making disciples in the informational age

Setting the context…

• This is first and foremost a conversation in

progress…

– This is not a “how to” session or a demonstration of a

completed work.

– This is thinking together about one of the most important

questions facing our churches.
The primary question…

• What does it mean to “make disciples of Jesus

Christ,” and how do we do it
in an informational / technological
“networked” age.

• How does discipleship development happen when

the assumptions that guided Protestant movement
in American are no longer functional / applicable?
Setting the context…

• Assumption #1
The development of faith traditions in America
followed the tendencies of the reformers to hold to
the values of The Enlightenment / Modernity.

– Trust in the reliability of reason to reveal truth.

– The rise of the discipline of taxonomy, in which objects and

species were categorized.

– The creation of repeatable systems of understanding.

Setting the context…

• Assumption #2
The influence of “modern” thinking guide the means
by which the church went about the task of making
disciples.
Knowledge is
Power…
Sir Francis Bacon
The Informational Paradigm

• Growing in faith was about accumulating knowledge

about the nature of God through the scriptures,
tradition, and reason.

• This knowledge was now made available to all

through direct access to the scriptures and “the
priesthood of all believers.”

• “Belief” became the ultimate outcome of faith, with a

dependence on language to help convince one to
believe correctly.
Expressions of
the Informational Paradigm
• The rise of religious publishers as the primary
developers of discipleship systems (with an
emphasis on the printed word).

• The creation of the Sunday School based in the

desire to see knowledge of all kinds something that
helps to create faith.

• The systematization of revival (Finney / Moody)

Problems with
the Informational Paradigm
• Church leaders began to recognize that there were
many who knew quite a bit about the bible and
tradition, but whose lives were not transformed by
that knowledge.

• Trust in the power of reason and science, taxonomy,

and the acquisition of knowledge began to erode in
the fact of societal complexities.

• There was a recognition that faith in these terms

seemed segmented from the whole of life.
The Formational Paradigm

• Spiritual Formation
An attempt to discern a more holistic means of
making disciples.

• Spiritual formation is a rather general term referring

to all attempts, means, instruction, and disciplines
intended towards deepening of faith and furtherance
of spiritual growth.
-Gerald May
The Formational Paradigm

• Focused on the creation of a lifestyle rather than the

acquisition of a knowledge base.

• Much emphasis on the “practice of faith” rather than

simply learning about faith.

• An emphasis on experience as a means of making

disciples (Wesley’s Christian Conferencing).

• A countercultural expression in an age of

information
Issues with
the Formational Paradigm
as practiced
• Sometimes today
accused of being “touchy-feely.”

• Can sometimes value experience and conversation

over tradition and scripture.

• If not careful, this approach can bypass

understandings of tradition, scripture, and theology
and lend itself to a individualistic and personally
developed faith.
 The formational paradigm
should include the acquisition
of information, but in actual
practice sometimes avoids
that in pursuit of
experiential learning.
Disciplemaking…

Information = Formation =
knowledge
Knowledge experience
Experience
Disciplemaking…

Knowledge Experience
Disciplemaking…

Knowledge Experience

Epistemology
How do we maintain
our faith and trust in
our knowledge and
experience?
Disciplemaking…

The intersection of
knowledge, experience, &
epistemology
=
Know How
 Know How
puts knowledge to
work in the real world
“Knowledge is power
only if you know how
to use it.”
Knowledge is power…

• …know how to use it.

• …know why we use it.
• …know when it should be used.
• …know where it should be used.

Faith in Action /
Discipleship
The world we live in…
• More information available than at
any other time in human history

– According to a study by IBM, by 2010

the amount of digital information in
the world will double every 11 hours.
The world we live in…
• A need for authentic community

• A valuing of human experience as

a source of knowledge / truth

• The rise of participatory media

– Podcasts
– Blogs
– YouTube
We need discipleship
systems that…
• Distill the mass of information
into usable knowledge
• Provides experiences that help
one internalize that knowledge
• Provides a context for
interpretation of that knowledge
and the corresponding
experiences
 What elements, methods,
media, etc. are needed
to create a disciple making
system which combines
knowledge and experience
while allowing for
authentic community?
 Disciplemaking

What information What experiences

does a disciple of and practices do
Jesus Christ need disciples need to
to have in order to engage in on the
be an effective journey to
disciple? effective
discipleship?
•Sources of Authority

•Old Testament Survey

•New Testament Survey

•Basics of Christian Theology

•Spiritual Practices

•Mission and Ministry

Jay Voorhees
jay@jvoorhees.net

www.onlywonder.com
www.technopastor.com
www.methoblog.com
www.imanthano.com