I was recently featured on Rick Howerton’s blog with NavPress for a four day interview on “Small Groups or Mid-Size Communities?”

I encourage you to read through my answers to the following questions on his site and engage in a conversation with us about this viral concept. Click on the links below to see my answers.

• Day One - What were you trying to accomplish in your small groups that was not being achieved and why do you think the smallness of group life was keeping you from accomplishing that?
• Day Two - When you met with your leadership team, especially your senior pastor to consider the move from small groups to mid-size groups, what questions arose (and/or what conversation took place) that drove your church to move to mid-size groups?
• Day Three - What aspects of group life did you think you would lose by moving from small groups to mid-size groups that you found remained in tact?
• Day Four - What does a mid-size group meeting look like, how often do these groups meet, and what percentage of those in a group attend consistently?
• Rick’s Response to Our Conversation

Let’s talk!

In part 3, I shared a FAQ list regarding mid-size communities (MSCs). You can get a good feeling as to what an MSC is by reading through the FAQs, or by looking at this infographic, but what’s the theological rationale for them anyway? Are MSCs just a repackaged version of Adult Bible Fellowship? Are they just the new hot thing? Or are they merely a different version of missional communities?

Well, let’s dig in. In order to look at the theological rationale for MSCs, we first need to ask more of a fundamental question: What is the church and what is her mission?

Is the Church, as Hans Kung suggests, the visible church building that people can belong to, as well as the invisible global Church composed of all true believers? Or is the Church better described, in a biblical way, as “God’s household” (Eph 2:19), “the body of Christ” (1 Cor 12:27), and a place where all of the biblical “one another’s” are lived out?

There is nothing wrong with describing the Church in those ways, but perhaps a better way to understand the Church is to begin with the end in mind? What if the Church was defined and understood through the lens of its mission? If it were, then the Church would not fall into the trap of being a loving community for its own sake or be mistaken as a rotary club. Although William Rush states that “the more the Church understands its own nature, the more it gets hold of its own vocation,” I actually believe the opposite is just as true. The more the Church understands its own mission or vocation, the more it will grab hold of its own nature.

So what is the mission that God has given the Church?

What is the mission of God? In Acts 1:8, Jesus commissions the Church by saying, “You will be my witnesses.” In Matt 28:18-20, Jesus uses the imperative to command the Church to “make disciples of all nations.” Furthermore, Paul explains the mission in Acts 13:47, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” According to Christopher Wright, the mission is “the committed participation of God’s people in the purposes of God for the redemption of the whole creation. The mission is God’s. The marvel is that God invites us to join in.”

There is no greater mission for the Church than the participation in the mission of God. Every local church needs to communicate this mission in everything that they do. However, the way that this message needs to be communicated depends on the context. For our increasingly post-modern and post-Christian 21st century North American society, I am going to suggest that Lesslie Newbigin’s motif is the dominant way that churches need to communicate the mission of God. The church is to be a sign, instrument, and foretaste of the kingdom of God (see this link for more information)

Michael Goheen summarizes it well,

The church now has a foretaste of the salvation that God intends for the whole creation. God uses the church as an instrument for his work of healing, liberating and redeeming his world. As such, the church is a sign that points human beings beyond their present horizon to the coming kingdom of God which can give direction and hope.

Viewing the church as a sign, instrument, and foretaste of the kingdom of God is not only a clear way of explaining the Church, but it defines it with the end in mind, using mission as its framework. After all, mission is not merely a task of the Church, it is the essence of the Church.

As Emil Brunner has said,

The Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.

Viewing the Church in this way is also an effective way to contextualize the gospel to an increasingly post-modern and post-Christian society. It is conducive for post-moderns since this framework offers a word-picture reality that they can experience and live in, rather than an ethereal argument to weigh. It is also advantageous for post-Christians since this framework does not assume a prior knowledge of the biblical meta-narrative. This framework simply invites all people into a relationship with a community of Christians, since the congregation is the most effective hermeneutic of the Gospel.

So what is the theological rationale for MSCs?

Through MSCs, churches can truly become a sign, instrument, and foretaste of the kingdom of God. First of all, through MSCs, there are more opportunities for a church to connect with God by worshipping and studying Scripture together. Secondly, there are increased opportunities to grow through community because of the sheer number of people and since MSCs are more about the relationships than they are about the meeting. Lastly, there are numerous opportunities to serve because of the increased chances and roles to lead, exercise one’s spiritual gifts, and participate in sustainable mission projects as a group.

I love how St. Thomas Crookes Church puts it,

Mid-size communities are “a community that is small enough to have a common vision, but big enough to do something about it.”

