Sacramental Discipleship as a Pathway to Ecclesial Reformation in the Free Methodist Church in Canada

2011·88.9 MB·English

by  CLIFF FLETCHER

SACRAMENTAL DISCIPLESHIP AS A PATHWAY TO ECCLESIAL
REFORMATION IN THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH IN CANADA
A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
BY
CLIFF FLETCHER
MAY 2011
GODDARD LIBRARY
Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary
130 Essex Street
South Hamilton, MA 01982-2361
Copyright ©2011 by Cliff Fletcher. All Rights Reserved.
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PREFACE Vi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE:
DISSONANCE BETWEEN WHAT SHOULD BE AND WHAT IS
The Problem with Church
Syncretistic Christianity
The Narcissistic Church 1]
Ecclesial Reformation 13
Discipleship 18
Sacraments 21
Statement of Thesis Topic 24
Methodology 25
Summary of Chapters 27
CHAPTER TWO:
HEALTHY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AND DISCIPLESHIP 31
Christian Community: the Ideal 32
Christian Community: The Reality 40
How Can the Christian Community Be Transformed? 42
Cultural Transformation 47
Discipleship: A Solution to Transforming Basic Assumptions 52
Summary 60
CHAPTER THREE:
SACRAMENT AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY 63
Sacrament of Communion: Old Testament 64
Sacrament of Communion: New Testament 69
Sacrament of Communion: Christian Perspectives 77
Sacrament of Communion: John and Charles Wesley 84
A Summary of the Purposes of the Lord’s Supper 88
The Marriage of Sacrament and Discipleship 89
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CHAPTER FOUR:
PRACTICAL DIVINITY — CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SACRAMENTAL
DISCIPLESHIP 92
Step One: Conversations with Practitioners of the Faith 93
Step Two: Conversations with NLT 108
A Synthesis of Ideas 113
CHAPTER FIVE:
FINAL SUMMARY AND SYNTHESIS 117
A Brief Review 117
Collaborative Inquiry & Interviews: An Observation & Suggestion 119
Collaborative Inquiry and Interviews: An Idea 124
Sacramental Discipleship: A Model 128
Four Requirements for a Discipler 129
Discipleship Questions 132
Conclusions 139
Epilogue 141
APPENDIX A: PASTOR DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 142
APPENDIX B: 2007 PASTOR SURVEY 143
APPENDIX C: PRACTICING LITURGY IN DISCIPLESHIP 145
APPENDIX D: DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS 147
BIBLIOGRAPHY 149
VITA 156
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
1. Figure 1.1 The FMCIC Growth Trends (Commitments) 2
2. Figure 1.2 The FMCIC Growth Trends (Attendance) 3
3. Figure 1.3 Sacramental Discipleship 30
Tables
1. Table 4.1 Focus Groups 94
2. Table 4.2 Desired Outcomes & Purposes 116
3. Table 5.1 Discipleship and Pratt 122
PREFACE
The church I pastor is coming through a most difficult ministry season. One
member experienced “prophetic dreams.” She insisted that, if we did not listen to her, the
church would be “destroyed.” A second member accused a leader of a moral issue (non-
sexual). The elders and other leaders investigated the allegations, determined them to be
false and, in fact, the accuser to be in the wrong.! The person, however, stubbornly
maintained her position. In both cases the church leadership approached the people with
compassion and with a desire to resolve these issues. When the leadership offered steps
of reconciliation, the first person and, months later, the second person declined. Both
opted to do what many North American Christians naturally do: look for another church.
Our leaders discussed at length the idea that the Apostle Paul would not do well in
most western churches. He would wonder where our authority had gone (Hebrews
13:17). He would look for the restorative gift of discipline (Galatians 6:1), the value of a
united body (1 Corinthians 12), the beauty of mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21), and
the respect for leadership (1 Timothy 3:1). The Canadian Church, it would seem,
continues to struggle with these values, partly and deservedly because it has abused them,
and partly because the prevailing culture naturally resists these biblical patterns (spiritual
authority, discipline, unity, mutual submission, etc.):?
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God
because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the
kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the
behavior and customs of this world, [italics mine] but let God transform you into
The Barrie Free Methodist Church elders / board “tested” with the following grid: 1. Scripture; 2. Prayer
and fasting; 3. “Fruit test” in each party’s life: a) fruit of the Spirit and b) harvest fruit; 4. Appeal to the
larger body of Christ (denomination, network of pastors, and discussion with other church and para-church
leaders).
2Unless otherwise stated all Scripture references will be from the New International Version of the Bible.
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a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s
