Foundation of Everything
Part 3 of 3
Getting the Most Out of Discipleship
Contents
To Introduction to Small Church Communities →
Catching the Fire
The formation of a living, growing disciple is far more than simply receiving the sacraments. Baptism plants a seed that must be tended. Confession frees the one who truly longs to please the Lord. The Eucharist most fully nourishes the soul already inflamed. Confirmations is meant to mark the wholehearted choice to follow Christ, to intentionally become a living, growing disciple. Marriage calls us to die to ourselves and mirror the sacrificial love of Christ for his church. For the sacraments to infuse our life with the life more abundant Christ offers, we must be well-formed and set on fire for Christ.
This catching fire is far more than merely attending a religious class or your typical Bible study—far more than information alone. Genuine formation is not simply consenting to the beliefs, but rather being set free by the truth.
The formation of a living, growing disciple offers an encounter with Jesus Christ and calls us to pick up our cross and follow him. This formation carefully and thoroughly applies the gospel to our life. It challenges the disciple and offers clear benchmarks. And above all, it gives us access to a living, growing disciple who offers their support in the formation. After all, the fire is caught, not taught.
This is a serious, intentional cooperation with the transformative power of knowing and loving the Lord, of humbly opening our hearts to his grace.
So, let’s take a closer look at what a solid formation may entail.
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Basic Formation Approaches
We recommend three basic formation approaches. These are the mentor approach (one on one), the discipleship quad approach (4-person team), and the Paladin small church community approach (6-10 people). Let’s take a closer look at each of these.
Mentor
A mentor assists a less mature Christian of the same sex to become a living, growing disciple or to grow as one. Mentoring involves one-on-one meetings; these may be weekly, monthly, or in between. They may meet for a few years or much longer.
The primary advantage of mentoring is a more personalized instruction and discussion. Ideally, they continue together until the apprentice is a mature disciple ready to mentor others; potentially, even longer. Mentors may encourage involvement in a discipleship quad or small church community eventually.
Mentoring is typically more effective for forming disciples than small church communities; however, discipleship quads have proven more effective than either, in recent studies.
Mentoring is the most traditional approach of the three. Barnabas mentored Paul, who in turn mentored Timothy and others. These mighty evangelists preached to many; however, they only took on a few apprentices to mentor one-on-one over a long period of time.
For our purposes, a mentor is not a spiritual director. Mentoring is more about accompaniment than having the apprentice follow precisely the path a director marks out.
Discipleship Quad
A quad consists for four member of the same sex who meet forty-four times over one year to become living, growing disciples or to grow as disciples. While the quad has a founder, the four take turns leading. The guidelines I found did not emphasize at least one of the four being a living, growing disciple; however, I would consider this a prerequisite.
The discipleship quad program that I previewed was through the Franciscan University of Steubenville. This program provides clear guidance and materials for the formation process. Discipleship quads offer clearer benchmarks and clearer accountability than small church communities. The smaller size of the group and the same sex of all the members both contribute to a greater intimacy and accountability than is typically found in a small church community. The additional numbers and the basic equality among the members would likely contribute to a greater camaraderie than the mentor approach. The folks at Steubenville claim that research shows discipleship quads to be the most effective approach for forming disciples. The approach also prepares members to form and facilitate new quads.
The small church community does offer some advantages over the discipleship quad. Some folks will prefer the lower level of intimacy and accountability afforded by a small church community. Many folks desire support with less direct challenge. Also, the discipleship quad uses the same year-long material for each new group. While this is very effective for a multiplication approach, it seems rather limiting to never expand the material to new topics. Perhaps, the disciple could switch to leading small church communities after a few years to break things up and consider new material (especially if they don’t feel called to start a new quad).
