Making Disciples Across Cultures: Missional Principles for a Diverse World PDF
Preview Making Disciples Across Cultures: Missional Principles for a Diverse World
MAKING DISCIPLES ACROSS CULTURES Missional Principles for a Diverse World Charles A. Davis InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 ivpress.com [email protected] ©2015 by Charles A. Davis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press. ® ® InterVarsity Press is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA , a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org. ® All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible , copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. While the stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Cover design: Cindy Kiple Interior design: Beth McGill Images: Abstract painting: © soleg/Fotolia Color brush strokes: © Jesse Kunerth/Fotoli Sound mixer board: © Grosescu Alberto/Dreamstime.com ISBN 978-0-8308-9716-2 (digital) ISBN 978-0-8308-3690-1 (print) To all those men and women who courageously and sacrificially cross cultural boundaries to make disciples of Jesus—apostles all! Contents Preface / 9 Introduction: My Journey as Disciple and Disciple Maker / 13 1 What Is a Disciple Anyway? / 29 2 Disciples Let God Lead from the Invisible World / 43 3 Disciples Hear and Obey / 60 4 Disciples Develop Relational Interdependence / 76 5 Disciples Do What Love Requires / 93 6 Disciples Make Disciples / 110 7 Leaders Equip Disciples for Ministry / 126 8 Disciples Live an Undivided Life / 143 9 Disciples Engage in Personal and Cultural Transformation / 159 10 Disciples Keep the End in Mind / 175 11 Disciples Organize Flexibly and Purposefully / 190 12 Glimpses of a Disciple-Making Community / 207 Study Questions / 217 Notes / 225 Index / 234 Praise for Making Disciples Across Cultures / 236 About the Author / 238 More Titles from InterVarsity Press / 239 Preface T he Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) is associated with approximately twenty-five hundred churches in North America and thousands more in thirty-five countries around the globe. Some of these churches are brimming with spiritual vigor and growth, sending out workers near and far to carry the good news. Many, sadly, seem to be retreating from global involvement. Some have stopped growing altogether. In late 2010 and early 2011, TEAM leadership spent many hours in prayer, fasting and discussion, asking God for clarity on what we might contribute toward renewal, health and global vision in the churches with which God has given us influence. As we prayed, we began to dig down to the level of our assumptions about the church, discipleship and mission. We began to question the models and methods with which we had been operating for decades. As a result of this prayer-soaked process, God revealed to us ten sets of cultural assumptions which were underneath the disciple-making models or methods used by many, if not most, of the churches with which TEAM is associated. In 2011, through a series of apparently disconnected events, about thirty TEAM leaders and workers in Europe gathered to hear three days of lectures by Alan Hirsch. In preparation for the lectures we read his book The Forgotten Ways.1 10 Making Disciples Across Cultures The first afternoon, Hirsch described the need to go down to the level of assumptions, just as we had done, if we wanted to see the fundamental changes necessary for the church of Jesus Christ to grow and thrive. Those of us in leadership who had been asking God for clarity on what needed to be changed were amazed. It was almost as if our leadership team and Hirsch had been working on two ends of the same puzzle. He was working to bring renewal to the church in the West, examining theological assumptions about the church, discipleship and mission. We were working with churches worldwide, examining cultural assumptions that influence our notion of the church, discipleship and mission. As the puzzle came together, a compelling picture emerged, ulti- mately resulting in this book. Then we became increasingly aware of many others who were being led in the same direction, not only in the church in the West, but around the globe. From China to England, new disciple-making methods were emerging, built on different assumptions about the church and disciple making. Many years ago, I began to realize that when we see a confluence of factors which cannot be explained through human reason, we may well be seeing the hand of God actively directing our affairs. As one colleague said, “There is only one Shepherd, and his sheep hear his voice. If we are hearing the Shepherd say something to us, then it is reasonable to expect that he is saying it to other sheep as well.”2 This book explores ten universal principles of disciple making, fo- cusing on the theological and cultural assumptions that invisibly shape how those principles become reality in a wide variety of cultures. These thoughts are a work in progress. If Jesus is driving this process forward, we will find many others who have heard the Shepherd speaking to them on the same subject, and we will be able to learn from one another. If these thoughts resonate with you, we would love to work together, led by the Holy Spirit.
The list of books you might like