will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.?
The church is constantly confronted by “the patterns of this world” that include rigorous
independence and individuality, entitlement, materialism, and consumerism. Christians
must stop conforming and start inviting more of God’s transforming grace. How will this
transformation occur? Christian thinker Soren Kierkegaard wrote that “Christ came into
the world with a purpose of saving it, not instructing it. At the same time — as is implied
in his saving work — he came to be the pattern, to leave footprints for the person who
would join him, who would become a follower.”* Christ is building the church as a
footprint to follow. Church family° is His solution, and God’s Kingdom ethic is the new
pattern.
I belong to the Free Methodist Church in Canada (FMCIC). I believe the local
church can be redeemed into the dynamic powerhouse we are called to be. The
transformation the church must undergo requires a journey of rediscovery: rediscovering
church reformation; rediscovering discipleship which was an essential component of the
first one hundred years of the Methodist movement; and rediscovering gifts from Jesus
that nurture church family, as we are as Methodists a sacramental people. These
rediscoveries will enable Christians to be worshipers and missionaries for God.
Specifically, the gift of Holy Communion which, as a movement, we believe is more than
3Romans 12: 1-2 (NLT). The NIV uses the term “patterns of this world”.
“Soren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard (Farmington, PA: The Plough
Publishing House, 1999), 85.
*Church family will be the term used to differentiate the local church from the universal church. Paul the
Apostle wrote to the ecclesia generally (universal) and specifically (locally). He chose several images to
help believers understand the function of ecclesia including: the Body, an army, and family (the language
of children, Father is used, as well marriage where the church is the bride). Church family then is a
culturally relevant and doctrinally accurate phrase to help define and discuss a specific local church.
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an event. We believe the sacrament of communion is a dynamic encounter with God, and
it is the lifestyle of the disciple wherein each believer is a Eucharist to other people®. And
this sacrament should be reconnected to discipleship: sacramental discipleship.
Sacramental discipleship is a pathway to much needed ecclesial reformation.
°Rob Bell and Don Golden, Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto For the Church in Exile (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 158.
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ABBREVIATIONS
BFMC Barrie Free Methodist Church
Discipleship an intentional and organic process of formation through loving
relationships marked by accountability, commitment, education, and
encouragement to serve. Discipleship is lived within the context of church
family. The primary purposes of discipleship are to help nurture vital
Christian community, to foster proper worship of God and to help
believers participate in His mission (worship-mission).
EFC Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
FMCIC Free Methodist Church in Canada
NCD Natural Church Development Survey
NIV New International Version of the Bible
NLT National Leadership Team of the Free Methodist Church in Canada
WFMC Whitby Free Methodist Church
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ABSTRACT
In light of declining attendance and conversion patterns in the Free Methodist
Church in Canada (FMCIC) this study explored discipleship and sacramental practices as
potential avenues of renewal. First a definition of discipleship was developed based on
Jesus’ model, history and current cultural realities (including a brief exploration of
current adult learning theory and organizational theory). Secondly, Eucharistic themes
and practice were explored theologically and historically with an emphasis on a
Wesleyan world view. In both cases, interviews with FMCIC pastors and leaders were
conducted to help establish common practice of discipleship and the Lord’s Table in the
FMCIC.
The model presented in this study is that discipleship is to be the channel through
which the themes of the Eucharist are introduced into a believer’s life. The reason
discipleship was chosen as a vehicle to introduce the Eucharist is that discipleship
impacts the church at her most foundational level: individuals. Change is most
effectively accomplished by introducing new information at a micro-level: the
organization’s basic assumptions. The basic assumptions of any given local church are
safeguarded in each individual. Therefore, a discipleship relationship is God’s
opportunity to input His new Kingdom ethic into the church. Discipleship wed to the
themes and practice of the Eucharist, or sacramental discipleship is completely
accessible to FMCIC, which makes it potentially a potent and immediate reformation
opportunity.