From Nominal to Radical Discipleship: One Church’S Approach to Disciple Making
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FROM NOMINAL TO RADICAL DISCIPLESHIP: ONE CHURCH’S APPROACH TO DISCIPLE MAKING WAYNE BERK WALTERS A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership & Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May, 2011 Signature Page This is to certify that the dissertation entitled: FROM NOMINAL TO RADICAL DISCIPLESHIP: ONE CHURCH’S APPROACH TO DISCIPLE MAKING prepared by Wayne Berk Walters is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Change. Approved by: __________________________________________________ __________________ Carolyn Kenny, Ph.D., Chair date __________________________________________________ __________________ Philomena Essed, Ph.D., Committee Member date __________________________________________________ __________________ Joel Green, Ph.D., Committee Member date __________________________________________________ __________________ Donald Polkinghorne, Ph.D., External Reader date Copyright 2011 Wayne Walters All rights reserved Acknowledgements I wish to thank my chairperson, Dr. Carolyn Kenny, who guided me with gentle but instructive help along the journey of research and writing my dissertation. I also wish to thank my committee members, Dr. Philomena Essed, Dr. Joel Green, and Dr. Don Polkinghorne for their suggestions for improvements and for their support in this part of my journey in both this degree program and as I seek to continually better understand my role as a Christian and as a pastor. Most of all I wish to thank my wife, Christine Walters, for her consistent support and encouragement, and my children, Brenna, Christopher, Eric, and Joshua who found ways to take care of themselves as I had my head in books or was writing yet another chapter. i Abstract The majority of mainline denomination churches in America have experienced decline in membership, worship attendance, and vitality for over fifty years. As well, church members’ lifestyles, commitments, and habits tend to be not all that unlike Americans who do not attend church. Many church members live relatively nominal Christian lives when compared to the nature of the Christian life and discipleship described by Jesus in the gospels of the New Testament. This nominal understanding and adoption of the Christian life makes church membership and involvement unnecessary or secondary to the many other demands in modern life. Denominational officials, church pastors, and lay members of churches, in response to the decline in church membership and involvement, have attempted several fixes that have not reversed the overall trend. Similarly, efforts to increase the commitment level of parishioners to live more closely the life Jesus described for his followers have been inconsistent and results have been sporadic. The purpose of this study was to explore the radical nature of the life of Christian discipleship, the phenomena of conversion and transformation in adopting and developing this life, and one church’s approach in leading persons to this life. I studied a United Methodist Church through a one‐week visit in which I interviewed pastors, lay leaders, and a variety of church members. I attended worship services, meetings, and other events to gain an appreciation of the culture of the church in relationship to the nature of radical discipleship. Using a style of research and narrative writing called portraiture, I describe the church and several persons’ faith experiences. This narrative gives the reader a thoughtful interpretation of the church and what I have discovered, in my interpretation, are the key elements to the church’s ability to form radical disciples. ii The electronic version of this Dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of Contents iv List of Figures vi Chapter I: Introduction 1 Definition of Terms 4 Situating Myself as Researcher 7 Gap in Literature 10 Purpose of Study 11 Research Question 14 Methodology 15 Scope and Limitation of Study 15 Criteria Upon Which I Hope to be Judged 18 Dissertation Design 19 Chapter II: Turning a Different Direction 21 The Nature of the Christian Life 21 The Christian life is demanding. 21 The Christian life requires a radical reorientation. 23 The Christian life calls for sacrifice and suffering. 25 The Christian life is communal. 26 The Christian life seeks the reign of God and the kingdom of God. 27 The Nature of Humanity 31 The General Nature of Conversion 34 Evaluating claims of conversion. 37 Cultural features of conversion. 38 Developmental theories and precipitating factors of conversion. 40 What leads to conversion? 42 Conversion as a gift rather than accomplishment. 