Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Transcription

1 2006 christian education week Making Disciples of Jesus Christ Walking Together With When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, but these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:19-23, NRSV The Purpose of CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Jesus wants his listeners to know that God still seeks us out and longs to live in relationship with us. God still desires us, gives to us the one who will free us from bondage, and invites us to respond to love with love. Jesus reminds us that, if we love God, we also live in loving relationship with all God s people. We claim and live God s relational promise when we live in the same quality of relationship that God puts before us in Jesus, a relationship of love, justice, and faithfulness that frees us from all bondage. Foundations: Shaping the Ministry of Christian Education in Your Congregation, page 39 christian EDUCATiON week What does it mean to walk with Christ? We pray, worship, try to measure our own beliefs and actions against what we know of Jesus Christ. We look for ways to serve God since it is not enough to sit at home or church and claim to have faith. Isn t this sufficient? As Christian education leaders, it is expected of us that we will not only do those things (or more), but that we will also teach and nurture others in these Christian practices. If prayer, study of the Scriptures, meditation, journaling, contemplation, theological reflection, fasting, conferencing, service, and other holy habits are not taught, encouraged, and habituated, we may be so caught up in all the things we have to do for our ministry that we lose track of how and when we actually do relate to God. Two experiences (among many in The United Methodist Church) may be of particular value the Walk to Emmaus and being a Companion in Christ. There are blessings in abundance for the participant who expects to find them; yet the style or approach of each of these experiences is quite different. The Walk is oriented toward a heart-felt appreciation of God as Imminent. The combined activities touch the heart deeply as God is experienced in a personal, intimate community setting with persons of the same gender. Pilgrims share the Walk over a long weekend. The Companions in Christ experience takes the companions in a small-group setting over 28 weeks with personal devotional and study assignments and weekly sharing times. Companions are invited into a taste and see exposure to numerous Christian practices that help them to cultivate holy disciplines. One might say that the Emmaus experience takes Christians to the mountaintop, and the Companions experience meets them at home to nurture and cultivate regular practices of devotion and service. This description is too simplistic to do justice to either, but it may serve to encourage your own journey and to make you be an advocate and mentor to others as they embark on their own walk with Christ. Diana L. Hynson is the Director of Learning and Teaching Ministries at the General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, TN.

2 Making Disciples of Jesus Christ LEARNiNG THE PRACTiCE OF Walking With Christ 2 formation is a process of being conformed Spiritual to the image of Christ for the sake of others, we are told by M. Robert Mulholland in his very illuminating book, Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation ( 1993 Intervarsity Press; page12). He goes on to say that once we understand spiritual formation as a process, all of life becomes spiritual formation, and it is not optional (p. 16). We can t decide to take it or leave it. Everyone, he cautions, is in the process of spiritual formation! We are being shaped into either the wholeness of the image of Christ or a horribly destructive caricature of that image We become either agents of God s healing and liberating grace or carriers of the sickness of the world. The direction of our spiritual growth infuses all we do with intimations of either Life or Death (p. 23). The words are a potent wake up call to our complacent thinking that if we participate in the right disciplines at least semi-regularly, then we will have developed an appropriate relationship with God. Indeed, Mulholland reminds us that God is the agent in this process, not us, and the doing is an outflow, the result, of a being that exists in relationship with Jesus as Lord (p. 32). While being in the relationship with Christ is paramount, Mulholland so poignantly states, Without the performance of the disciplines, God is, for all practical purposes, left without any means of grace through which to effect transformation in our lives (p. 136). STORIES OF FORMATIONAL MINISTRY What do we do in our congregations to help teach disciplines and practices that shape us as faithful Christians? Cheryl Walker, Director of African American Ministries, tells us about a wonderful role model. Annie Laura Stephens is a member of Ben Hill UMC in Atlanta, Georgia, and attends the Couples In Christ Sunday school class each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. The class is known throughout the church as a class of care and concern for its members and the members of the congregation. Annie Laura prepares meals for families who experience sickness or death, sits with members during times of hospitalization when there are no other family members around, sends cards, and above all, is a prayer warrior for the Lord. There is no one at Ben Hill UMC who doesn't know Annie Laura and the gifts she shares on a daily basis. Prayer, study of the Scriptures, and service are all means of grace that are practiced and modeled by a wellknown member and leader of the congregation. Edwin Santos, staff, General Board of Discipleship, shares this story about a conference-level plan derived from the resources of the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry. Using the method of See, Judge, Act, clergy and lay leaders receive training each year in the area of education thus empowering teachers to model a formational Bible study practice. One sees the reality of an actual situation, judges or assesses that reality in light of Scriptural teaching, and then determines to what action that judgment calls. This encouragement to put faith to work is emphasized in the majority of churches and classes, which results in a significant contribution of students energies into community-helping agencies as well as creative Bible schools. The Rev. Marcos Torres of Davis Memorial United Methodist (continued on page 7)

