THE BASE MODELS OF DISCIPLESHIP: ADDING MEMBERS

Superficially, it is easy to be dismissive of this most basic form of discipling—what real life change is fomented? isn’t this only a numbers game? where is the depth? just joining is not becoming a disciple, is it?

Well, we cannot afford to be superficial. This most basic form of discipling actually is fairly nuanced. The community of Christ cannot grow and deepen if folks aren’t coming through the door! This form of discipling addresses that issue directly by emphasizing invitation and welcome. It continually seeks to bring people into the circle.

That is an immediate need not only for the church, but also for the world at large. Despite our ability to literally connect to someone on the other side of the world with a couple of clicked keys on a computer, our culture’s biggest problems center on issues of isolation, alienation, and disconnect. We see that tragically played out in public shootings wherein someone becomes so estranged from the rest of a community, they lash out violently, not really caring how many people are hurt or killed, just trying to get noticed by anyone. The one thing at the very core of the Christian faith is community. Finding community—engaging deeply with someone else—is a key to personal peace as well as communal peace. If we feel a part of a community, we feel our own worth as a person increase. We also know through direct experience that we are not alone—someone is there with help, hope, and hands. Belonging, we can face the uncertainty and chaos of the world. We find our strength in one another. The Gospel is relational by nature—one cannot practice self-emptying compassion in isolation. Jesus himself taught that he is present where two or three are together. So, any congregation that seeks to welcome the stranger is making a difference. It is understanding one of the central calls from God to all humanity—we are to practice radical hospitality with one another for in so doing we realize the promise of being created in the image of God who is relational by nature—the beauty and miracle of the Trinity—God is love and a loving relationship in and of God’s own being. Therefore, the community of faith is called to reflect, represent, and respond in that same love within its context.

To do this work well, a church will need to be proactive and shed any form of passivity. A congregation cannot simply hope that people will come, but will need to reach out to the community around it. They will have to be aggressive in being sure the community knows they exist, knows the community is welcome, and knows what is going on. The invitation needs to be embodied—real people making contact with real people. Ironically, a church committed to adding folks to its circle will have to leave the circle. Outreach is more than a program—it becomes a way of life.

This form of discipling is an entry-level approach. It works really well with a church who sees its vocation as reaching folks with no church experience. In our context in Northern California, there is a desperate need for more churches to hear this as their call. According to multiple studies, our area is “post-religious”—so non-aligned with any faith practice that faith practice itself is a relic of a bygone era. To be blunt—we live on a mission field. Entry-level faith practice is going to meet many, many people. So, a congregation will need to adopt an entry-level presence. There can be no assumption that anyone outside the church walls knows anything about Christian practice. They may know the name Jesus, but not much else beyond that he somehow preached love. There will need to be an honest comprehension that there will be skepticism about the church, if not outright hostility toward it based on public perception of the church as a gathering of the judgmental and hypocritical. So, a church seeking to welcome the strangers in their midst will have to put sincere compassion, genuine hospitality, and an open invitation to questions, critiques, and reactions first. They will also have to make education about core elements of Christianity a priority—the best to overcome assumption is through exposition—this what we believe, this how we practice what we believe, and this is where you fit in. Yes, it will be rudimentary, but it cannot be arrogantly presented as “we know more than you do,” but compassionately—you have questions, we have help. Humility will go a long way.

This form of discipling works best if newcomers are immediately engaged in the life and work of the community of faith. Involvement equals staying. Which leads to an immediate weakness with this approach. Often, simply getting people in the door and then signed up as members is where it ends. As many people, then, are exiting out the back door as are coming through the front door. Churches finding meaning and growth in all its forms through this discipling model practice shepherding. Someone takes responsibility for newcomers, guiding them into full participation within the community of faith. They will be with them for months, if not years. It also helps if newcomers meet with other newcomers, forming a community within the community, sharing the experience of being new. An experienced shepherd may sit with them, but the goal is the relationship among the newcomers. Again, involvement equals staying. 

Another key factor in this model is that it never, ever becomes simply a numbers game. The goal is not and cannot be simply getting bottoms in pews. The goal is creating a communion of Christ. Hence, consistency between action and message is essential. The welcome has to be real. practicing as Jesus did of calling anyone and everyone without making them sign loyalty oaths, buy into a moral code, but instead simply becoming a child of God among other children of God, redeemed by grace; then living that welcome within the world. Compassion has to be lived, not just talked about or preached only to be ignored. 

Finally, this model can work well if there is a community of churches working together. For example, in some small towns, churches are working cooperatively, realizing they are not in competition, but each has some unique ministry to offer that together creates a holistic experience of God within a town. In such a model, one church may see its work as getting people into faith, intentionally then preparing them to move to another church as their faith becomes more complex and nuanced. We see people doing this on their own—a common practice is someone attending several different churches for different things—I like the worship here, but there is a mission project I like over there, and that church over here has a great youth program—so they move from place to place for different needs. So why not intentionally pursue that as a community of churches serving a town? One church could then be a “welcome center” of sorts, committed to being someone’s first church, getting them ready for the journey of faith. 

Within the United Methodist Church, there is a new worshipping community model that is gaining traction called “Simple Church.” The point is to meet around a communal meal that includes celebration of sacrament, Word, worship, and fellowship. It is that simple. It is profoundly introducing people to what life in Christ can be, though. People experience compassionate care, lived proclamation of grace, and are empowered to share that experience with others. As one participant commented, “It is easier to invite someone to dinner instead of church.”  Yes, it is.