Reflections on Discipleship – No Pressure!

During a long and boring but accident-prone print run this morning I happened to pick up a book helpfully left on the windowsill in our print room, a book of devotional thoughts from that great preacher C H Spurgeon. The book happened to fall open at July 3^rd (today), which either means that someone else had just been devotional with it or God wanted to speak to me particularly. The verse for the day was, unpromisingly, Genesis 41:4:

 ‘And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows.’

Spurgeon went on to explain this verse in terms of the fact that times of spiritual gauntness quickly ate up the spiritually more healthy times. When he stayed close to God he made great strides forward, but the odd off-day quickly undid all the good that the good days had achieved, and set him back on his quest for true Christlikeness. His aim, he explained, was to make sure that every day was a spiritual high, and not to let any bad days or seasons undo all that he had achieved so far.

You can kind of see what he means, but even reading the passage made me feel exhausted! I am still pondering whether or not a) he is right, and b) whether this is a helpful kind of approach to discipleship to preach and teach around the Diocese. To me, it comes dangerously close to salvation by works, something which I would have thought that Spurgeon of all people would want to avoid teaching. It makes discipleship hard work, which on one level it is, but on another it shouldn’t be, since the Jesus whom we follow has a burden which is light. It also seems to negate those times when, according to the Bible, suffering does us good. I have grown as much, if not more, through times of spiritual aridity than I have through the good years.

In any case, the definition of a disciple is someone who fails – you can see that again and again in the gospels. I’m not convinced that failure makes us slide back down the snake to square one: rather I think it can send us forward sadder but wiser. My God of infinite forgiveness doesn’t like to watch me fall, but when I do he is quick to restore, forgive and reinstate. So no pressure!

Reflections on Discipleship – High-mileage Living

I recently heard the story of an advert for a 1984 VW for sale with 15 miles on the clock, brand new tyres, exhaust and battery, pristine bodywork, and completely clean upholstery. It had only ever been used in first and reverse gears, and was being sold, the advert said, due to the owners losing their job. The attached photo showed a tiny island about 200 metres across, with a jetty on one side and a lighthouse on the other, with the car being used merely to ferry supplies between them. 

Cars are of course made to drive, to go on adventures, to change as we change. As young couples we might stick a tent in the boot and go off on holiday with no plans. Later it might commute us to work. Then it might ferry kids around their various activities. Later still it might need a topbox or bike carriers on the roof. It might take us to foreign countries as well as to Tesco’s. The preacher who told this story challenged us to think about high-mileage as opposed to low-mileage lives. It’s possible to live nice clean simple lives, nicely polished with regular visits to church, with never a dent, scatch or wear. Disciples, though, he said, are those who live high-mileage lives, have adventures, go places, and occasionally get damaged in the process, as Jesus’ first disciples did. Disciples run into the ground.

 

Where has your discipleship taken you? How much has it cost? When your time comes, will you die in pristine condition, or will your life with Jesus have taken you to challenging and dangerous places? Disciples are called to move from caution to adventure. We need high-mileage Christians!

 

John Leach – Discipleship Team

Image: By Charlie from United Kingdom (1984 VW Polo 1.0) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Reflections on Discipleship – Just do it!

I love the quote from American philosopher Dallas Willard that

 ‘Discipleship is the conviction that Jesus knows how to live my life better than I do’.

If that’s true, it follows that obedience is just about the greatest and most helpful spiritual discipline there is. Yet in a society marked by an anti-authority mood, and a sense of my divine right to do just whatever I like, we find it so difficult just to submit and do what God tells us.

I was reading recently the story of Naaman, the proud but sick warlord of Aram, who heard that there might be a chance of healing if Elisha the prophet would pray for him. You can read the story in 2 Kings chapter 5. Naaman finally finds Elisha’s house, and of course expects to be treated with the respect and deference due to his exalted status as an army general. So to have a servant come and tell him to jump into the river Jordan seven times puts his back well and truly up. He goes away angry, presumably preferring the inconvenience and stigma of leprosy over the indignity of washing in a foreign river. But his servants, who are clearly devoted enough to their boss (and address him as ‘Father’), and feel able to help him to rethink, ask him if this is really a wise course of action. If the prophet had asked him to do some great heroic deed in order to get healed, would he not have jumped in with both feet? So why is the river Jordan such a problem? You never know: incredible as it sounds, it just might work. So he does, and it does, and he goes home cleansed, healed, and committed to the God of Israel.

