Discipleship is a responsibility of the Church. It is an outlet in which the regeneration of Church leadership to the younger generation is conducted. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, discipleship and mentoring of youth leaders, especially key persons of GKII (Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia) youth were provided by means of in-person activities. During the pandemic, digital media has been utilised for various church activities, including mentoring these key persons. Hence, this research intends to explore: (1) the method by which (...) key persons practise digital discipleship and (2) the benefits of digital media in youth discipleship to facilitate faith growth. This research is a qualitative research. Data were collected by means of interviews and observations on several key persons’ digital media accounts. The research shows that social media significantly benefits the discipleship process. It was found that digital discipleship was quite often carried out during the pandemic, especially in urban areas, with WhatsApp and Zoom meetings as its two primary means. However, it slightly declined along with the lifting of social gathering restrictions. The main themes explored in the mentoring sessions were discipleship, soteriology, spiritual life, motivational and digital media materials, and youth ministry in the digital era. The discipleship practice used was the NM-SM (Nurtured, Matured, Served, Mission) pattern.Contribution: The results of this research contribute to the development of knowledge, especially in the field of youth discipleship, and digital media-based discipleship. This research also shows that digital media has become an effective theological space during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. (shrink)

Biblical scholar Michael Rhodes argues that the Bible offers a vision of justice-oriented discipleship that is critical for the formation of God's people. Grounded in biblical theology, virtue ethics, and his own experiences, he shows that justice is central to the Bible, central to Jesus, and central to authentic Christian discipleship.

Missional discipleship is more than a movement seeking a new methodological and strategic mission paradigm. Missional discipleship is the essence of Christianity concerning the ontological foundation for the prime reason for existence as believers and the epistemological lens to see the world from the perspective of transformed values in Christ. In other words, missional discipleship requires acknowledging the lordship of Christ by demonstrating the ontological embodiment of who Christ is and epistemological resemblance by perceiving the reality as (...) Christ does. These radical transformations in both ontological and epistemological areas can enable believers to authentically follow Christ as disciples and demonstrate Christlikeness in all spheres of their existence as missionaries. Christlike attributes and qualities are progressively cultivated in believers lives as they conform to the image of Christ, and the most profound nature of Christlikeness is holiness. Missional discipleship provides a platform to expand the concept of Christlikeness as holiness from the personal dimension to the public dimension to overcome the privatisation of discipleship and Christian religious dualism polarising things into the categories of the sacred and secular. (shrink)

This provocative study argues that the 'believers' church' should draw on Catholic, Reformed, and Lutheran thought to find a solid basis for Christian political action. The book believes that a 'believers' church' ethic has points of continuity with the quest for social justice in the larger society. Rather than separating discipleship from political life or uncritically baptizing political projects, the believers' church may appeal to natural law as a basis for cooperation with others toward the end of a more (...) just society. The volume draws upon various historical theologians and a variety of contemporary figures to affirm a God-given moral capacity in humans that makes a tolerably just political order possible. (shrink)

In this book, David Brown considers the ways in which biblical narratives have been presented--and changed--over the centuries. He then determines how these changes have impacted the understanding and practice of Christian discipleship.

When membership of the faith community gets separated from Biblical concepts for us Christians the church is gradually and slowly getting into trouble. This is especially true when membership and discipleship are separated. In the first article, I have mentioned that discipleship may have become unpopular because of mainly two reasons: the wrong association with confrontational evangelism and secondly for the inconvenience of the radical nature of discipleship, especially in a situation where churches are still monocultural and (...) still prefer the ‘convenience’ of a culturally constituted and dominated church. In this article, the focus will be on the role of the church in seeking the ‘Kingdom and his righteousness’ and on what seeking might entail, with special reference to continuing formation of the membership on this journey of following the Christ. The background to my research problem and question is that the ‘we’ can just not afford that people, because of the church, not being serious about herself, turn away from the church – but turn to God: ‘Everyday people are straying away from the church and going back to God’. This is just not normal. (shrink)

