Dear Friends in Christ,

In the 1980s, my mom was part of our (Roman Catholic) parish’s RENEW program. RENEW was a small-group faith sharing and evangelization process that focused on prayer, reflection and family and neighborhood renewal. I can’t speak to what her group did or the impact it had on her faith, but many RENEW groups ended up joining their faith to some form of action. You can call that a lot of things. I’d call it discipleship – patterning your life after Jesus’ own.

Back then, “discipleship” was a little weird. The expectations were pretty simple. Join a church. Show up on Sundays. Give financially. Donate some of your time for a committee. Other things were, “extras” for the super-committed. Times have changed, though. And changed quickly. Membership-based organizations across-the-board have declined over the last 60 years. In that respect, churches are no different than Elks Clubs, Scouting, or American Legions. Throw in distrust of institutions, church scandals across denominations, and an increasingly neo-pagan society, and the reality is that people are simply not going to flock to a church because it opens its doors on a Sunday morning.

I’ll repeat something I’ve said many times in many places: discipleship is no longer an option for Christians. It is, in fact, the core work of the 21st century church. Just as it was the work of the first century church – so we have been here before. And here’s the good news – as long as we’re discipling ourselves and others, the church will always – ALWAYS – have a future.

That’s why I was so glad to have The Rev. Canon Zac Settle, our diocese’s Canon for Discipleship, with us a few weeks ago to talk about discipleship. During his 9am presentation, he reminded us that Christianity is not a theory of the universe or a system of ethics, but a way of life. We follow that way of life through discipleship – which he defined as an ongoing, lifelong formation process where we (1) are with Jesus, (2) become like Jesus, and (3) do what he did.

How, you might ask, can we possibly do that? Great question! When I was in seminary, I read a book called Renovation of the Heart by American philosopher and Christian spiritual formation authority Dallas Willard. One of the most compelling parts of the book was his “V-I-M model” – his three-stage framework for how human change and spiritual transformation occurs. The three components of V-I-M are: • Vision: spiritual growth requires a clear and compelling picture of what life in the Kingdom of God looks like. • Intention: We need to have a conscious, determined commitment to bring that vision to pass into something we choose day-in, day-out. • Means: We need to have practical tools.

Canon Zac mentioned several: Sabbath, Solitude, Fasting, Scripture, Generosity, Service, Witness, Prayer, and Worship.

None of these three legs can stand by themselves. If, for instance, we pray and worship and serve but have no idea what life in the Kingdom of God looks like, then in the end we simply are following the rules for the rules’ sake. Those actions will do very little to form us. So – be weird. Be a disciple. And as you consider discipleship and the spiritual formation that goes with it – here are some questions to ponder: • What does life in the Kingdom of God look like in the here and now? (Hint: what does your heart desire for the good of the world?) • What is one thing you can change about your life that will help you follow through on your commitment to follow Jesus? • What spiritual discipline can you lean into on a regular basis to help you carry out this vision and realize your intention? (Hint: we have many to choose from at Christ Church!) My prayer for you – as you think about what Vision, Intention, and Means might look like for you – is that in your discipleship journey the Spirit will help you discover a way of living that brings meaning, purpose, and hope to all that you do. Because we cannot give what we do not have

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