Apprenticeship Christianity
I recently came across this post lamenting the disappearance of apprenticeship-based learning. I was never the best at tennis, but I remember that I got to a point of learning where a group setting was no longer ideal. I had a private coach because that was the most effective way to really progress.
This idea of 1:1 teaching/learning by doing used to be the norm, especially in the marketplace. The piece begins with the assertion:
Once upon a time, we learned only by doing. A quality education meant finding an expert to take you under his or her wing. Whether you wanted to be a blacksmith or a shoemaker, the ultimate break was ultimately a relationship. In exchange, your capacity would be stretched. You would learn in real-time, soaking up the knowledge through trial and error. You would learn the trade in practice rather than theory. You would also build a network and gain respect based on your performance rather than any sort of degree.
Though the article’s focus is not the Christian life, I can’t help but think of the parallels. We often think of “the Great Commission” in terms of evangelism, but what does Jesus really say we are to be about? Consider Matthew 28:18-20:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Discipleship is at the core of who we are and what we are to be about. We have been entrusted with the Gospel and we are to pass it along. But this raises the question about how this is best achieved. Are disciples best made in a class-room setting? Knowledge is certainly a part of discipleship but it is not the totality. We often seem to believe that once we pass along a certain amount of knowledge, we have done our part.
But the best way to learn tennis is not in a classroom. You have to get out on the court and play. You have to learn from your mistakes and this happens best when you have someone there with you every step of the way, someone who knows your tendencies and who can call you out when you fall back into old patterns, someone who can correct your swing and urge to you continue when you feel like quitting.
This seems to be exactly the idea the New Testament presents of the community of faith growing together in real-life time. Paul urges older men and women to mentor younger people (Titus 2) and to gently correct one another when we fall into sin (Galatians 6:1-2).
All of this has prompted a series of questions I’ve been thinking through. Are disciples best made in institutions or daily life? Has the American church done well in making disciples? Why or why not? If yes, what can we learn? If not, what can we learn? What do you think? I wonder if our churches might look different if life-on-life discipleship was at the center of what we did? Would we still seek to fill classrooms multiple nights of the week? Would Sunday morning be the main-point of our weeks? Or might we actually try to live life together, holding each other accountable, learning together in community on mission? What if the bulk of responsibility to do “the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:11-13) is not on paid staff but on the saints? Would paid ministers approach their “work” differently if convinced that their goal was to equip the saints, to, in a sense, work themselves out of a job? Would church plants still need a year of fundraising before “launching”? What does it even mean to “launch” a church if Sunday morning is no our organizing principle? If discipleship is our aim and not Sunday morning, should the amount of time and energy that go into making Sunday morning “go off” well be changed? I could go on but I won’t. What do you think?
I like your thoughts Brent. Your analysis of the Great Commission is right on. For years, many churches have taken the “go into all the world” to heart and have spread the gospel throughout the world. I have to wonder though, how much practical, realistic change that accomplishes. If we are just saying “tag – you’re a Christian” and then leaving – are we fulfilling Jesus’ command? I don’t think so.
Discipleship is a ‘coming alongside’ that takes time. I like your approach about doing life together so we can disciple outside of the sterile laboratory of the church building. My only concern though, is that not enough people in the church truly understand what the gospel message is. (Along the lines of ‘Almost Christian’, which I believe we are both reading right now.) So, if our fellow churchgoers don’t have a good grip on the essentials, would they be discipling people in the right direction? Given that, I tend to think we still need solid biblical education (lecture) along with the practical discipleship (lab). BTW – when I say education, I’m referring to more than just a Sunday sermon. I think there is something very valuable in a smaller interactive classroom setting.
I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on striking the right balance.
Thanks for the post!
Hi Brent,
I think the “American church” is doing a poor job of equipping the saints, simply because it totally misinterprets the Word of God, mixing together what God spelled out for Israel in the books of the Old Testament, Jesus’ earthly ministry, the early part of Acts, and the little Jewish epistles, with the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the mystery, as revealed by the ascended Jesus to the Apostle Paul for the Body of Christ (Gal. 1:11-12). This “blenderizing” of the Kingdom Gospel with the Gospel of the Grace of God has resulted in dissension and total confusion.
Take “the Great Commission” that you referenced in Matthew 28:18-20, for instance. When Christ was speaking, who was he addressing here? Gentiles? No, He was talking to His disciples, who were Jews, of course. And although this is the popular passage when referring to the Great Commission, we also need to look at what Jesus instructs the disciples in Mark 16:15-18 and John 20:21-23. If we’re to apply what is commanded in Matthew, shouldn’t we take to heart these passages as well? And if we shouldn’t, then why not?
Mark 16:15-18
In verse 16, Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” Is that true for us as the Body of Christ today, or is it faith plus nothing that saves us? … Verse 17 says that various signs will follow all those who believe, such as casting out demons and speaking with new tongues. … And finally, verse 18 says those who believe will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them. And they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Why aren’t we experiencing or regularly practicing these things today as grace believers?
John 20:21-23
Verse 23: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Do we have this authority as members of the Body? The Twelve certainly did, but they shouldn’t be confused with the Body of Christ. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find even one reference to the Body of Christ outside of Paul’s writings.
This is just a snapshot of how important it is to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15), so that there is no confusion as to what our role is as the Body of Christ. To me, it’s very clear that grace-age believers need to be pointed to 2 Cor. 5:16-21 for any direction as far as a commission is concerned.
I don’t believe we need to do anything more than hold out the Word of God, letting people know that He desires for them to be reconciled to Him through the redemptive work of Christ’s blood. In light of this, whether it’s done one-on-one, in classrooms on multiple nights of the week or on Sunday mornings is totally irrelevant. To me, those types of debates serve only to bog down the “American church.” The focus needs to be on an accurate study of the Word. God will provide the methods with which we communicate it to others.
These are some of the exact issues we’ve been wrestling through at Church of the Cross where I pastor. We are firmly convinced that discipleship needs to be at the center of who we are rather than a Sunday morning production. Yet, at the same time, we’ve found that many people really don’t have a firm grasp of the Gospel itself; it’s power, purpose or scope. Without the Gospel, we’re doing nothing.
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