Theology of Discipleship: Part 3 -- Community

This thread started here

Two Models:

In my second text, Ed Stetzer's Planting Missional Churches, the author discusses sequential and non-sequential discipleship methods. A familiar example of sequential discipleship is the Saddleback L.I.F.E system. The strengths of the sequential system is that their is a clear plan for growth and a method by which classes and programs may be constructed around it. In addition it is clearly communicable (baseball diamond, etc).

Contrasted is the non-sequential philosophy wherein it is understood that people join at many places on the road. Stetzer references New Horizons Fellowship's approach to sequential discipleship. NHF places an equal focus on six areas of growth: worship, education, fellowship, missions, evangelism, ministry. All of these items are in the Purpose-Driven/Sequential model, so we're clearly not talking about a different understanding of what is included in spiritual growth. However, there is a difference in how this theology of discipleship will play out in a church. The non-sequential model, also known as the organic model, allows people to come into the process wherever they would best fit -- probably the new disciple needs to grow in all the areas.

Alternative Model:

As mentioned in the prior post (here), it is suggested that Community is the most important element of discipleship. When Jesus called his disciples, he called them to relationship -- to a community where Jesus and his disciples were together.

So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him (Luke 5:11).

If community is the first element of discipleship, then a primary role of church leaders and church members (or owners as Vintage 21 church describes its members - read more) is to build communities for themselves and others. Here's some thoughts about these communities.

1. Communities have many sizes:
   According to Joseph R. Meyer, author of The Search to Belong, there are four kinds of spaces that people live in:
1. Public Space: Anonymous places that individual participate in without connection to others. One in a crowd or a few in a crowd such as sporting events or other large events where it is unlikely that your group will find others they know.
   
2. Social Space: A place for casual, surface relationships, the building of a group of acquaintances and friends. A large group such as a church service or large fellowship group in a church can be this type if people have friends and acquaintances.
   
3. Personal Space: Private shared experiences but not fully transparent. Individuals together on a trip who will have shared memories that others could enjoy but would never be a part of.
4. Intimate Space: This is where we are naked and transparent. We have very few relationships of this type.
   
2. Communities have many faces
   As was previously blogged, people enter into Christ along many paths and roads. Thus each community will have a unique personality that is a composite of its members. According to one author on small groups, a small group forms this mesh within about 10 gatherings of the community.
   
3. Communities have many purposes:
   According to the face of the group, there may be different primary reasons for the community's existence. Some communities may exist more for mission, others for growth, others for dealing with a relationships or a common concern (such as a recovery group or a parents' group).

The Early Community Church

One of the truths of the New Testament is the communal nature of the church. Even from the very beginning of the church in the book of Acts, we see the community forming.

Acts 2:41-47:
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Typically, I have focused on the activities of church (verse 42: teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, prayer) in this passage and have referenced the communal elements mentioned in the other verses. However, it should safe to say, exegetically, that the theme of community is the dominant concept in this passage. So, let's examine community in the concept of discipleship.

Notice how the activities are placed within community: communal sharing of possessions, giving, meeting everyday, meetings in homes, eating together, praising together.

I have typically preached that if we, the community, do the activities mentioned in verse 42, then the community will grow (adding to the number daily). However, it may be a better understanding to suggest that a truly organic community of people who are also practicing these things will see this kind of blessing from God.

So, in this Theology of Discipleship, community development is HUGE:

1. Everyone needs community. Community is formed in various ways. This is not a plug for small groups -- though these are great for community. This is a plug for the continual emphasis of community within the context of the church and the need for each believer to be connected to a community AND the need for these communities to build bridges to nonchristians so that they can evaluate for themselves whether God is real and lives in us.
2. Church leadership is like e-Harmony. We're here to get people together into communities so that they can experience redemptive grace from others. New connection points (new groups, growing groups, splitting groups) must be created for new people to join.
3. Communities must be about all the elements of discipleship. Typically, I have thought of small groups as growth areas (Bible, prayer, fellowship). However, I think that the groups must be about the Spiritual, Relational and Missional. This is the same as suggesting that all the small groups are about all the areas of Purpose-Driven (Grounded, Growing, Giving, Going).
   

Next time: The Spiritual, Relational and Missional. How they fit in community.

-Derek