I thank God for those servants who had a much better sense of perspective than their master. Reading the story made me ask myself about those times when I have simply gone off in a huff and refused to do what I know God is calling me to, and wondering what I might have missed out on because of my stubbornness. Thank God for people around me who have had more sense than I had, or who could retain perspective because they managed not to feel as affronted as I did.

If Jesus really does know how to live my life better than I do, I’d better listen and obey. Who knows what I might lose out on if I don’t?

John Leach

Reflections on Discipleship ‘With’, not ‘About’

We sometimes get confused about Discipleship – what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus. To me there are a number of pit-falls (ones that I have fallen into from time to time). In no particular order – there is the assumption that learning about Jesus is the same as being a Disciple of Jesus. Stated like that, it’s obvious, but it is so easy to get caught up in the excitement of theology or Biblical studies that all else is excluded. When I was at Church Army College (a few years ago) the Principal shared with the students that the College Chaplain had needed to ‘raise the issue’ of the Principal reading the Theological Word Book of the Bible by Robinson during his quiet time. Time set aside to be with God was replaced by time reading about God.

Another is the assumption that we’ve somehow ‘got there’. Read the book, attended the course, got the certificate and the tee shirt – Full Stop – made it. rather Discipleship is a life-long process, a journey in the companionship of Jesus, the Way.

A third is to assume that having the kit is the same as using the kit; a bit like all those exercise bikes that never get used, or fondue sets at the back of the highest shelf in the kitchen. Purchased the Rosary, Gift Box, Labyrinth, Study Notes …. (delete according to preference, and sorry if I’ve left yours out), … put them in pride of place in the lounge …

Of course Discipleship may include study, may include courses, may include using aids and techniques, all of which can be helpful; but the essence is a walk with Jesus, learning from him by emulation, so that we see with His eyes and act as He would act. It was put rather succinctly by theologian Paula Gooder at a recent conference – ask yourself each day ‘What have I learnt from Jesus today?’

Now that seems something exciting to introduce young people to, a relationship that causes you to see the world differently, and empowers you to want to change it.

Image: “SheridanVesuviusFootprints” by Pierpaolo Petrone – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences vol. 103. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Dave Rose, Diocesan Children and Youth Officer

Reflections on Discipleship – Praying with the Psalms

You know those moments when you get a sudden flash of insight, when you get for the first time something which you then realise is blindingly obvious? I had one of those moments when a visiting preacher came to the church of which I was vicar. It was this time of year, in the gap between Ascension and Pentecost, and our diocese was encouraging us to use what is called the ‘Novena’ or nine days to pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit to renew and revive the church. In a throwaway comment our preacher told us that of course the disciples gathered for that period in the upper room would have been praying the Psalms. That was how Jews prayed.

Now I’d never really thought about it but I realised that the unconscious picture in the back of my mind was nine days of a kind of evangelical prayer-meeting. But since that insight I’ve found myself viewing the Psalms in a whole new light. We all know that they contain pretty much the full range of human situations and emotions, and they can give us words to express just about anything we’re feeling and wanting to say to God. We tend to read and pray the psalms through the filter of what we’re going through or thinking about at the time. So to read them during the novena, as prayers for the renewal and revival of God’s church, can be a very helpful and powerful thing.

Of course some psalms are more applicable than others to any given situation, but I think the dynamic is that the bits which speak to us come out of the page and thump us in the face, while the other bits slip quietly by until another occasion when because of a new situation they will speak to us.

So how about thinking yourself into the situation of those first disciples, gathered with both fear and expectation, not knowing quite what to expect but hopeful of something new and powerful? Link that to your situation now, admitting how you feel about the state of the church and your hopes for it. Then start reading some psalms, either from the beginning, or using the passages set in the lectionary. At the end of each psalm, or when something leaps out a hits you, ask yourself the question ‘How does this text make me want to pray for the church?’ My expectation is that prayer will come alive, and my hope is that like those first disciples we will know the powerful presence of the Spirit among us as we pray.

John Leach – Discipleship Trainer and Adviser

Delighting in Discipleship

St Therese of Lisieux had a very realistic view of her own relationship to God. She was in awe of the great saints of old who flew with eagle’s wings into the light of God’s love, but felt that her contribution to the Kingdom was different. She described it as being in a garden. In the garden there were the flowers that caught the attention because of their height, their colour, their beauty.

But she saw herself as the small flower blooming faithfully in a shady corner, overlooked perhaps, but still a vital part of the garden, bringing its own beauty in humility and littleness. Therese would have known and probably cherished the passage in which Jesus calls our attention to the world around us, and asks us to “consider” the lilies, the flowers of the field. What he is asking us to do is not just think about them, but to look at them with loving attention. To see the colour. To feel the texture. To examine each petal and leaf. To take in the fragrance. To be caught up in its being. To recognise the wonder of its creation. To hold it in our thanks and to recognise that even the smallest bloom is worthy of our attention.