As we structure the economic and social practices of the communities, institutions and nations of which we are all a part, jubilee calls us to discipleship. Jubilee speaks to the creation of societies of hope, of celebration and of prosperity. It is about the creation of social rest as we rest in God. This requires the careful and intentional formation of agents of social rest. Jubilee clearly advocates for proactive rather than reactive social practices in relation to immediate needs (...) as well as long-term social legacy. Jubilee clearly addresses six of the 10 principles for just peacemaking. (shrink)

Walker, David 'When our first parents were driven out of Paradise, Adam is believed to have remarked to Eve; My dear, we live in an age of transition'. When we look back at the past decades, and look ahead, we could consider we too are living in an age of transition. Looking back we often take the Second Vatican Council as the point where change began. However, the seeds of what flowered at the council and have continued to bear fruit (...) after it were planted well before it. The future is not clear, yet we can expect that significant change will be part of it. As we reflect on our changing situation, it would be helpful to keep in mind another comment of Dean Inge: 'There are two kinds of fools: one says, "This is old, therefore it is good"; the other says, "This is new, therefore it is better" '. (shrink)

Radical New Testament disciples may benefit from placing the 16th century South German Anabaptist theologian Pilgram Marpeck in conversation with the 20th century Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth. Marpeck and Barth will enrich ecumenical Christfollowers within both the Reformed and the Free Church traditions even as they remain confessional. Our particular effort is to construct a soteriology grounded in discipleship through correlating the coinherent work of the Word with the Spirit in revelation, through placing human agency within a divinely (...) granted response to the gracious sovereignty of God, and through providing a holistic doctrine of individual and communal life in union with Christ. (shrink)

In the Synoptic Gospels, women are definitely not called disciples. The term female discipleship exists only in Acts 9:36. According to the Gospel of Mark, the important aspect of discipleship is following (e.g. Mk 1:18; 2:14–15; 3:7; 5:24; 6:1; 8:34; 9:38; 10:21, 28); thus, although Mark in this case does not definitely call the women disciples, they can serve as examples of discipleship. With reference to Jesus’ approach to women, the stories in the gospel can be one (...) of the resources, they show Jesus’ ways of looking and thinking about women. Hence to understand the mission and teaching of Jesus, is to understand the gospel. In such a way though, it is insufficient to understand it literally. In order to transcend the limit of sociological and historical context, a new understanding is needed. This article is a re-reading of the gospel and the Catholic tradition as one way to build further understanding of women and men relations, especially on the issue of women discipleship. By doing this, we can transcend ourselves beyond our socio-cultural, socio-historical even socio-psychological context. Thus, a Christian, especially, who claims to be the follower of Jesus, has more reason to be like Jesus. Contribution: An innovative exercise to develop a theological anthropology, by understanding the dynamics of human personality, and developing a theology of the women-men relationship in Catholic tradition, especially in this case re-reading the Scripture, to re-think the status of woman-man discipleship in the Catholic tradition. (shrink)

Utilizing memory, orality and performance this article posits a model of how the miracle tradition of Jesus may have been transmitted. What was spoken of and remembered, specifically, about Jesus’ miracles provided faith and transformation in the discipleship process both during the life of Jesus and after. Jesus extended his ministry to The Twelve and others through calling them to participate in his Kingdom mission through imitating him in word and deed, particularly miracle working.

As the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge, celebrates its tenth anniversary the Vice-Principal reflects on the emerging charism of this house of study and prayer for Roman Catholic women. In describing first of all the structural patterns of life and courses available at the Institute, some sense of the shape of the central core of Margaret Beaufort's purpose begins to be disclosed. This 'inner secret' gains sharper definition through reflection on the women who have been a part of the (...) Institute's life; their diverse yet shared sense of vocation, typified by risk and openness to God's unknown future fleshes out the nature of the Institute's charism. Finally, the idea of the development of Christian 'intellectual' discipleship is explored, through the experiences of working, praying and studying at the Institute. What emerges is a fresh way of looking at the particular contribution made by a group of Catholic women to this discipleship of intellect, transcending limitations of gender questions, whilst remaining true to the particular reality they embody. (shrink)