3 PRAYER Most Holy God, who walks with us each moment of each day: We give thanks to you for your continuing presence. We yearn for a faithful relationship with you and ask that you encourage in us the disciplines and practices that will bring us close to you. May we learn to go the way with you and have the courage to bring others along. Help us to appreciate and welcome the gifts of others that enrich and nourish our lives of discipleship. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN. SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 1 Kings 3:3-15 Solomon receives the gift of discernment Zechariah 7:8-14 The call to work for peace with justice (and consequences for failing) Matthew 10:1-15 Jesus called a diverse group (including persons who would have been enemies) to walk along with him as disciples Acts 16:11-15 (40) Lydia is converted; offers hospitality 2006 Christian Education Week worship RESOURCES HYMNS Take My Life, and Let it Be #399, UMH For the Healing of the Nations #428 Cuando el Pobre #434 Song of Hope (Canto el Esperanza) #2186, TFWS We Are Called #2172 Higher Ground #39, SOZ I Surrender All #67 UMH: United Methodist Hymnal TFWS, The Faith We Sing SOZ: Songs of Zion A COVENANT for Church EDUCATORS and LEADERS O God, who is Mystery and who yearns to be revealed, we thank you for the persons you raise up for ministry. CONGREGATION AND EDUCATORS: Thanks be to God! Will you cultivate your life with God through Christ? EDUCATORS: With God s help, we will. Will you study and pray, discern and serve, worship and witness? EDUCATORS: With God s help we will. Will you model the Christian faith and share that faith with others? EDUCATORS: With God s help, we will. Will you support our teachers and leaders with your own example of striving for a Christ-like life and of practicing the spiritual discipline of faith? CONGREGATION: With God s help, we will. ALL: Thank you, God, for your guidance and strength. We live and serve in the name of Christ. Amen. 3

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6 Walking With Christ A WORKSHOP ON SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES TIME: About 90 minutes PURPOSE: To help Christian education leaders and teachers try out several different Christian spiritual disciplines and to see how they might be used to help students in their own Christian spiritual formation. PREPARATION: The area needs to be large enough for several learning centers with a little privacy. Set the date and time for the workshop, and advertise it in at least five different ways. Invite teachers and educational leaders or other adults interested in deeper spiritual formation. SETTiNG UP the WORKSHOP Set up the centers, each with a sign for the type of center, and include several sheets with the instructions for the activities. (Ask participants to leave the instructions at the center.) Needed supplies are in bold. Feel free to add activities, and have enough supplies for each of the centers, including the instructions, since several people will be using them at once. Center One (Word Smart) Journal on a Specific Bible Passage Use the paper and pen to write your own reflections on one of these passages: Judges 6:36-40; Daniel 1:1-17; Mark 10:46-52; Ephesians 2: You can write about what it means to you, how it makes you feel as a child of God, how it reveals God to you, and/or how it inspires you to strengthen your own discipleship and action. Center Two: Number / Sequence Smart Identify Stages of Your Own Spiritual Growth. Using the paper and markers, create your own growth chart/life timeline to note places of significance in your own spiritual journey. Where has God seemed especially present or especially absent? What meaning did you make of these events, insights, and circumstances that enriched your relationship to God? Pray about these moments and give thanks for what you have learned. Center Three: Picture Smart Use an Icon for Contemplation Choose one of the icons or religious pictures at the center for contemplation; each is a focus on an awareness of the divine mystery. Contemplation is not about words, but images. What images of God or of Christ (and of yourself in relationship to God) are evoked by the picture? How can you rest in that awareness and allow it to soak into your sense of being (not thinking)? Center Four: Music Smart Listen and Reflect on the Message in a Hymn of Christian Song Use one of the CDs or tapes (with players), and reflect on what the music and lyrics convey to you about God and your relationship with God and the Christian community. Pray about your reflections. Center Five: Body Smart Pray the Building Walk through the building in which you are meeting, and pray at each doorway or entrance for the persons in that room, or who use that area, and for the ministry that takes place there. Pray also for unused areas that they may be employed for God s purpose. For a more tactile exercise, use a table top labyrinth to trace the path with your finger as you pray. Notice how the path draws you to God. Or use a rosary as a device to order your prayer. Bead by bead, or cluster by cluster, pray by theme (i.e. family) or by type (i.e. intercession). At each new cluster, change the prayer theme, type, or both. 6