By having a community that is clearly inclusive, biblically grounded, increasingly growing, and passionately missional, non-Christians will have a place to belong before they believe, and thereby experience church as a sign, instrument, and foretaste of the kingdom of God.

That, my friend, is the theological rationale for MSCs.

What are your thoughts?

Join us next time as we explore the sociological rationale for MSCs.

Can we use research to discover the core attributes of a disciple? Or is this a purely biblical matter?

In a previous post, I shared different methods that we use to filter whether or not someone is a disciple of Jesus. The only problem with those common methods is that they are often anecdotal, and purely based on situational experiences.

Take Greg Ogden’s list, for example. He presents a biblical standard for discipleship by outlining how disciples:

• Are proactive ministers
• Live a disciplined way of life
• Understand that discipleship affects all of life
• Are a countercultural force
• Are an essential, chosen organism
• Are a biblically informed people
• Are people who share their faith

This is a fantastic list, and very difficult to disagree with, since it is biblical. The problem with his list and everyone else’s is that they are merely anecdotal good ideas and frameworks. There is no evidence that these ideas, when transformed into a discipleship pathway, will actually produce the attributes of a healthy disciple.

In 2007 and 2008, a longitudinal study was done on 2500 Protestants who attended church on a regular basis in order to determine their spiritual maturity and their spiritual progress over time (Waggoner). Brad Waggoner conducted the study using his Spiritual Formation Inventory (SFI). His SFI was developed from extensive research, using Scripture, articles, books, and commentaries related to the nature of a New Testament disciple.

In 2010, LifeWay elaborated on Waggoner’s SFI and his seven domains of spiritual formation for their Transformational Discipleship project. They had the purpose to gather data regarding the spiritual lives and level of maturity of believers. They gathered their data in three phases. First of all, they interviewed a wide range of discipleship experts, taking culture and context into high consideration. Secondly, they surveyed one thousand Protestant pastors in the United States in order to discover the different ways discipleship is happening in local churches. Lastly, they surveyed four thousand Protestants in North America using a customized survey built on Waggoner’s SFI. Through this entire research project, the LifeWay team discovered an eighth domain or attribute of discipleship – unashamed transparency – that builds on top of Waggoner’s seven domains.

The point of the Transformational Discipleship project was not to discover the eighth attribute, but it was to figure out what kind of discipleship was truly transformational. After all, through their research, they confirmed the argument that there is, in fact, an absence of disciples in the church today.

Nevertheless, the research from these two projects present a solid framework that can be used to discern or measure whether one is or is not a disciple of Jesus. This framework is not anecdotal, but it is incredibly biblical and heavily grounded in research.

The research reveals that the following eight biblical attributes, or “discipleship attributes,” consistently show up in the life of maturing believers:

• Bible engagement
  • ex. Personally reading the Bible, thinking about biblical truths, reading a spiritual growth related book
• Obeying God and denying self
  • ex. Making personal sacrifices to better obey God, having self-awareness to avoid bad decisions, confessing and repenting, adjusting one’s negative attitude
• Serving God and others
  • ex. Putting one’s spiritual gift(s) to use serving God and others, serving others in the community who have tangible needs, giving sacrificially
• Sharing Christ
  • ex. Inviting an un-churched person to attend a church service or program, praying for non-Christians, letting others know that one is Christian, sharing how to become a Christian
• Exercising faith
  • ex. Trusting God in difficult circumstances, expressing praise and gratitude to God in difficult circumstances, believing God has a purpose for every good and bad event in one’s life, believing that God can change the lives of non-Christians
• Seeking God
  • ex. Daily seeking God through prayer, worship, and thanksgiving, living in a way that pleases and honors God
• Building relationships
  • ex. Getting together with other Christians mid-week, participating in a bible study or small group, being discipled or mentored by a more spiritually mature Christian, discipling or mentoring another Christian
• Unashamed transparency
  • ex. Praying with others, sharing your personal story or testimony with others, confessing sin to others, being interdependent

What benefit would it bring to your church’s discipleship process, if you actually integrated these attributes into a grid, to ensure that every element of your pathway is intentionally building up these attributes?

This is what I’ve done with my church’s discipleship pathway, and it has been a revolutionary process.

Let’s talk.

How can you tell if someone is a disciple of Jesus?

In a previous post, I summarized six expert definitions of a disciple and concluded with this as my definition: “A disciple of Jesus is an individual who is continually being transformed into the likeness of Christ, as he or she is learning and participating in the mission of God with others.”

If that’s what a disciple is, is there some easy way to tell if the guy that you are passing by on the street, or the lady that is in the cubicle next to you, is a disciple? After all, how can you really tell if someone is “continually being transformed into the likeness of Christ” when you only have a two minute interaction with them?