This paper explores the role of divine speaking in Christian ethics, critically engaging with the tendency in modern evangelicalism to seek to derive moral principles from Scripture or a biblically-derived ontology, often via deployment of map-making metaphors. The paper sets out the rather different centrality of the divine claim found in biblical accounts of good or righteous human action. Drawing on the criticisms of the anthropologist Tim Ingold of what he calls the “map-making fallacy,” the paper concludes by suggesting the (...) methodological importance of understanding the orientation of the Christian life to be a fundamentally grounded in interpersonal responsivity. (shrink)

Effective multiethnic church formation involves assessing discipleship aims and structures with sensitivity and consideration to the various ethnic elements within each congregation. This fosters ethnic accommodation rather than cultural assimilation. In order to assist these dynamics, multiethnic church education requires cultivating participatory community that includes each ethnic voice represented in the church, egalitarian relationships rather than hierarchical ones, affirmation of ethnic cultures, and perspective taking to each of them. When nurtured this produces fluid ethnic identities that cultivate richer and (...) transcultural biblical perspectives. This article explores these discipleship components towards the purpose of nurturing healthier multiethnic churches. (shrink)

This is the first book to focus on the ethic that Dietrich Bonhoeffer constructed during the 1930s—an ethic he crafted while playing a key role in Christian resistance to Nazism and an ethic still inspiring politically active Christians. The ethic of discipleship, this study argues, represents a reworking of the Christian faith so that it becomes actively opposed to totalitarianism. This book therefore adds a significant dimension to the published record concerning the German theologian and pastor executed in 1945 (...) for conspiring to assassinate Hitler and overthrow the Third Reich. Since an ethic reflects more than a cognitive assent and has emotional and experiential dimensions, the author's approach is socio-psychological, drawing on the large documentary record of Bonhoeffer's family relations. Reductionism, however, is rejected in this book, which gives social psychology parity but not superiority—in understanding Bonhoeffer's religious quest and political dialogue. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:A Thicker Jesus: Incarnational Discipleship in a Secular Age by Glen Harold StassenSarah A. NeeleyA Thicker Jesus: Incarnational Discipleship in a Secular Age Glen Harold Stassen Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. 280pp. $25.00Glen Stassen’s A Thicker Jesus addresses how one can find a solid ethical identity that provides a framework and path in a rapidly changing world. Stassen begins by considering what those who (...) have stood the test of history, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karth Barth, Martin Luther King, and Dorothy Day, among others, have in common. He effectively argues that the common thread among these great leaders of resistance is a “thick” exegetical understanding of Jesus Christ that is implemented in daily life through incarnational discipleship. Such a “thick” interpretation of Jesus of Nazareth is rooted in Christian realism rather than Platonic idealism, meaning that incarnational discipleship does not attempt to apply lofty ideals to reality but is deeply involved, following Jesus of Nazareth, in historical struggles. Stassen then argues that this type of ethic can address all of the problems posed to ethics and faith in “a secular age” outlined by Charles Taylor’s book of the same title.Stassen’s framework of incarnational discipleship in a secular age addresses each of Taylor’s seven problems through a tapestry of argumentation that includes history, biblical exegesis, the tradition of Christian ethics, science, and politics. The work is critically engaged with historical figures in Christian ethics and current voices in the field. Stassen contributes a unique voice to the conversation by drawing upon his experiences with science as a trained physicist and with politics through his father’s gubernatorial career. Where many chose critical engagement with the natural and social sciences or with theological and biblical interpretation, Stassen does both. He approaches physics, politics, and economics with theological rigor, drawing upon traditional theological claims and offering his own critique and adaptation. Stassen, in his typical style, draws extensively on the Christian Scriptures. However, he does not simply reference numerous verses but further enhances the complexity of his argumentation through careful exegesis of the Sermon on the Mount, which he is known for, and of the Gospel of Mark.Stassen’s careful examination of the Sermon on the Mount and Mark offers the reader a picture of the particular understanding of Jesus that Stassen argues needs to be “thickly” interpreted; nonetheless, the book does not address [End Page 200] the consequences of other interpretations of Jesus being made “thicker” and the ethical dilemmas of such interpretations. To his credit, Stassen draws on several womanist interpretations of the cross as suffering in solidarity with the oppressed. But what about womanists who claim that any value placed on the suffering of the cross might lead to the excuse that the suffering of the oppressed is, in fact, redemptive suffering? Does a “thicker” interpretation of the cross necessarily address this problem?Overall, Stassen’s contribution to the field cannot be understated. He insists on addressing social problems on their own terms in the language of history, politics, economics, and science; he also rigorously engages theological and biblical ethics when such things have gone out of fashion in social ethics. As an added bonus, Stassen is clear in his call for pluralism and multiple ethical approaches while at the same time offering a rich account rooted in an interpretation of Jesus for Christians.Sarah A. NeeleyIliff School of Theology/University of DenverCopyright © 2013 Society of Christian Ethics... (shrink)