The quad leader is the least traditional leader of these three approaches. In the quad, the four members take turns at the leadership role; all are equal in this sense. The rotating leadership role is completely a facilitator role—there isn’t really a leader at all. However, despite this “leaderless” approach, we always insist there should be at least one living, growing disciple in the group to offer sound input and ignite the fire within the others. We insist that the fire within should be ignited by one who already burns with that fire within—a living, growing disciple. Of course, the Lord does not need another to ignite the fire; however, this is how it normally occurs.
https://steubenvilleconferences.com/discipleship-quads/
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Paladin Small Church Community
Paladin small church communities meet weekly for spring and fall study series. These groups range from 6-10 members of both sexes. These communities are the only option for couples to join together. Parents can also bring their adult children to these communities. Unlike quads, multiplication happens when the group reaches ten or more members. The group splits into two new groups; each of the smaller groups invites additional members.
Paladin small church communities typically meet 16-20 times during the year. The commitment is only to the current study series (typically 8-10 meetings). This commitment is less weighty than with the quad or mentor approach. The Paladin small church community embraces the come and see approach; new people are often invited to a fellowship dinner after the close of a study series or the first meeting of a new study series.
Disciple formation is the primary focus; however, support, fellowship, sharing, and ongoing learning are also emphasized. The small church community will have a greater emphasis on the social element than the other two approaches. These communities will best meet our need for community and general support. These communities are less structured than the other two approaches; their benchmarks are typically less clear, and accountability is less strict. Generally, these communities focus more on being welcoming to everyone yet still challenging everyone on their journey to God. Typically, both discipleship quads and mentoring are more effective at forming disciples than any version of small church community.
The community normally offers completely new study series, rather than endlessly repeating the material as the quad does. This supports the ongoing learning required of all disciples. Occasionally, communities will repeat a study series so new members will have the opportunity to dive into central aspects of becoming living, growing disciples. Preferably, the leader will find new material that covers the same important central aspects, but that’s not always the best option. Of course, there could be very different types of small church communities than the one presented here.
The Paladin small church community leaders are more facilitators than mentors or even instructors. The materials are the “instructor,” and the leader helps folks understand the materials and apply it to their lives. This is quite different from the traditional mentor-apprentice relationship.
Paladin small church communities most resemble the church in the early centuries. Not everyone had a mentor like St. Paul; however, everyone had a supportive, close-knit church meeting in someone’s home.
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Discipleship Benchmarks
There are various kinds of Catholic benchmarks for disciples. There are the sacramental benchmarks. There are the levels of discipleship. And there is the maturity of the disciple’s prayer life. However, we will focus on four special benchmarks that we should help others meet regardless of whether they are meeting with a mentor, a quad, or a small church community.
1. Discipleship Prayer
Disciples need to make decisive prayers of commitment to Christ. These prayers are more than simply reciting our beliefs or even renouncing the allures of Satan and the world. These prayers intentionally surrender to Jesus and dedicate our lives to him and his work. Such prayers are particularly important at the conclusion of a study series, retreat, or other spiritual endeavor.
Below is a sample Discipleship Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need You. More than the parched need water, more than the weary need rest, more than the lonely need company, I need you. Thank You for seeking me out like the lost sheep, for welcoming me like the father of the prodigal son. Thank You for laying down Your life for my sake, for bridging the great chasm between God and mankind, for allowing me to truly become a child of God by integrating my life into Your life. I open myself to You, and I surrender my life to You. I promise to seek You more fully through prayer, through the practice of the virtues, and through service to others. May I be joyful and fearless in living a life of generous service in Your Spirit. And may I embrace Your great commission and help others likewise become living, growing disciples. All praise and glory be Yours, now and forever. AMEN.
2. Rule of Life
Disciples need a plan to progress on their journey to God. As we carefully plan for our education, careers, and budget, we likewise need to plan our spiritual journey. We need to arrange our days to grow in prayer, knowledge, and virtue; to better experience the nearness of Christ and his peace, joy, and love. We need a disciplined plan to slow down and make more room for God in our lives. This plan is our rule of life.
Our rule of life is a set of guidelines and commitments that direct our spiritual life. These usually include various devotions as set times of daily prayer and meditation, religious study, fasting, acts of charity, an annual retreat, and so forth. When developing our rule, we should take care to challenge ourselves—especially in areas we need it most—yet also take care not to overburden ourselves. We should take on new devotions or other commitments gradually and reevaluate our rule of life often. Reevaluating our rule with a mentor or spiritual director is often very beneficial.
