A DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR “THE TEN
TIMELESS VALUES FOR DISCIPLESHIP”
In medical and academic circles, a fellowship
is sometimes defined as “a period of training after residency”. In the church we could apply that same idea
to fellowship. Fellowship is a critical
spiritual discipline after deciding to follow Jesus. It is the place of ongoing learning, support,
and growth. What is embedded in that
model is an understanding that growth is an ongoing process and we are never
done (which is also consistent with our understanding of salvation and
sanctification). One of the things that
happened in many long established United Methodist churches is that we evolved
into a system designed to make “church members” and not disciples and as a
result there is little expectation and no accountability for members. That also means there is little disciple
making going on.
Traditional churches with a “professional minister model” do follow the
early church model in a focus on “apostolic teaching”, and certainly that is an
important part of discipleship. But,
what is missing was the centerpiece of early Methodism, the “class
meeting”. In our beginnings, people were
discipled in “peer learning groups” where lay leaders facilitated a process of
accountability for and expectation of each other to grow as followers of
Jesus. Discipleship requires
accountability and assumes it is not a solitary pursuit. Growth requires challenge, which means
someone to answer to, someone to be honest with, and someone who loves me
enough to speak the truth in love to me.
That doesn’t happen when our groups are more focused on socialization
and even education. When we socialize we
are taught to “play nice” and “if we can’t say something nice don’t say
anything at all.” (At least until we get off in the corner where we can talk
about other folks). When Sunday School
replaced the class meeting the focus became almost completely education and
social. What was lost was the key piece
of accountability for our discipleship.
Today some churches are rediscovering fellowship through the development
of small group ministries where people on a common journey learn from each
other, support each other, and hold each other accountable. The commitment to return to our roots (in the
early church and early Methodism) may well determine our future as a church.
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