My goal is to explicate the ontological framework of the human self that is required for radical discipleship. I do this through two notions: Christian love and Christian humility. To that end I explore the other- and the self-regarding aspects of humility and love, posing a problem for love and humility rooted in our typical notions of self-interest and phronesis. I then propose a way of rethinking humility and love in the context of a sketch of solidarity and an (...) alternative ontology of the self. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:322 BOOK REVIEWS the Holy Office, who in the early 1800s recognized that empirical demonstrations of the earth's motion had finally been given and convinced Pope Pius VII to revoke the longstanding decree against Copernicanism. Unfortunately his greatest opponent turned out to be another Dominican, Father Filippo Anfossi, Master of the Sacred Palace at the time, who had views similar to those voiced by Cardinal Bellarmine in 1615 (pp. (...) 473-475). The story is told in great detail by Walter Brandmiiller and Johannes Griepl, Copemico, Galilei e la Chiesa: Fine delta controversia (1820), gli atti del Sant'Uffizio, Vatican City 1992-summarized in my notice in The Catholic Historical Review 80 (1994): 380-83. It is ironic, of course, that the battle was fought out by two Thomists, the one a progressive and the other a traditionalist, but it is indeed fortunate that it was the progressive Thomist who won out in the end. The Catholic University ofAmerica Washington, D.C. WILLIAM A. WALLACE, O.P. Love Your Enemies: Discipleship, Pacifism and Just War Theory. By LISA SOWLE CAHILL. Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 1994. Pp. xii + 252. $17.00 (paper). Lisa Cahill's Love Your Enemies: Discipleship, Pacifism and Just War Theory provides an excellent introduction to questions of peace-making and war-making in the history of Western Christianity. Cahill canvasses the standard sources for her history: the generally pacifist period of the New Testament and the early church (chapters two and three); the emergence of the just war tradition with Augustine and Aquinas (chapters four and five); just war, crusade, and pacifist responses during the Reformation period (chapters six through eight); and just war and pacifist responses in the twentieth -century American debate (chapters nine and ten). Love Your Enemies is relatively comprehensive, even-handed, and well-written. Beyond its general competence, Love Your Enemies provides rich theological fare, situating questions on war and peace in the context of Christian discipleship as a whole. One result of using discipleship as the organizing motif is that pacifism gets an unusually sympathetic and fair hearing. Cahill serves as an excellent reporter on these contentious questions. While often intimating her sympathies, she consistently avoids taking decisive positions or closing avenues of exploration. The title of her final chapter -the "Fragility of the Gospel"-reflects this approach. In this chapter Cahill emphasizes that Christian communities must continuously challenge themselves and their society to live out the gospel of peace (239-44). BOOK REVIEWS 323 What does it mean to live as a follower of Jesus today (ix)? This is Cahill's central question. To this end she asks two further questions. First, what is the way of discipleship established by Jesus with regard to doing violence? Second, to what extent can Christians hope to apply this ethic of discipleship to the wider civil society (40)? These questions arise in a variety of forms throughout the book. For instance, Cahill elegantly shows how a Christian's eschatological commitments (i.e., beliefs about the extent to which God's peaceful rule can be established by a community of believers and/or the extent to which this can be realized in "the world") can affect her response to the possibility of doing violence. While setting as one's task the attempt to find a way to combine Christian discipleship with public responsibility has many strengths, it is not without possible pitfalls. Typically, "Christian responsibility" is contrasted with "the evangelical imperative of non-violence" (see 55-56). But this notion of "responsibility" often begs the central question-i.e., for the Christian, can the most "responsible" stance be anything but what Cahill proclaims to be the evangelical stance of non-violence? While Cahill does acknowledge the strength of the argument by advocates of "responsibility" (i.e., those ~ho set up the non-violent stance in opposition to the faithful following of Jesus), she does not explicitly endorse their move. From her self-professed Catholic context, Cahill strives fo harmonize a neo-Thomist understanding of natural law-that there is "an objective moral order, knowable by reason, that yields universal moral laws by which all human persons and communities should abide" (3)-with a more particularistic... (shrink)

