Whole Life Discipleship

In my last blog post one of the issues that I commented on was that the Christian faith needs to be moved from the margins back into the centre of life.  Being a follower of Jesus is about the whole of life and not simply what we do on a Sunday or when retreating from the world.  Faith is for the whole of life.

In rural Africa a programme called ‘Farming God’s Way’ (Link - Farming God's Way in Uganda) seeks to draw together good farming practice with Christian discipleship.  In a context where people frequently scratch a living from the land, lives are being transformed in more ways than one as men and women are taught the basics of good agricultural practice from a biblical perspective.  Seeing that faith engages with the whole of their lives is transformational, not just in the fields, but beyond that, to whole communities encountering something of the fullness of life that Jesus offers.

The question for each of us to ask is what is our equivalent of ‘Farming God’s Way’?  What does it mean to conduct business God’s way, to practice in the health service God’s way, to be a neighbour God’s way, to be a student God’s way, to shop God’s way……?

Let me share a small example from my own experience – While I cannot claim to be the chief shopper in my family, I do have occasion to go to the supermarket.  With my items in the trolley (carefully chosen with ethics and fair trade in mind!), I head each time for the same person on the check out, I greet her in her language of origin (all I can do in that language, but a few words go a long way!) and engage in conversation.  We share about our families and our lives in a relatively brief exchange, so as not to make those behind in the queue too irate. It is so easy to simply put the goods on one end of a conveyor belt and pick them up from the other, without even acknowledging the presence of the assistant.  Valuing someone, showing an interest in them, expressing appreciation, are simple expressions of following Jesus.

When the Apostle Paul addressed slaves and masters in his letters, he did not encourage an escapist attitude, but rather one of engagement with Jesus, in the places where they could more naturally have perceived him to be absent; ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord’ (Colossians 3:23).  If we live as though Jesus is absent, then our ears will be closed to hearing his voice, and our lives will be unresponsive to doing his will; if we live life to the full and acknowledge his presence in all that we do, then we will hear him speak in new ways, seek to live as he would have us do, and find surprising opportunities to share his love.

Discipleship from a global perspective

The church has experienced dramatic growth in the global south over the past century, in contrast to much of the Western world.  Yet there remains a challenge in terms of discipleship, as highlighted by the example of Rwanda.  The country had an estimated 90% of the population in 1994 and yet went on to experience the horrors of a genocide that left nearly 1 million dead, and a nation ripped apart.  Some of my good friends come from Rwanda and Burundi and carry personally the scars of this conflict in a supposedly Christian country.

Nevertheless there are lessons for us to learn from discipleship in the global south.  It was encouraging to be able to share some of this at a recent gathering of mission leaders in the UK so that the lessons can inform us.  A few of the lessons shared were as follows:

1.       Discipleship needs to be contextual – it needs to relate to the context in which people live and breathe, rather than be imported from an alien culture.  It needs to address the issues and context in which people live out their lives.  So, for example, if people live in a context of fear of evil spirits, then it needs to address that issue.  Does our UK discipleship relate to the changing context in which we live e.g. lack of commitment, materialism and individualism?

2.       Discipleship needs to be intentional- it doesn’t just happen but rather needs to be worked through with strategic intent. So, for example, a church planting movement in India has a detailed plan of teaching that is drawn into the life of new churches at various stages of growth.  Do we build, with strategic intent, discipleship into the life of our Christian communities e.g. what are we expecting disciples to look like and how are we going to get there?

3.       Discipleship needs to be built around the community of a family or small group – it needs to be relational in nature as modelled by Jesus and his band of followers.  This seems to happen more naturally often in other cultures where the family and community is more closely knit.  Do we neglect the smaller expression of Christian community at the expense of focusing upon the large gathering? - More relational discipleship provides for accountability and a depth of relationship that the larger church gathering does not.

4.       Discipleship needs to address the whole of life – it cannot simply be the preserve of a Sunday or church activity, but needs to infiltrate the whole of life.  So, for example, a programme called ‘Farming God’s Way’ brings together faith and farming in a transformative way in many places in sub-Saharan Africa.  Does our discipleship help to equip people for the workplace and the whole of life? - The real frontline of mission is found in the places where we live our lives day by day.

Just a few thoughts to which much could be added….