44 Sudden and gradual conversion. 45 Understanding Conversion within the Context of Salvation 47 The Nature of Churches in America 49 The State of the Mainline Churches 52 Transactional Recommendations 57 Transformational Recommendations 60 Summary 62 Chapter III: Methodology 65 Phenomenology 66 Ethnographic Inquiry 70 Portraiture 71 Research Process 74 Ethical Considerations 76 After My Study 76 iv Chapter IV: Findings 77 Introducing Hyde Park 77 History 79 Dr. James A. Harnish, Senior Pastor 81 Rev. Matthew P. Horan, Associate Pastor 84 Justin J. LaRosa, Director of Discipleship Ministries 86 Sundays 88 Outreach Ministries 94 Rev. Vicki R. Walker, Minister of Missions and Outreach 95 Congregation Care 96 Rev. Bernie Lieving, Jr., Congregational Care Pastor 97 Jim and Cecelia Ferman 98 Lyn Lashley 101 Karen and Steve Crawford 104 Vic and Lee Leavengood 109 Linda Brown 112 Monica Evjen 115 Leslie Specter 119 Glenn Simpson 122 Martha Chamberlain 124 Chapter V: Analysis and Interpretation of Data 126 Introduction 126 Findings 127 Comparing and Contrasting 130 Conclusions 137 Recommendations for Further Research 142 Chapter VI: Implications for Leadership and Change 145 Appendix 151 Appendix A: Informed Consent Form 152 Appendix B: Photo Consent Form 155 References 157 v List of Figures Figure 2.1 Combined Membership in Five Mainline Denominations 53 Figure 4.1 Welcoming Fountain Near Courtyard 78 Figure 4.2 Information Corner for Visitors 79 Figure 4.3 Justin LaRosa 86 Figure 4.4 Sunday Morning Final Review of Plans 89 Figure 4.5 Church Member Name Tags 90 Figure 4.6 Opening Moments of Contemporary Worship (view from the balcony) 91 Figure 4.7 Community Free Breakfast on Sunday Morning 94 Figure 4.8 Rev. Vicki Walker, Director of Outreach, and a Volunteer 95 Figure 4.9 Rev. Bernie Lieving, Jr. 97 Figure 4.10 Jim and Cecelia Ferman 98 Figure 4.11 Lyn Lashley 101 Figure 4.12 Karen and Steve Crawford 104 Figure 4.13 Vic and Lee Leavengood 109 Figure 4.14 Linda Brown 112 Figure 4.15 Monica Evjen 115 Figure 4.16 Leslie Specter 119 vi 1 Chapter I: Introduction They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42‐47, New Revised Standard Version) The first faith community following the death of Jesus formed by remaining and new disciples as described in The Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament was close‐knit yet embracive. Those who became part of this community were highly committed as evidenced by surrendering individual property claims. They gave up their old life so they could adopt a new life. They dedicated themselves to spiritual practices such as praying and worship. Sensing the power they now carried or accessed, they were able to address human suffering and need. According to the biblical witness, many who joined this growing faith community made a significant reorientation of priorities and commitments. They turned from an obsession with their real and imagined needs to discerning what God was calling them to do while trusting their own needs would be supplied. This initial development of the church was so successful and appealing that it attracted many others – day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. The description “being saved” reveals the conviction that what took place was transforming, saving members from something. The early church was not described as the happiest place on earth, as Disneyland describes itself. It was not distinguished by how it helped its members cope with the myriad of problems that come up in life, as some 2 psychologists on radio call‐in shows promise. It was not remembered as an effort to find purity through isolation, as one sect within Judaism, the Essenes, apparently did (Chadwick, 1968). It was remembered as a life‐transforming community, where people were saved, that triggered a sense of awe by everyone. Today the description of many church communities in the United States, if accurately portrayed, would be very different from the description of church in Acts. I can imagine a description of an average American church today like this: They devoted themselves to monthly finance meetings where they would discuss what they could do to reverse declining giving. Fear came upon everyone, because of the many signs of weakness all over the church. Only a small fraction of the church membership came together for weekly worship and battles frequently broke out about who was responsible for leaving doors unlocked after meetings. When they gathered for their monthly council meetings, they sipped on weak coffee as they shared concerns about the church. Day by day the Lord subtracted from their numbers those who were coming to meet others or gain direction on how to find happiness.