Perhaps it’s a list of visible outer actions and attitudes? Such as, whether or not you know John 3:16 by heart, sponsor a Compassion child, or file your income taxes honestly and on time? Although these are outer actions that you would expect a Christian to embody and live out, these are not actions exclusive to Christians.

Instead, what if it’s a combination of both outer and inner actions and attitudes? What if the evidence of being a disciple of Jesus is the presence of the following three aspects in your life?

• The faithful acceptance of everyday problems
• The inner presence (fruit of the Spirit) and outer evidence (gifts of the Spirit) of the Holy Spirit in your life
• The regular practice of the spiritual disciplines

Dallas Willard calls those three aspects the “golden triangle” of spiritual transformation.

Or put another way,

“Growing in faith is not just about disciplines of study and withdrawal…but there must also be rhythms of activity if we are to be mature followers of the messiah” (Frost and Hirsch).

So maybe that’s it? Maybe a healthy rhythm of the spiritual disciplines, a living out of our faith, and the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives is what distinguishes disciples of Jesus from others?

Or maybe, the best way to recognize a disciple is whether or not “people respond to [you] like they did to Jesus” (Hugh Halter)? After all, Jesus was compelling – people were drawn to him. People sought Jesus out, liked him, and respected him. So, as Halter questions in his book, doesn’t it make sense for disciples to also be sought out, liked, and respected by the world? This is not to be mistaken for living a life that pleases others, or diminishing the gospel in any form or manner.

Are the above ideas and lists comprehensive and biblical? Or are they anecdotal?

How do you know if someone is a disciple? What framework do you use?

Join me next time as I present a solid framework, based on two massive research projects, that will help us figure out a way to tell if someone is a disciple of Jesus. It will be a framework for discipleship.

Do you know how many times the word “Christian” occurs in the New Testament? A measly three times. On the other hand, the word “disciple” occurs 269 times. Although the term “Christian” has been watered down, and many see discipleship as an optional matter, it is clear that this is not what Jesus intended (see previous post). After all, the early disciples were called Christians because they were learners, students, and apprentices of Christ. Thus, just as “being Canadian” is a part of the identity of a Canadian citizen, “being Christian” or “being a disciple” is an identity issue.

But what exactly is a disciple? What sort of definition should we use to understand our identity?

Here are six different definitions of a disciple by experts:

1. A disciple is an individual who “desires above all else to be like him [Christ]” (Dallas Willard - Philosopher)
2. A disciple is an individual who is “becoming just like Jesus, doing what Jesus did, and doing [those last two points] with the types of people Jesus liked spending time with (Hugh Halter – Church Planter and Missional Specialist)
3. A disciple is one who adheres to Christ (Dietrich Bonhoeffer – Pastor and Martyr)
4. A disciple is an individual who has encountered “Jesus as Lord and not merely as Rabbi” (Eric Geiger, Michael Kelley, and Philip Nation – Researchers)
5. A disciple is one who is following Christ (head), being changed by Jesus (heart) and committed to Jesus’ mission to save people from their sin (hands) (Jim Putnam – Megachurch Pastor)
6. “A disciple is rational (learner), relational (family), and missional (missionary)” (Jonathan Dodson – Pastor and Discipleship Thinker)

Each one of these previous definitions are nuanced differently based on the experience, training, and natural bias of each author. However, the common thread that holds them altogether is Jesus.

After all, “Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ” (Bonhoeffer)

After writing my masters thesis on the topic of discipleship and multi-site churches, here is what I’ve concluded to be the definition of a disciple: “A disciple of Jesus is an individual who is continually being transformed into the likeness of Christ, as he or she is learning and participating in the mission of God with others.”

When looking at Romans 12:1-2, it is clear why a disciple needs to be continually transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Rom 12:1-2 NIV)

For one, the phrases “do not conform” and “be transformed” are both imperatives, which make them a clear command, but more importantly, the fact that they are also in the present tense points to the continual nature of these commands. Therefore, this passage is literally saying, “do not be conformed, not now, not tomorrow, not ever,” as well as, “be transformed and continue to be transformed – it is an ongoing process.”

Transformation happens in the life of a disciple as they are learning and participating in the mission of God with others – it is an ongoing and on-the-way process in community. Transformation is never complete through classroom knowledge, nor does it take place just through behaviour modification. Neither does transformation happen in isolation. Transformation happens when individuals are in community, learning all that Jesus commanded (Matt 28:20) and participating in the mission of God together (Matt 28:18-20). This is how the church can be a sign, instrument, and foretaste of the kingdom of God.

What do you think? What is your definition of a disciple?

Join us next time as we explore how to tell if someone is a disciple or not and a framework for discipleship.