Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Liberty University

REFLECTIONS ON "THE BIBLICAL MODEL" FOR DISCIPLESHIP

Submitted to Dr. Allan England in partial completion of course requirements for DSMN 500 Discipleship Ministries

Elke Speliopoulos Downingtown, PA June 12, 2011

Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4 Processes Utilized by Paul .......................................................................................................... 4 Processes for Learning ................................................................................................................ 5 Methods, Materials, Programs Utilized in Today's Churches ....................................................... 8 Resources for Learning ............................................................................................................... 9 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 10 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 12

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Introduction As research has shown, processes for learning are extremely multifaceted and involved. Humans in themselves are the reason for this complexity as they are innately complex beings. Not for naught does the Bible tell us we were created in the image of God. Research thus only confirms what Scripture already conveyed: every aspect of Gods creation in man needs to be addressed to successfully convey learning. In this paper, both the processes utilized by Paul and processes described by scholars are discussed and are held against the light of reality in todays churches and what would be a preferred scenario. Processes Utilized by Paul In Ephesians, Paul writes, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in meput it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9, ESV) Paul takes discipleship very serious. He exhorts, encourages, stimulates, promotes and triggers his disciples by teaching them to look at both Jesus and his example. Paul points them to both the past (their experience) and the future (their hope in Jesus). When Mitchell summarizes this to 1) Motivating, 2) Communicating, 3) Inspiring, 4) Elevating, and 5) Activating1, he is simply creating a formula for learning from the example of Paul. Or as Solomon might have said, What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9, ESV) Having said this, much can be learned from both Mitchell and other scholars on the mechanics of how students (disciples) learn.

Michael R. Mitchell, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class Education in the Church, School, and Home (Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2010), 202.

Processes for Learning Younts work Created to Learn discusses the Disciplers Model of learning and describes it as having two foundational layers, the left foundation representing the Bible, with its call to personal commitment to Christ and His Church, and thus demanding that any learning must be built upon the sure foundation of Gods Word.2 The right foundation represents the need of the people (or learners). Yount gives the example of Jesus inviting Zacchaeus to dinner when it was apparent he was lonely. Only when Zacchaeus relational need was met was he able to listen to Jesus.3 Yount continues to describe the Christian Teachers Triad, resting on these foundational layers. The reasoning behind or baseline for this triad becomes apparent by observing what it is made up of: what a person thinks (thinking), how a person feels (feeling), and what a person does (doing). With humans often being prone to intellectualism (the negative of thinking), emotionalism (feeling), and burnout (doing), the teacher faces a dilemma. What the Christian Teachers Triad then represents are the counteracting forces that Jesus modeled: that of Prophet, Priest and King.4 In the teacher, this then expresses itself by offering concepts rather than words, questions rather than answers and problems rather than reasons, and finally examples rather than facts (the Prophet aspect) in order to challenge the learner to work towards learning on their own.5 In the Priest aspect, the teacher utilizes an authentic approach to teaching, such as sharing personal experiences vs. rehearsed stories, or allowing a student to earn the right to share William R. Yount,Created to Learn: A Christian Teacher's Introduction to Educational Psychology (Nashville, TN: Broadman& Holman, 1996), 4.
3 4 5 2

Ibid., 7. Ibid., 256. Ibid., 257-59.

rather than to be put on the spot. Accepting a student rather than judging him, allowing humor to be part of the experience rather than insisting on solemnity, and generating trust relationships rather than fostering feelings of guilt open up the teaching experience to reap rich results.6 Finally, in the King aspect, the teacher challenges teachers to engage learners in thinking through concepts, as well as the implications from Scripture. Additionally, a student will be brought to a point where he values the truths found in Scripture and understands the implications of biblical thinking. Finally, a teacher will give the student assignments to ensure that the concepts are processed throughout the time away from the teacher. Ultimately the capstone in Younts model is Growth growth in Christ. Yount concludes that the Holy Spirit forms the circle around this entire Disciplers Model, representing the infilling power of the Holy Spirit, which enables a student to grow in Christ. Mitchell praises this biblical approach to learning, but critiques Younts model by pointing out two elements he sees missing from the model: the involvement of the body and its senses and the lack of inclusion of non-biblical sources for message transmission, which he deems important in other areas of learning than biblical studies.7 Mitchell himself promotes a metamodel for teaching and learning based on Proverbs 2, incorporating a student's primary desire to want to participate in learning and his engaging in active listening and receiving of the message, which the teacher encourages through sensory stimulation. A student's reflective listening, thinking through and making choices allows him to expand his knowledge. In this mode, the teacher can then promote even further learning and imparting of wisdom when he challenges the learning to new levels by asking probing questions.
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Ibid., 259-63. Mitchell, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples, 127-28.

The ultimate test of the "success" of this approach is when the student is a "doer of the word", when actual life change has occurred.8 Gnanakan discusses four basic dimensions of learning that complement what Yount proposes, 1. of God. Theological education must be committed to the imparting of the knowledge

2. Theological education must demonstrate a commitment to build people to reach people. 3. Theological education must be concerned for the building of values. 4. Theological education must be concerned for relevance.9 However, Gnanaken adds the topic of relevance here: how does the content conveyed become something the student simply cannot live without because it affects his daily life? This is something that needs to addressed, as much teaching can convey information, but it may not carry with it life-altering applicability. Fahlbusch and Bromiley stipulate that adults learn in the same manner as children and young people, but they do so for different reasons and under different conditions. Adults are the ones who determine the when, where and why of how or if they will learn. In addition, adults learn based on their daily living from specific situations, which highlight the need for learning and which build on the riches of their life experience.10 Wanak says that learning is normative for the Christian life as the experience of God and his ways. He states, Effective church and seminary education incorporates experience into the learning process by equipping people to use Scripture in making sense of their lives. It teaches them to be sensitive to the voice of God and to his actions in the world. It nurtures
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Ibid., 149.

