| ch Culture. | | | | growth. In pre-modern and postmodern cultures |
| Part 2: The Collapse of the Church Culture. By | | | | the home was and is the center for spiritual |
| Maurice Goulet | | | | formation. Consider this quote from Marvin Wilson: |
| A person who claims to be a follower of Jesus | | | | "Foundational to all theory on the biblical concept |
| Christ claims to have a relationship with him. This | | | | of family is the Jewish teaching that the home is |
| means they know him, not just about him (this | | | | more important than the synagogue. In Jewish |
| was Paul's claim in Philippians 3:10). Yet we have | | | | tradition, the center of religious life has always |
| turned our churches into groups of people who | | | | been the home" (Marvin R. Wilson, "Our Father |
| are studying God as though they were taking a | | | | Abraham", p. 214, 216).) |
| course at school or attending a business seminar. | | | | I am amazed at how our best church families |
| We aim at the head. We don't deal in relationships. | | | | have no clue as to how to have conversations at |
| And we wonder why there is no passion for the | | | | home about spiritual subjects. Churches are so |
| Lord and his mission? It's because, in our effort to | | | | busy getting people involved at the church that |
| disciple people, we've been barking up the wrong | | | | they've neglected this fundamental agenda of |
| tree. | | | | spiritual formation. The typical church family leaves |
| We have made following Jesus all about being a | | | | spiritual stuff to what happens at the church, |
| good church member. We are training people to | | | | thereby delegating spiritual formation to the |
| be good club members, all the while wondering | | | | institution. And the institution encourages it! |
| why our influence in the world is waning. The truth | | | | What if youth ministers spent as much time with |
| is, the North American church culture extracts salt | | | | the parents as they did with their children? This |
| from the world and diminishes the amount of light | | | | would be a shift for most church expectations of |
| available to those in darkness who need to find | | | | staff. We typically hire children's and youth |
| their way. | | | | ministers to run programs for children and young |
| In the modern world, how would we typically | | | | people. In fact, this approach by the church may |
| approach the spiritual learning objectives we've | | | | do more to decimate the home as a spiritual |
| just identified? We'd write a curriculum, produce a | | | | center than anything coming into the home on |
| conference, convene a class, create a study | | | | television or the Internet. |
| course, recruit a teacher or other expert, sign | | | | As a youth, I grew up in the surfing culture. As a |
| people up, teach the material to the students, and | | | | surfer, I never planned a single wave, but I did |
| pass out completion certificates. Then we would | | | | prepare to ride the waves when they came. God |
| wonder what would happen or change as a result | | | | is making waves all around the North American |
| of the experience. The truth is that we have | | | | church. Some churches are going to get to ride |
| very little evidence that academic or conferential | | | | them. These are the churches that are prepared |
| learning changes behavior. I submit that there has | | | | to get in on what God is up to." |
| never been more teaching or Christian education | | | | Typical approaches to the future involve |
| in the history of the world than there is in the US | | | | prediction and planning. The better and biblical |
| today. And yet, one survey indicates that only | | | | approach to the future involves prayer and |
| 9% of people who say they are 'born again' have | | | | preparation. The Apostles sitting in the Temple on |
| a Biblical worldview. The question we should be | | | | the day of Pentecost were not engaged in a |
| asking today is how Do We Develop Followers of | | | | strategic planning retreat to plan the birth of the |
| Jesus Christ? | | | | church and the early stages of the Christian |
| The academic model for the last several hundred | | | | movement. Not in their wildest dreams would |
| years involved an expert (teacher) who had | | | | they have scripted three thousand converts on |
| information and disseminated it to less-informed | | | | Day One nor would they have predicted the leap |
| people (students). This was the basic plot that | | | | of the Spirit to the Samaritans or to the Gentiles? |
| developed into millions of episodes of | | | | Apparently not, based on their responses to both |
| death-by-lecture. | | | | developments. Would they have recruited the |
| Students can now obtain more information over | | | | rising star of Judaism to become the ultimate |
| the Internet overnight than a teacher can deliver | | | | leader of the movement? Hardly. God does the |
| in lecture form in a month's time. The issue now | | | | planning; we do the preparing. He does not say, |
| is learning, how to make sense out of the | | | | I am waiting for you to develop plans I can |
| information that is available. The agenda is more | | | | bless." |
| and more being set by the learner. Another way | | | | Spiritual preparation has the goal of getting God's |
| to say this is that we have grown up with a | | | | people in partnership with him in his redemptive |
| Greek approach to education in the modern world. | | | | mission in the world. The five elements of a |
| We are now returning to a Hebraic approach that | | | | spiritually prepared architecture are vision, values, |
| is much closer to what we see Jesus using. One | | | | results, strengths, and learning. The question we |
| aspect of this is that the learner/disciple | | | | need to begin asking is, how do we cultivate |
| determines the curriculum. | | | | vision? Vision is discovered, not invented. Jesus |
| In the modern world, it is believed that spiritual | | | | Christ said, I will build my Church. He is the |
| formation is accomplished by taking a student | | | | one with the vision for our lives and the church. It |
| through a prescribed group of texts that | | | | is our job to discover what he has in mind, not to |
| addressed topics in a curricular approach. This is | | | | invent something he can get excited about. |
| so deeply ingrained in us that we approach almost | | | | I learned the following lesson early in life and it has |
| any learning experience in the church this way. In | | | | eased my heart tremendously. God is always at |
| the world that is dawning, the curriculum approach | | | | work in every situation before I show up. As the |
| to growing people is increasingly viewed as a | | | | reality of this fact sunk in, I realized that my job |
| supplemental strategy to the primary approach: | | | | was not to analyze the situation really well and |
| learning agendas driven by life issues and informed | | | | then to figure out a way to make something |
| by life experiences. Jesus facilitated spiritual | | | | happen but rather to see what God is already |
| formation in his disciples by introducing them to | | | | doing and ask if I had a part to play. |
| life situations and then helping them debrief their | | | | We need to listen to people in our church, we |
| experiences. He taught them to pray. He did not | | | | need to look at our town or neighborhood and we |
| lead them in a study course on prayer. He took | | | | need to talk with our leaders. But as we do that |
| them on mission trips; he didn't read books to | | | | we must be focused on the question: What is |
| them on the subject of missions. | | | | God already doing here? Jesus models this kind of |
| The consistent challenge I run into when discussing | | | | approach in John 5:19 when He says, "I do nothing |
| small groups is the prevalent notion that small | | | | on my own initiative. I only do what I see the |
| groups should function primarily in a curriculum | | | | Father doing. Further, the role of a leader is to |
| mode (a bible study, text-driven experience). This | | | | help his people ask the question: What do we see |
| is why groups can move from one curriculum | | | | God doing here? This is the starting point for the |
| piece to another and never experience any real | | | | visioning process. |