mdna - approaches to disciple-making
We are exploring the mDNA component -disciple-making or discipleship from Alan Hirsch’s forthcoming book and how it applies to Northern Community. The other posts in the mDNA series are here
Approaches to disciple-making
The church has used a number of approaches to disciple-making in the past, which Northern may be able to learn from and adapt to improve our discipleship process. Some of these approaches are historical from as far back as the early church, and others are characteristic of movements which have had great impact on history. I will also examine recent examples of disciple-making approaches such as Alpha, small groups and baptismal classes as well as approaches like CMA Life Transformation Groups, religious orders, shapes, and spiritual disciplines.
Not all of these approaches are appropriate or adaptable for a post-christendom and post-modern missional context. Some raise the bar so high that they would only interest a few, whereas other approaches involve retreating from the world to study and reflect, where only a few have this monastic calling. In addition, other discipleship approaches have orientated around the point of baptism or public declaration of faith, and may need to be adapted to apply in a more long term sense. Even though some of these approaches may not be transferable to our context, it is important to review each and see what principles can be gleaned from each.
Early Church catechisms
The early church was very intentional in its approach to discipleship. In the face of extreme persecution, when people feared for their lives for professing a Christian faith, the early church experienced the loss of people who initially converted to Christianity. In order to counter this, prior to baptism, candidates would be instructed through an induction process that was intended to convey the faith fundamentals. The intention was to provide enough teaching that people would understand the cause they were intending to join.
Ann Wilkinson-Hayes bases the following on Alan Kreider: Conversion and Christendom – An Anabaptist Perspective.
During catechism the candidate needed to withstand an initial scrutiny of his motivation, his marital status, and his work to establish whether “he was capable of hearing the word.” The church’s leaders were convinced that people who did certain kinds of things - sculptors who made idols, soldiers who killed - were unable to understand the church’s message and to fit into the extraordinary community that they were seeking to join. For a considerable time - up to three years in the Apostolic Tradition, up to five years in Spain (Canons of Elvira 11) - the candidate, accompanied by the sponsor, would every morning go to a catechetical session. In these sessions they were taught the narratives of the Christian tradition; they also were taught how Christians were to behave. At this stage, behavioural change was the primary emphasis; the catechumens were being rehabituated to fit in with the values of the Christian community. They might move beyond the catechumenate only when their sponsors had borne testimony to them in a second scrutiny. Have they been willing to change their lifestyle and priorities?
The apostolic tradition emphasises this change of lifestyle and priorities when it instructs:
Have they lived good lives when they were catechumens? Have they honoured the widows? Have they honoured the sick? Have they done every kind of good work? (Apostolic Tradition 21)
The characteristics of the catechism approach are marked by its intentionality, depth and length. It differs markedly from the common approach in established Churches of Christ which comprises discipleship classes lasting around six weeks leading up to the baptism of an adult. It is a reminder that at Northern we need to become more intentional about our approaches to new members of the faith as well as those who have traveled for a longer time. Many people who have been in the church for a long time, even all their lives have not been exposed to in depth, intentional approach to discipleship.