Ken R. Gnanakan, Accreditation and Renewal, in World Evangelical Fellowship, Evangelical Review of Theology: Volume 19, electronic ed. , Logos Library System; Evangelical Review of Theology (Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Paternoster Periodicals, 2000), 279-80. Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999-2003), 681.
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8 spiritual bonding with Christ and his people, encourages meditation on the text of Scripture and reflection on our context. It cannot be indoctrinational, but always incarnates the love of Christ and the ways of God.11 Finally, Barna investigated various models of learning and reached the conclusion that the most successful model for churches (what he calls the best model or supermodel) is one in which the senior pastor is a true advocate of the making of disciples, and where church membership is limited to those who are willing to submit themselves to participate in meaningful disciple-making. In addition, this is not a separate program, but rather all ministries actively participate, and the number of actual programs is limited to focus on discipleship. Finally, all teaching throughout all age groups is coordinated, and the church mission statement is not stagnant, but rather experiences an annual refresh to align on goals and ministry outcomes.12 Methods, Materials, Programs Utilized in Today's Churches Typically in churches today aspects of the above described approaches are applied. This may be as little as the offering of a Vacation Bible School and a Wednesday evening womens Bible study, or it may be as involved as starting with a mission statement, and then cascading the teaching from the pulpit through spiritual formation classes down to childrens classes and small groups meeting outside of the church. Teaching materials range from the low-tech fill-out-the-blank bulletin insert for the sermon to more modern PowerPoints shown in order to illustrate points or to showcase biblical sites all the way to online biblical education offered via the internet. While this in and of itself is good, not many of those devising programs may have thought through the complexities of human learning or the spiritual ramifications of teaching Lee Wanak, Learning as the Experience of God in World Evangelical Fellowship, Evangelical Review of Theology: Volume 28 (Carlisle, Cumbria: Paternoster Periodicals, 2004). George Barna, Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001), 158.
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biblical truths without a regard to the concepts contained in the Disciplers Model of the Prophet, Priest and King role a teacher can and should play in the life of disciples. Resources for Learning Based on personal experience and having taught both womens Bible study and a mixed adult spiritual formation class, the most common resources used are printed books (bible study guides), videos, handouts and PowerPoint presentations. Printed books come in a garden variety of styles and need to fit the need of the group to which they are to be applied, e.g. for a womens Bible study, the leader may select a short video presentation followed by table discussions. Handouts can come in the form of the already mentioned fill-in-the-blank, may be additional reading or lead to further study by providing other sources. PowerPoint presentations can be helpful when conveying archaeological or geographical information, but may also hinder the students absorption of what is taught by the teacher because of the potential distraction factor. A very effective way, based on experience, is the use of a short teaching session, either by video or direct teaching, followed by the group breaking up into tables of 6-8 and discussing what was presented further. This also allows the teacher the ability to inject real life experiences and allow the participants to share theirs for common learning. In addition, this supports the Biblical Model of information, identification and experience in that it is a teacher to a group of disciples learning approach, each drawing from each others experience, yet allowing the teacher to mold the outcome of learning. Discussion Pauls sentence mentioned in the beginning of this review of processes from Ephesians 4:9 is preceded by this line that says: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirableif

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anything is excellent or praiseworthythink about such things. (Ephesians 4:8, ESV) In this advice lies a wealth of how Christian teachers need to approach their discipleship making efforts. We have seen that while many methods have been outlined to bring our understanding of learning into an educational framework and while we can glean much from this, our beginning always has to be on the truths of Gods Word. This aspect of nobility, purity and loveliness is found in the pages of the Bible. Whats more, Gods character is clearly depicted in His Word. When we as teachers bring students into this awareness of the just and loving character of their heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit can and will do the work of convicting them. The methods we deploy in this effort become tools in His hands. While PowerPoints and handouts in individual settings can be useful, the broader approach of prayerfully setting a course of learning church-wide and allowing this to impact leaners of all ages in the settings that are age- and ability-appropriate and that allow for genuine and authentic encounters between individuals redeemed sinners who know of their Saviors love for them - seems to be the preferred method of discipleship. Conclusion In this paper, Pauls method of discipling was briefly evaluated, as were a series of other educational theories. The role of the Holy Spirit in learning was highlighted. Methods, materials and programs found in churches today were briefly considered, and a preferred method of teaching was highlighted. While learning and discipling can appear complex amidst the theories of learning, God has provided us with tools and methods that can effectively under the guidance of the Holy Spirit allow us to make disciples.

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Bibliography Barna, George. Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001. Gnanakan, Ken R.. Accreditation and Renewal. In World Evangelical Fellowship. Evangelical Review of Theology: Volume 28. Carlisle, Cumbria: Paternoster Periodicals, 2004. Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Geoffrey William Bromiley. The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999-2003. Mitchell, Michael R. Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class Education in the Church, School, and Home. Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2010. Wanak, Lee. Learning as the Experience of God. In. Evangelical Review of Theology: Volume 19. Electronic ed. , Logos Library System; Evangelical Review of Theology. Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Paternoster Periodicals, 2000. Yount, William R. Created to Learn: A Christian Teacher's Introduction to Educational Psychology. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1996.