Discipleship Process

Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care

Biblical Christianity should be a powerful, life-forming, paradigm-shifting experience leading to increasing levels of Christlikeness. Unfortunately, the experience of many Christians today is far short of the transformation described in Scripture. This article reports on a portion of mixed-methods research examining the transformative learning reported by alumni of a 22-lesson discipleship process called the Immersion Experience by Aphesis Group Ministries. Holistic spiritual health involves listening to our emotions, confronting toxic shame, addressing childhood defenses, and untangling our distorted spirituality.

Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 2020

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This study examines the goal of discipling at the time of Jesus and modern day western Christian views and evaluates them against what Paul says in the New Testament epistle of Colossians. It examines the cognitive and ethical goals Paul proposes through the theme of fullness. The goal of fullness, in terms of knowledge of God, fullness ‘in Christ,’ and fullness in maturity is examined and applied to our context today

This topic, which may even seem unrelated, will help you as a Christian to grow up spiritually. It will help you sum up your own case to discern your spiritual stage. Then, after you have known your stage, it will help you grow out of that stage into another stage—spiritually. Spiritual knowledge is very important in spiritual formation. It is important for you as a believer to be humble and willing to accept the teaching of the Holy Spirit. If so, you will come to the realization of the stages in spiritual formation and this will help you to know the stage at which you are. The most ignorant believer, without the slightest idea of the stages of spiritual formation may boast thinking that he has arrived. This piece is a panacea which will help you walk towards perfection.

2017

The call of the first disciples reported in Mark 1:17 provides significant commentary on the essential attributes necessary for authentic life changing discipleship. In His words, "Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men" Jesus establishes a paradigm for discipleship that is at once an invitation into a master/student relationship (i.e. "Follow me") that would engage his followers in a transformational process (i.e. "and I will make you become"), that would eventuate in their being shaped for a specific vocation (i.e. "fishers of men"). In this prototypical summons, these elements of following, becoming, and out-reaching should be viewed as the indispensable DNA of healthy disciple making. This paper explores how the vocation of selfgiving for the purpose of communicating Good News to others is the essence of "fishing for men", and is not only how the gospel reaches out into the world, but is also the primary catalyst for...

Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care

C. S. Lewis called for spiritual formation long before the term became popular: “Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else” (Mere Christianity, 171). Lewis's call to become little Christs recalls Paul's exhortation to “put off” the old self and “put on” Christ. This paper explores what this change of costume involves from the perspective of what a “theodramatic” approach to theology that I have developed in The Drama of Doctrine and Faith Speaking Understanding. I there argue that the role of doctrine is to (1) indicate what is in Christ and (2) direct those in Christ to participate in Christ by playing their parts in the drama of redemption. This theatrical model raises an important issue concerning the disciple's self-understanding: Is it healthy for Christians to think in terms of “acting out” what is “in Christ” (their new identities as Christ's disciples) or does this encourage a false sense of...

Scholars Crossing, 2018

THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY THESIS PROJECT ABSTRACT Leon B. Newton Liberty University School of Divinity, 2018 Mentor: Dr. Donald Q. Hicks Important to realize, is the absence of spiritual transformation in the lives of some Christians within the membership of Simon Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The purpose of this study was to discover if the program’s influence on those participants in the experimental group transform into Christlikeness faster than those participants in the control group. This study evaluated transformation of participants in both groups. There were five areas evaluated. These areas included attitudes, behaviors, relationships, ministry, and doctrine. The findings from this study provided credible and convincing evidence which can be used to encourage mass participation in the MasterLife Christian Discipleship Program in this present writer’s local church and local churches throughout the universal church. Therefore, sincere congregational participation in this program should help to minimize the absence of spiritual transformation in the lives of disciples of Christ in this present and all future generations. Thesis Project Topic Abstract length: The word count is 146 words.

In this quantitative study, discipleship strategies of churches in the Christian and Missionary Alliance were surveyed, to determine if discipleship strategies were effective at fulfilling the mission of helping people connect with God and grow spiritually. Data were collected from 30 church attenders from Western Pennsylvania churches, 27 of which fully completed the research survey. The internal reliability level of participant responses was evaluated and considered excellent. Results showed that the study participant perceptions that they grew in their faith in Christ through the discipleship opportunities provided at their church was statistically significant with a very large magnitude of response effect. Two elements of growth were statistically significantly predictive of study participant perceptions that they grew in their faith in Christ through the discipleship opportunities provided at their church: increased desire for spiritual growth and increased Christ-like behavior. Furthermore, two distinct dimensions of growth were identified through the exploratory factor analysis predictive model and showed a statistical significance with 79% of the variance in overall perceptions of participant growth in faith in Christ through their church discipleship explainable by two dimensions: Spiritual Posture and Spiritual Confidence. Keywords: discipleship, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, effective churches, effective discipleship, Christian and Missionary Alliance

2020

I would like to dedicate this thesis to my late parents, Mr. Ronald and Mrs. Janice Yancy, who led me to accept Jesus Christ as a child and instilled love, faith, Christian values, and a desire for education. I would also like to acknowledge my sister, Ms. Courtney Yancy, for her encouragement throughout my lifetime, prayers, and support during my doctoral studies. Thank you to two of my aunts, Dr. Barbara J. Yancy-Tooks and Dr. April D. Yancy, DVM, for their support and motivation throughout my doctoral studies. A special thank you goes to my first pastor, Rev. Dr. Walter L. Kimbrough and his wife, Soror Marjorie L. Kimbrough for encouraging me to begin my doctoral studies. Special thanks to my current pastor, Rev. Dr. Craig L. Oliver, Sr. for his support during my data collection period.