A Model for Discipleship/Leadership

A helpful model for the development of disciples and leaders in the Body of Christ is built on the tri-perspectival framework developed by theologian John Frame.  His work shows that there are three epistemological lenses through which we view reality: Normative, Existential, and Situational. Drew Goodmanson and others have taken Frame’s work and developed a model of biblical leadership built around the classic offices of Christ as prophet, priest, and king. These roles correspond to Frame’s three epistemological lenses (see figure 1).

It is important to note that “heart” in this model has to do with the affective domain. The Scriptures actually use the word “heart” in a much broader way to refer to the seat and center of all physical and spiritual life that controls the intellect, emotions, and will. Towns (1971, 38) writes, “the heart is the central seat and organ of man's conscious life in its moral, intellectual, volitional, and emotional aspects.”  Jeremy Pierre (2016) in his book The Dynamic Heart in Daily Life, Connecting Christ to Human Experience diagrams the heart in a way that models this approach. The bottom line is that any approach to discipleship must consider the whole person, their whole heart: cognitive, affective and volitional. Many approaches focus primarily on the cognitive, the content part of discipleship. While beliefs are critical to faith, they do not operate in isolation from the whole heart.

References

Goodmanson, D. (2009, March 21). Tri-perspectival leadership [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.goodmanson.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ 
tri_pers_colors.pdf.

Pierre, J. (2016). The dynamic heart in daily life, connecting Christ to human experience. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press.

Towns, E. (1971). The meaning of heart in the New Testament. Grace Journal, 12(1), 36-45.

The Key to Renewal is Discipleship

The Great Commission as given by our Lord Jesus Christ and recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 gives the Church her divine marching orders. We are to make disciples by declaring the Gospel, incorporating new believers into the Church, and teaching them to obey the teachings of Christ as recorded in God’s Word. While we sometimes give the impression that being and making disciples is an activity for super-Christians in actuality it is not optional. All Christians are by definition disciples, followers of Christ, whose lifelong goal is to become more like Christ and who in turn use of their calling and gifts to lead and disciple others in Christ. To actualize the Great Commission in our churches we must move beyond an intellectual assent to the command and develop a culture of discipleship as well as identify specific constructs for the processes to occur (Geiger and Peck, 2016). Before we move to the practical implementation of disciple-making, we need to consider three foundational issues: The Church’s mission, a definition of disciple making, and a model for discipleship/leadership. We examined the issue of the church's mission in a previous post (see January 4, 2014). In our next two posts, we will discuss a definition of disciple making and propose a model for discipleship/leadership.

Where is Our Sense of Urgency?

After reading a recent post by Trevin Wax entitled "Do You Have A Sense of Urgency?",  I was moved to look at the full quote from Kotter's book. Here it is:

"What is the single biggest error people make when they try to change? After reflection, I decided the answer was that they did not create a high enough sense of urgency among enough people to set the stage for making a challenging leap into a new direction."

As someone who has pastored military congregations where you usually only have a few years to make an impact I can testify that Kotter's insight is correct. Where is the sense of urgency in the local church? Just a rhetorical question. I don't expect an answer, although I do suspect that Jesus does.

What is the Mission of the Church?

The term “missional” has become very popular in evangelical circles in recent years and the subject of some debate. As a former military officer I understand the concept of mission, and Jesus Christ certainly entrusted the Church with a clear mission.  However, I do have a problem with the second and third order effects of the theology that has been associated with some elements of the so-called "missional movement" such as a loose commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and a false dichotomy between narrative and truth. So just what is the mission of the Church? I like the definition given by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert in their book, “What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission":

The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus Christ now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.

What Is the Gospel?

A good starting point for us in our consideration of renewing the church is to reflect on the definition of the Gospel. Pastor and blogger Trevin Wax proposes a conceptual framework for the Gospel that he likens to a three-legged stool. One leg of the stool is the Gospel story which he describes as the overarching grand narrative found in the Scriptures that takes us from creation to new creation, climaxing with the death and resurrection of Jesus at the center. The second leg of the stool is the Gospel Announcement that centers on what Jesus has done to reconcile us to God through his incarnation, life, death and resurrection. This is probably what most of us think of when we think of "the term Gospel. The third and final leg of the stool is the Gospel Community. Pastor Wax writes:

"The third leg of the stool is the gospel community.Our response to the gospel announcement (repentance and faith) is not a one-time event, but a lifelong expression of the gratitude that wells up from the bottom of our hearts and overflows into love for God and his beloved community. We are shaped by the gospel into the kind of people who herald the grace of God and spread the news of Jesus Christ. God has commissioned the church to be the community that embodies the message of the gospel. Through our corporate life together, we "obey the gospel" by living according to the truth of the message that Jesus Christ is our Savior nad the Lord of the world."

He also collected a number of Gospel definitions that you may find helpful in your own reflections on the various ways in which we understand the complex idea of the Gospel.  

Renewal Starts with the Gospel

As someone who has spent a great deal of time studying and teaching leadership, I understand the value of good analysis and planning. Developing a philosophy of ministry, establishing a biblically based vision, and developing solid leaders are all valuable. While doing these things may help you grow an organization they do not guarantee a church that faithfully fulfills the call of winning people to Christ and making disciples. It seems like a truism but renewing the church starts with the gospel. A Christ honoring church is centered on the gospel of grace.

A Long Time Coming

In a fallen world all organisms pass through a lifecycle of birth, growth, decline and death. In biological organisms the length of this cycle is clearly described in terms of average life spans. What about non-biological entities? Are they subject to the same type of cycle? Is it inevitable for organizations to undergo a similar pattern of growth and decline? Is the visible, local manifestation of the Church subject to the same cycle? In the Prefactory to his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Reformer John Calvin suggests that from time to time God may allow the visible manifestation of the invisible, universal church to decline to the point of not being visible. We certainly see that in both the Scriptures and church history. The seven churches of Asia Minor in the book of Revelation no longer exist as discrete entities and most of us have seen churches close their doors as a result of a slow decline or sudden conflict. Local churches have life spans. Those that have long life spans seem to be able to remain faithful to their mission.   While there are certainly many external and internal factors that may contribute to a local churches life span, primary among them must be her ability to remain faithful to her God-given mission of making disciples through evangelism and nurturing believers through the preaching and teaching of the Word. The purpose of this blog (which has been a long time coming) is to humbly examine together how we can renew the local church in her mission to reach this generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.