Part III: Creating a Rule of Life will further elaborate on the rule of life and walk you through the process using organizational categories and an abundance of examples for the various practices.
3. Evangelization
The living, growing disciple must embrace the great commission and help form new disciples. After becoming a living, growing disciple, nothing is more important than progressing on our own journey and helping others progress on their journey. A truly living, growing disciple is compelled to share their faith and help others along the journey to God.
Evangelization is not primarily done through proselytization or apologetics or other persuasion. Nor is it primarily done through reading books or witnessing miracles or even through prayer. All these are good and helpful; however, these are not primarily what we are called to do as evangelists.
Evangelization is very simply sharing who Jesus is and what he has done in our life. Period. Of course, evangelization is also finding and creating the opportunity to do this—of making use of the opportunities as they arise. Some of us will need to make Christ and evangelism a far greater priority in our lives. Some of us will need to work on being more outgoing and friendly; some of us will need to expand our circles. Most of us will need to expand our comfort zone.
And, of course, evangelization is also witnessing through our example of faith, hope, and love; of peace, joy, and charity; of humility, openness, and generosity. After all, we must be credible witnesses. Of course, our journey mindset takes some of the pressure off us; we gladly acknowledge we are fellow pilgrims who likewise still have a lot of ground to cover on the journey to God.
4. Service
All disciples are called to serve. They may serve through ministry, serving the Church as catechists, lectors, and so forth to directly support the life of the local parish. Or they may serve through an apostolate, serving those outside the church as evangelists, pro-life advocates, bible study or small church community leaders, Catholic apologists, Catholic parents, and so forth. Typically, disciples are engaged in both ministries and apostolates. And often enough there is overlap in the two. A small church community open to fallen-away Catholics and non-Catholics might be considered both. Then again, some folks consider anything not directly overseen by the Church as an apostolate regardless of the recipient of the work.
Regardless of the service, the disciple should evangelize on some level, whether ministry or apostolate. And even if your personal role within an apostolate is something like bookkeeping, you should still contribute directly to the evangelical nature of the apostolate on some level—even if simply praying for the apostolate.
Remember, it is in the giving that we receive. This kind of service is as essential for our own journey as it is for those we are serving. We need to help others to grow.
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Gift Inventory
Sometimes it is difficult to discern the avenue of service to which God is calling us. Sometimes it helps to discern the gifts God has bestowed upon us as a disciple.
Disciples of Jesus Christ receive special gifts to build up the kingdom of God. Once we are living, growing disciples, we should discern what special gifts we have received and how we can use them for the kingdom. The Catholic Spiritual Gifts Inventory by Sherry Weddell includes the follow gifts: Administration, Celibacy, Craftsmanship, Discernment of Spirits, Encouragement, Evangelism, Faith, Giving, Healing, Helps, Hospitality, Intercessory Prayer, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Missionary, Music, Pastoring, Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Voluntary Poverty, Wisdom, and Writing. Some inventories also include charismatic gifts.
Many folks have gone through the “Called and Gifted” workshop to discern their gifts (visit the St. Catherine of Sienna Institute for more information). Many others have taken the simpler approach; they have used the plenitude of free online gifts inventories. The Spiritual Gifts Inventory from the Diocese of Cleveland is good and can be printed out online (only 15 pages). The following link may also be beneficial:
https://stpetersbeaufort.org/giftsinventory.
The gift inventory may help point you in the right direction; however, keep in mind that it’s only a starting point. Discussions with others and your own prayerful discernment will bring you to where the Lord is leading.
What’s Next…
We mightily encourage you to become involved in one of the three formation approaches mentioned above—mentoring, discipleship quads, or small church communities. We have primarily focused on small church communities, because we wanted the most accessible approach for the greatest number of people. While the other two methods may potentially be more transformative, the average person—practicing Catholic or otherwise—is more likely to take part in a small church community. The small church community best meets people where they are. So next we will dive into the Paladin vision for small church communities.
To Introduction to Small Church Communities →
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