourselves and others in the faith? I am not primarily speaking about those outside the Church, but those within it.
There was a time when Christian faith was passed on almost through a process of cultural osmosis. A cultural sense of being Christian lingers in some places but is gone or on the way out in others.
This is exciting. Why? It gives us an opportunity to revisit tried and true methods of passing on and growing in the faith. It’s also exciting because it gives us an opportunity to experiment with new methods.
Ways to Practice Discipleship and Formation:
1. Equip all to practice their faith at home.
The Shema, an ancient Jewish Prayer, from the Old Testament, states:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[ on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
– Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NRSV)
These verses picture the teachings of faith as woven into the ordinary activities of life. Weaving faith into daily life is made stronger by weekly participation in a local congregation. It is not one or the other, it is both faith at home and faith together in community.
Families praying Grace at meals. Individuals displaying symbols and wearing symbols of faith. Roommates observing the Christian year at home . All of these are part of this weaving of faith into the ordinary joys and sorrows of life. In this way faith becomes part and parcel of life, not something separate from it.
2. Encourage adults to share faith with the children in their lives.
We need to find ways to reach out to the increasing numbers of families who do not identify as Christian. Many do not identify with any historic Christian denomination or any faith at all. Before we do that or as we do, lets reach out to the children that are already in our lives.
This includes parents talking to their own children about faith. This sharing can and should also include grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, pastors, church members, and other caring adults. Children also benefit from hearing stories of faith from children older than themselves.
Seeds of faith are planted, watered, and nurtured when caring adults share their faith with the children in their lives. This need not be long and drawn out. It does not need to be a formal lesson. It could be a simple as a grandparent praying a short blessing over their grandchild at the end of a phone call.
Another example would be church members sharing with kids how God and the people of God helped them during a tough time in their lives. It could be as simple as a godparent writing a note to their godchild on the anniversary of their baptism or confirmation.
3. Engage people theologically with personal and public issues.
Most of our lives as followers of Jesus are spent outside the gathered community of the Church. Most of our lives are characterized by periods of stability and instability. Our lives include periods of achievement of crisis. Adults and older children need tools for thinking about and responding to life’s highs and lows.
They need perspectives on life’s challenges from the perspective of a thoughtful Christian faith. This includes care and compassion when people are in crisis. It should also include practical and theological education in a wide range of topics, from personal issues to public controversies.
For example, how have Christians understood suffering in the past? How should we approach suffering? What does our faith have to say about our work? What about poverty, climate change, race, sexuality, marriage, divorce, forgiveness, science, and war?
There are many faith-based resources on these and other topics. Christians are well served when their leaders and teachers give them the tools to think about various topics for themselves, using the tools of faith. This is in addition to sharing a range of Christian views on any given topic.
4. Elevate everyday discipleship for all.
Jesus’ invitation, first given to two sets of fisherman brothers, is given to you and me today by the power of the Holy Spirit:
“Come, follow me”
– Matthew 4:19
These words are not for a special few, but an invitation to all. An invitation to a life of discipleship, a life of following Jesus. A long term commitment to allow God’s spirit to weave together all the varied parts of one person’s story into a beautiful, whole.
A whole life that God weaves together with countless other lives from the past, the present, and, the future. A whole life brought together with all of life.
The Church sometimes give the impression that God is most concerned with mystics, preachers, and missionaries. God has used these kinds of disciples of Jesus in many ways. Yet, God is equally concerned with the plumber and the politician, as well as the ballerina and the businessman.
Elevating discipleship for all also means training all in the practices of discipleship: prayer, Bible reading, sabbath, spiritual friendship, service, giving, fasting, witness, and worship.
Discipleship and Formation: Beyond Programs
None of these ways requires formal Christian education programs, staff or large numbers of people (volunteers, children, or adults) to implement. A house church can implement these. A church with several hundred on a Sunday can implement these.
Your local church, whether small or large, can adopt and encourage these ideas and practices. Many denominations, publishing houses, and ministry organizations provide an abundance of resources in all these areas.
The word formation is used by many teachers to emphasize that we are not only educating people about facts, but in cooperation with the Spirit are forming ourselves and others in a way of being human.
A way rooted in the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In a secular age how do we pass on and grow in this way of faith and love? We do so with God’s help in ways tried and true, in ways new and surprising, and in ways forgotten but restored. These are indeed exciting times.
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