Crisis of Discipleship

Renewing the Art of Relational Disciple-making

G. Christopher Scruggs

• Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781638680574
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Crisis of Discipleship analyzes the causes of the current decline of Christian faith in the West and proposes a response by faith communities that is both Biblical and grounded in historic Christian faith.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1: THE BLESSED LIFE

CHAPTER 2: LIFE IN THE RUINS

CHAPTER 3: COSTLY DISCIPLESHIP

CHAPTER 4: THE WAY OF A CHRIST-FOLLOWER

CHAPTER 5: THE WAY OF RELATIONSHIP

CHAPTER 6: SHARING CHRIST’S LIFE

CHAPTER 7: SHARING GOOD NEWS

CHAPTER 8: SHARING YOUR TESTIMONY

CHAPTER 9: SHARING IN DIALOGUE

CHAPTER 10: DISCIPLES HAVE A WAY OF LIFE

CHAPTER 11: LIVING IN TRANSFORMATIONAL COMMUNITY

CHAPTER 12: DISCIPLESHIP IN AN AGE OF FRAGMENTATION

PREFACE

MY WIFE, KATHY, AND I have a life-long interest in discipleship. Before we were married, Kathy participated in young adult discipling programs. We met in a small Bible Study made up of young people who were new Christians or seeking God. Over the last forty years, we have sponsored groups in our homes, businesses, schools, and churches. A few years ago, we published a practical workbook called, Salt & Light: Everyday Discipleship. {1} Salt & Light provides one simple, practical lay-training method for Christians and local congregations to make self-replicating disciples in an orderly and effective way. We continue to share our lives with others in discipleship groups.

The Crisis of Discipleship

My friend and fellow pastor, Dave Schieber, frequently says, “The Church is always one generation from extinction.” {2} This saying contains an important insight: the church in America is shrinking in numbers and influence. Christian faith no longer impacts the lives of many individuals and much of Western society. Even so-called “evangelical” groups, which grew rapidly during the post-World War II period, are shrinking. It would seem that we are witnessing the collapse of Christian faith and practice in America and the West.

Well-meaning denominations, churches, pastors, and others devise programs and strategies to stem the decline with mixed results. Unfortunately, the problem cannot be addressed solely by strategies, programs, or advertising savvy. It can only be successfully addressed as individual Christians become fully committed disciples of Jesus, sharing God’s wisdom and love with a broken world in obedience to the Great Commission. As a friend used to say, “We need to be totally sold out to God.”

The Great Commission was not just given to twelve first century people, professional clergy, and exceptionally gifted laypersons. Every Christian is intended to share the Good News and make mature disciples of those who respond. Crisis of Discipleship clarifies some of the causes of the crisis of disciple-making in our culture and suggests a possible strategy to respond. Hopefully, readers will be empowered to understand the crisis of discipleship more deeply and more effectively share their Christian faith with others — as well as lead other church members in the way of Christ.

The Danger of Cheap Grace

In the 1930s, the German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote a Christian classic, “The Cost of Discipleship,” in which he spoke about the danger of “Cheap Grace.”{3} Today, perhaps because institutional churches in the West did not take seriously the implications of The Cost of Discipleship, Christians face a “Crisis of Discipleship,” which is the theme of this book.

As a friend recently put it, “We have lost an entire generation for the Church and are in danger of losing another.” Christians can respond to the challenge to reach both the next and lost generations with the Good News of the wisdom and love of God. However, we cannot overcome our crisis of discipleship until and unless individual Christians and their congregations are motivated to be more authentic disciples of Christ. For this to happen, Christians must take seriously the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, and the importance of discipling new believers.

Crisis of Discipleship begins with an analysis of the emerging postmodern world — a culture that is rapidly becoming worldwide due to the globalization of Western culture over the past 300 years, and particularly of American culture in the second half of the 20th Century. This is the most difficult section of the book but is critical to move forward wisely. When beginning a long journey, it is best so look at a map, and especially at the difficult roads we may have to travel.