7 LEADING THE WORKSHOP Opening (5 minutes) Briefly introduce yourselves if not all group members are acquainted. Then sing or say together one of the hymns from page 3. Explain the Process for Using the Centers (5 minutes) You will visit each center, so try to balance the number evenly at each one. Spend about 8-10 minutes at each center. The leader will signal gently when eight minutes have passed. Move quietly to the next center. Remain at the last center until called into the large group. Engage in Christian Practices (45-60 minutes) Group members are not obligated to visit each center and may object or just not move on. Encourage them, though, to try out practices that are new. At the end of the designated time, bring everyone together. Compare Experiences (15-20 minutes) Ask: What was it like to engage in a new practice? What potential may be there for this practice to open a new avenue in cultivating your relationship to God? What benefit do you see? Even if none of the practices were new, was there a benefit to revisiting any one in particular? What new insight came to you in identifying the practice with a particular learning style? How might you use these practices or others to nurture the spiritual maturity in your students or others? Close With Devotions (5 minutes) Sing or say another hymn from page 3 and close with one of the prayers. LEARNING THE PRACTICE OF WALKING WITH CHRIST (continued from page 2) Church, a Brazilian congregation in Harrison, NJ, reports on intentional, bi-weekly training opportunities in worship and evangelism as well as weekly Bible study and training after worship for new members to deepen their faith journeys. Not only are members experiencing and practicing the means of grace through study, worship, and witnessing, but also the leadership is ensuring that they nurture new leaders to deepen their discipleship. Kay Hwang of the Korean UMC in Greater Washington asks: How can we teach our children to pray beyond meal times or bed times? In order for children to adopt a more committed, disciplined, and daily prayer life, teaching them through sermons or Bible studies on Sundays is not enough. More intensive discipleship programs are needed. One of the intensive discipleship trainings we provide is called Timothy Discipleship Class (only for 4th 6th graders). Children learn the basics of prayer life, including intercessory prayer and daily devotion using the Scripture as their main source. The best way to learn to pray is just to pray. Developing the habit of prayer is very important. Therefore, as a class, we share our devotional journals and talk about the hindrances and difficulties we face as we try to set aside time for prayer. With fun activities and illustrations added into the program, discipleship classes can be fun and exciting! CULTURAL GIFTS Generalizing about cultural characteristics must be done with great care; however, in broad terms, we can observe practices within some cultures that are particular blessings in their own Christian formation process. These means of grace are not unique to the culture, but they are noted here as gifts to others who may not practice those means regularly. (continued on page 8) 7

8 LEARNING THE PRACTICE OF WALKING WITH CHRIST (continued from page 7) Prayer is a spiritual practice universal in its scope. The practice of simultaneous prayer in the Korean community may be new to some. Rather than praying silently or one at a time, the entire class or congregation prays aloud together, creating a kind of Pentecost atmosphere. This swell of prayer, which God understands all at once, creates a thrilling, even mysterious, sense of unity in the wholeness of God s community. Singing is also a universal practice. The spontaneity of music and singing in African American congregations and classes creates an atmosphere of unity as well. The lyrics often become a potent vehicle for witness, affirmation, praise, confession, and faith sharing. Of the seven learning styles, music is the first to form and connects us in a mystical way to God. Hospitality with justice is a foundational means of grace within the Hispanic/Latino community. The See, Judge, Act form of study and action emerged from the base community theology in Brazil as a means of empowering lay persons for leadership in Bible study and reflection initially within the Catholic Church, which was pushing back against the repressive actions of the state. See Judge, Act has at its heart the creation of hospitable, just, and safe havens for worship, fellowship, and nurture. Look at this website to see how your Sunday School can be a place of faith formation. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Making Disciples of Jesus Christ Walking Together With Christ Unless otherwise noted, the resources published by Upper Room Books are available through or by calling Companions in Christ collection. Also available in Spanish. Howell, James C. Yours Are the Hands of Christ. (1999). Indermark, John. Turn Toward Promise: The Prophets and Spiritual Renewal. (2004) Miller, Wendy J. Invitation to Presence: A Guide to Spiritual Disciplines. (1995) Mulholland, M. Robert, Jr. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. Downer s Grove: InterVarsity Press, (Cokesbury: ). Mulholland, M. Robert, Jr. Shaped by the Word: The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation, rev. ed. (1985, 2000 by M. Robert Mullholland, Jr.) Thompson, Marjorie and Bryant, Stephen D. Exploring the Way: An Introduction to the Spiritual Journey. (2005.) Devotional Magazines ( ) Alive Now Upper Room Devotional Guide (also in large print, Spanish and other languages) Weavings christian EDUCATiON week is authorized by General Conference, but its observance is set by each Annual Conference. Please check with your conference office for your date. PO Box Nashville, TN (877) Diana L. Hynson, Editor Rev. Vance P. Ross, Associate General Secretary Karen A. Greenwaldt, General Secretary 8 C Printed on recycled paper. All articles in this leaflet may be reproduced for free distribution.