So when Jesus suggests to us that we should consider the lilies, he is surely suggesting that that is also how he regards us. He considers us with loving attention to everything we are. He takes delight in his wonderful and unique creation, gently tracing the fine details of our being with his infinite love. He rejoices in what we can do for Him. However small that service may be, however insignificant it may seem to us, Jesus holds it in honour. He takes delight in our discipleship, and so should we, knowing that at each and every moment of our lives, Jesus prays in us with his loving attention.

Fr Stephen Hoy – Diocesan Spirituality Advisor and Parish Priest of St John the Baptist, Lincoln.

Developing discipleship – a Church of England report to general synod

At the last General Synod the report on the development of discipleship and Church of England was tabled and debated.

The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Stephen Croft called for a

• Revised catechism for the Church of England for children and adults aiming to live out their discipleship in a complex and changing world
• New theological conversation on discipleship ministry
• Exploration by dioceses, parishes and fresh expressions of ’10 marks of a diocese committed to this developing discipleship’ The report says innovation and experiment in mission, ministry and discipleship should be encouraged; and dioceses should have specific policies and plans to promote discipleship development.

In a diocese committed to developing disciples ….

1. …A lifelong journey of discipleship and growth in Christian maturity is supported and modelled by all.

The diocese offers opportunities for nurturing faith, prayer and discipleship across all generations, so that all Christians continually grow as followers of Jesus in their understanding and their actions.

2. …The importance of discipleship in daily life is affirmed. Events, publications and statements at all levels of diocesan activity highlight and support the role of Christians living out their faith as they seek to build the Kingdom of God in the wider community, workplace and home.
3. …Gatherings for worship celebrate the discipleship of all the baptised. The discipleship of the whole people of God is celebrated in the liturgy by word and symbol in the worship of congregations and on diocesan occasions such as the induction of ministers into parishes.
4. …Disciples are equipped to help others to become followers of Jesus. The diocese offers deliberate planning and resourcing to enable congregations and individuals in their witness to Christ, and develops support networks with those involved in ministries such as lay evangelists or lay pioneers.
5. ..…Diocesan work on vocations is based on the principle that all the baptised are called into God’s service. Vocations advisers strategically promote opportunities to work with all Christians to discern and develop their calling and ministry in both the world and the church.
6. …Good practice in facilitating learning and formation is developed. Laity, clergy and parishes are regularly resourced and equipped with high levels of expertise in using facilitation skills, learning methodologies and approaches to catechesis and formation.
7. ..…Gifts of leadership are recognised and developed among all the baptised. A share in spiritual leadership, governance and witness in the wider community is affirmed by lay and ordained alike, and such affirmation is embedded in diocesan processes (e.g. Articles of Enquiry, Mission Action Plans and Ministry Development Review).
8. …Innovation and experiment are encouraged in mission, ministry and discipleship. The diocese promotes and affirms new developments in forms of church life, in which disciples – lay and ordained alike – grow as they are released into new areas of active service and ministry.
9. …Specific diocesan policies and plans promote discipleship development. As an integral part of diocesan strategy there are current theologically rooted plans, projects and programmes in place to encourage and resource discipleship development.
10. …Diocesan resources are committed to the development of the whole people of God. Resources of staff and money and time are allocated, and their effectiveness in enabling discipleship development of all regularly reviewed and assessed.

The discussion groups at General Synod discussed the following questions: perhaps you could use these questions as a framework for your discussions in your church about discipleship and how you might get involved in the Year of Discipleship.

Discipleship as learning, following Christ and living a transformed life

Q1. Which aspects of being a disciple do you see as well represented in the life of our church? Which are less evident?

The formation and sustaining of disciples

Q2. What key experiences and opportunities have helped to form you as a disciple? What helps to sustain you in your discipleship?

Q3. How far can we plan and organise for the formation and sustaining of disciples in the life of the church? What does our own experience tell us?

Discipleship in the contemporary Church of England

Q4. What do you particularly value in the traditions we inherit which shape our understanding of discipleship? In a time of rapid change and against the background of wide difference between generations and cultures, what must remain and what should change in our understanding?

Follow this link to see the full paper, a video with Bishop Steven Croft about the research and a discussion forum.

Simon Dean – Discipleship Officer

Confident Disciples Wear Pearls

Do you like rummaging around in charity shops or spending time at car boot sales? – Hopefully not Sunday mornings, of course.