For both Luther and Bonhoeffer God enters into and dwells in the world through weakness and suffering, rather than divine authority or strength. This article explores the significance of Luther’s theologia crucis and Bonhoeffer’s treatment of ‘the weakness of the Word’ in Discipleship. Moreover, it draws out some of the implications of these themes for Christian mission today. What does it mean for Christians to witness to and engage the world in weakness? How does this free Christians from needing (...) a fixed programme or governing ideal in their witness and evangelism? (shrink)

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.

The salvation present in and through the person of Jesus is an organic motif of Luke's Gospel. It encompasses the offer of new life and the demand for disciplined living.

The question of what, if anything, Christian theology as theology might contribute to ethical debates about appropriate uses of medical genetics has often been ignored. The answer is complex, and the author argues it is best characterized by an explanation of the analogous aspirations of the two: both have as their goal the perfection of the human being, both assert that the present disposition of the human body is on a fundamental level more often than not other than it ought (...) to be, and both aspire to transform the present state of the body toward a future state in which present imperfections no longer exist. Given these analogous concerns, it would seem that one of the primary moral contributions that Christianity can make to debates about medical genetics is to ask whether and to what extent the Christian vision of embodied human perfection is compatible with the vision of perfection offered by the sciences pertaining to medical genetics. The author pursues a discussion of this analogy and its implications in this essay. (shrink)

Short-Term Mission is a reality that is intertwined and integrated into the fabric of world mission and Christian experience. Many discussions revolving around short-term mission have been descriptive and about best practices. This article moves beyond an appraisal of short-term mission as a phenomenon and instead looks at why and how OMF International, a long-term mission agency, aligned STM with long-term mission, vision and strategy by focusing on the mentorship and discipleship of its STM volunteers. It also looks at (...) with-ness and consociation as a model for mentorship, and discipleship as a means of addressing the opportunities and challenges that STM presents to long-term mission agencies. (shrink)

The relationship between mission and spirituality for sincere disciples of Jesus involves dimensions that include the biblical, the theological, the historical, the missiological, the spiritual, and the practical. This article will offer a contribution to the biblical discussion, specifically from the Fourth Gospel and through the lens of the motif of agency. This motif can inform what Jesus meant when he said, “Just as the Father has sent me, so I send you”.1 As a result, conclusions can be drawn in (...) regard to the place of mission in Johannine spirituality and discipleship. (shrink)

An attempt is made to identify what some have felt to be absent from recent official views as to how curricula and the transfer of knowledge are most performatively to be managed. To this end, particular conceptions of teaching and learning are proposed, and use is made of recent work by George Steiner in elaborating a third variant of the relationship between teacher, learner and what is to be learned, namely that of discipleship. While noting that Steiner is concerned (...) with a small number of exceptional teachers, the possibility is considered that the concept may have some more general educational application, attention nevertheless being drawn to the possible dangers and drawbacks this may present. (shrink)