Having set the stage by analyzing the problem, Crisis of Discipleship shares one historic, Biblical understanding of how Christians can reach out to share their faith with others in the face of these challenges. All the essays address the implications of the Great Commission to “Go everywhere and make disciples of everyone you can, bringing them to faith and teaching these new disciples to follow the teachings of the Messiah, who will always be present with those who go about the business of making disciples” (Matthew 28:16-21, paraphrase).This book is designed for readers who wish to learn more about the Way of Jesus and how to share it with others. I am not a scholar, and the book is not a theological treatise. It is a mixture of practical discipleship theory and practice designed to help leaders and others understand barriers our culture places in the path of those who desire to share the Way of Christ in a relationship of wisdom and love with others. Crisis of Discipleship is not a “how-to book.” There are many such books, some of them quite good. Instead, this book looks at the underlying causes of our difficulties and the best general strategy to respond. Each reader and congregation must choose their particular way of responding to the crisis of discipleship we face.

Two basic ideas unify the essays:

• First, God is Love and exists in a loving family-like relationship, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Christian faith is best shared in loving communal interaction. This excludes all ideas of force, physical, mental, emotional and otherwise. No one comes to authentic faith other than freely.
• Second, God is Light, and the Christian faith should be shared with the patience, wisdom, and restraint characteristic of our wise and patient God. The light of Christ speaks for itself, and does not need pressure tactics or advertising savvy to succeed.

If Christians keep these two ideas in mind, many mistakes in evangelism and discipleship can be avoided.

May the Lord bless and keep each and every reader of this book.

Chris Scruggs

Epiphany 2022

CHAPTER 1:
THE BLESSED LIFE

WE LIVE IN A CURIOUS AGE. Never in human history have people in the developed world had so much material wealth. Paradoxically, never have people experienced more anxiety about the future, their ability to continue to consume at or above their current level, and especially the meaning and purpose of their lives. Young people in almost all Western democracies, but notably in the United States, the so-called “leader of the free world,” are often characterized by a lack of interest in the way of life and faith in the very institutions that provide them with the highest standard of living and the most personal freedom experienced anywhere in human history.

Sadly, among Christians, fewer and fewer people live as fully committed disciples. Europe's churches are nearly empty, and those in the United States and North America are rapidly going down the same path. People have lost trust in that way of life that made our civilization possible.

Social commentators, Christian and non-Christian, liberal and conservative, traditionalist and radical, agree that something is wrong. They don't agree on what is wrong, how serious the problem is, or what to do in response, but they agree there is a problem. Often, we see articles published with a title similar to, “Are America’s best days behind her?”{4} These articles focus on indications that something is deeply wrong with our culture.

Frequently, commentators conclude that the root of our society’s problems is that material wealth, prosperity, pleasure, consumption, leisure, and the like cannot provide meaning, purpose, love, or inner strength and security. The relentless search for meaning and purpose by the means advocated by our society result in an increasing loss of meaning, purpose, love, inner strength, and security. The result is pervasive loneliness, isolation, neurosis, and anxiety.

One reason we have so much trouble resisting the temptations of our culture is that most people have a deeply ingrained, culturally formed notion of “the Good Life.” The good life involves feelings of personal pleasure and happiness. Most people believe that hard work, education, healthy habits, exercise, pleasurable experiences, travel, recreation, hobbies, and other forms of “self-actualization” are important to achieving this good life. Some believe that government can and should create this good life on behalf of its citizens. Others believe it should be formed by private industry and personal initiative. However, nearly all people hope for an earthly paradise in which all human expectations and desires are met. {5}

Jesus and the Blessed Life

Jesus never talked about the desirability of living to old age, attaining physical beauty, staying fit and healthy, acquiring wealth, getting ahead financially, consuming increasing amounts of goods and services, traveling, having pleasurable experiences, or any of the major preoccupations of our day. He did, however, speak about what he called “the blessed life.”

Interestingly, Jesus’ teachings concerning the blessed life ar...

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