My family, the Chapman family, always love a bargain. This might be to do with the origin of the name Chapman which means tinker or merchant. Lincoln itself and greater Lincolnshire are great places to rummage around for bargains in charity shops or car boots, I have noticed. However, I have recently got better in my rummaging ability. Although I used to have a wardrobe and house full of bargains, I have become more discerning with regard to sandwich toasters, copper kettles and compilation CDs. I am now better able to search longer and further afield for something and buy it because it is just right, interesting or even beautiful.

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but on this occasion I will settle for pearls.  Pearls are what Jesus uses to describe the longing of the human heart for God and for heaven, that dimension where we live in creative and joyful peace together. Jesus also describes desire for God as being like someone with a metal detector, listening for the beeps, and doing everything he can to unearth and claim the treasure. He searches with care to make sure it’s treasure he claims and not some old junk. Do we settle for second best as human beings and Christians? Are we are aware of the gift of Christ for us as individuals and as Christian communities? Can we reengage with a desire for God and for living together in a way that transforms lives, ours and that of others?

This new season of discipleship in the life of the church and of this diocese provides a framework for us to reengage with our desire for God.

Renewing the life of our churches and the Diocese will involve searching, seeking and praying. It will involve unearthing hidden treasure, rummaging to find the thing that is just right for us. And as we discover afresh the treasure that is God at work in us, our desire for the sense of completeness and healing and joy will cause us to change, to leave behind things we don’t need and invest in what truly matters.

For the pearl we find has always come from some grit, or difficulty in our own life or that of someone else. The treasure always needs cleaning and polishing.

Many of us have a deep sense of what God has done in Christ and in our lives, in small and in life changing ways. In the past and at times of vulnerability, we have found the pearl or the treasure. I don’t know if anyone has ever given you a pearl – on it’s own it’s not that useful and it needs to be shown off.  You have to choose a setting – for a broach or a ring, or gather more pearls for a necklace. Treasure also needs to be displayed, and not in private collections but in museums and galleries, as is more common these days, for all to see.

God is calling us to be Confident Disciples – we must wear our pearls, display our treasure, witness to our desire for God to become more real in our lives.

Justine Allain-Chapman

Image: “Akoya pearls” by Mauro Cateb – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Reflections on Discipleship – ‘Do not be afraid’

Jesus uses this phrase to encourage his disciples to embrace their encounters with God as they journey through life. He reminds them, as we too need to be reminded occasionally, that they are precious to God.

It is very easy to recognise God in creation, and to believe that he loves and cares for all his creatures. But it is sometimes very difficult to believe that we, too, are part of that creation. If God is concerned so much about sparrows which are two a penny, how much more is he concerned about us? Even the hairs on our head are counted – so much are we precious to God.

But it doesn’t always feel like it, does it?  

What would it take for us to feel loved by God?

What would it take for us to all demonstrate that love to others?

To be honest, probably all that is required is an openness to talk with one another about how God is at work in our town, in our community, in our Church, in our lives. The more we can embrace each encounter with God, the more we will grow as his disciples and be reassured of his love for us.  

Fresco in Bethlehem Bible College  

Fran Jeffries

DDA and Team Vicar in the Bolingbroke Deanery

Reflections on Discipleship – The Master Mason

I’m aware that there is in some quarters a bit of confusion about what is going on with discipleship in the Diocese. What’s all this about Deepening and Developing Discipleship? This morning I read 1 Peter 2:

4 As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

This seems to me exactly to explain these two strands of discipleship and the relationship between them. We come to Jesus, the ‘living Stone’ as Peter describes him, and he begins his work in us. If you’ve ever seen stonemasons at work you’ll know that their job is to shape the stone into what they want it to be, chiselling off rough edges and imperfections, getting rid of the misshapen and prickly bits. That corresponds to the work which God is doing in each of his people, what the theologians call ‘sanctification’, and what we call deepening our discipleship. It’s an individual process: just as no two stones are the same, neither are any two people. God knows us and loves us intimately, and like a good stonemason he can see in his mind’s eye what he intends for us to become.

But why does he want to do this work of shaping and perfecting us? Peter tells us: because we are being built together into a Temple of praise for God. It isn’t important that a stone is a particular shape so that it will look good: it has to be the right shape to fit with those around it. God is wanting to build his church here in our diocese, and to do that he needs a lot of individual stones who will fit together perfectly with one another. That’s what our developing discipleship stream is about: building churches and Mission Communities to plan to be more effective in offering worship and proclaiming God’s praises.

How is our Master Mason doing with you?

John Leach