Deconstructing Contemporary Discipleship

“Behind every pedagogy is a philosophical anthropology.” – James K.A. Smith (Desiring the Kingdom, 27)

James K.A. Smith is convinced that what makes “Christian education” distinctly “Christian” is that it is interested in more than merely information transference. Well, at least it should be interested in more than this. The truth of course is that the present model is often very reductionist. I don’t work in higher ed. but what he says about it sounds strangely familiar. In fact, what he says about education in particular can easily be applied to discipleship in general.

Researchers, scholars, and pastors have long decried the discipleship deficiencies of the modern church. Brad Waggoner revealed a disturbing picture of the contemporary setting when his team found that increasing numbers of self-identified Christians do not believe essential doctrines, do not seek to obey the Scriptures, do not share their faith, do not consistently participate in worship, and do not build healthy Christian relationships. In fact, in terms of overall spiritual health, the numbers were abysmally low. Waggoner writes:

Assuming you agree that a score of 80 percent is somewhat respectable but not spectacular, we can say that 17 percent of our twenty-five-hundred churchgoers received a decent discipleship or spiritual formation score. (The Shape of Faith to Come, 20)

Seventeen percent of the twenty-five-hundred churchgoers they surveyed had a remotely healthy spiritual life. They outline in more detail what that healthy spiritual life includes in their book, but the overall picture is not encouraging. This is true even of the Evangelical contingency of his research. Thankfully, there are some exceptions to this picture. There are some places that are doing well at making disciples; so this should not be seen as a blanket indictment. On the whole, however, Evangelicalism most assuredly has a discipleship deficiency. It is my conviction that the reason for this reality is a reductionist approach to discipleship within the church.

The fundamental problem with the way we approach discipleship in the modern church is our anthropological assumptions. Smith unpacks the relationship:

…Behind every constellation of educational practices is a set of assumptions about the nature of human persons – about the kinds of creatures we are. Thus a pedagogy that thinks about education as primarily a matter of disseminating information tends to assume that human beings are primarily “thinking things” and cognitive machines. Ideas and concepts are at the heart of such pedagogies because they are aimed primarily at the head. Because of the intellectualist philosophical anthropology that is operative here, the body tends to drop out of the picture. There is little attention to the nitty-gritty details of material practices and the role that they play in education. (Desiring the Kingdom, 27-28)

We have developed a model of discipleship upon the assumption that humans are primarily “thinking creatures.” What this means tangibly, then, is that we focus on disseminating information. Discipleship is viewed often as a program of giving people more and more information.

It’s not, of course, that we don’t think, nor that we don’t need information. The problem with this assumption is that it suggest information alone is sufficient to bring about transformation. But we are not merely “thinking creatures.” We are also “feeling, desiring, worshiping creatures.” I know in my own life, as well as in the lives of those I counsel, that often our problems arise not because we don’t know what we should do, but rather because we don’t want to do it. Our desires do not follow our knowledge. Michael Emlet observes the disjunction in himself. He writes:

Have you ever had an experience like this one? I had a wonderful devotional time, only to lose my temper with my teenage daughter minutes later. Where did that come from?! It invites the question – what was ultimately shaping my desires over time? What gripped my heart and why? Perhaps my dispositions and inclinations were not as oriented toward God and others as I might have consciously thought. We don’t “decide” to get angry most of the time, which suggests that the shaping of our desires may happen, at least in part…at levels below conscious reflection. (“Practice Makes Perfect?”)

In a case like Dr. Emlet’s, the issue is not that he is unaware of how to deal with anger or that he should’t get angry. The reality is not that he needs more information. Rather he needs to be captured by a bigger vision. He needs his desires oriented more towards God and others. His situation, like our own, is that we need a spiritual development that involves more than merely knowledge.

Within the realm of discipleship the church has not yet grasped this truth. We develop hundreds of discipleship programs focused on 12 week work books, thirteen week classes, or fill-in the blank Bible studies. The main idea is get people to know the right stuff and you will begin to see transformation. After all, Paul did say we ought to be “renewed” in our minds (Rom. 12:2). But is that all we need, just some more head knowledge? Is that all Paul means? Is discipleship really just about communicating doctrines, giving instruction, and telling people to obey God’s Word? Surely if we are not seeing fruit in transformed lives there must be something more. We must engage hearts as well as minds. After all, Jesus says:

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone. (Matthew 15:18-20)

To truly see transformation our discipleship needs to focus on engaging hearts and minds. On helping people to desire godly things, to be oriented firmly towards Christ. We need more than workbooks and classes. Discipleship needs to be more holistic.

Every year I pick a topic to study for the year. This year’s topic was hand-picked for me as I agreed to participate in a large research project. As part of this research we are not only exploring the deficiencies of the modern approach to discipleship, but we are exploring an alternative holistic approach to discipleship. I’ll introduce my initial thoughts on that alternative approach soon. For the moment, however, we ought to acknowledge that discipleship must involve engaging people as whole people (head, heart, and hands). We need a holistic approach to discipleship if we’re going to effectively promote change in our lives and the lives of others.