HOW GOD ORGANIZES PEOPLE FOR EFFECTIVE ACTION.pdf

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Liberty University

HOW GOD ORGANIZES PEOPLE FOR EFFECTIVE ACTION

Submitted to Dr. Allan England

in partial completion of course requirements for

DSMN 500 – Discipleship Ministries

Elke Speliopoulos

Downingtown, PA

June 19, 2011

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6

Bibliography....................................................................................................................................7

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob mercifully did not leave His people on their own

when it comes to understanding how He intends for them to live and structure their lives. In the

pages of Scripture are rich examples of instructions given to the Israelites, in particular during

the time of the Exodus from Egypt to the Holy Land. Moving approximately 2 million people, if

the text is read literally, is a huge logistical undertaking and certainly not a task for the

fainthearted, and God ensured that Moses and the tribal leaders of the Israelites were properly

equipped to safely guide the people under His supreme leadership. Likewise, leaders today can

leverage the principles expressed in Scripture as they formulate plans for ministries or Christian

education. As will be seen, God’s original model of family is still applicable in Christian ministry

children.”1 Within this construct, there was physical, economic and legal protection. Families

thrived and grew under these conditions, which may be one reason the Hebrews became such a

strong people group in Egypt, leading to the fear of the Egyptians that they might become too

powerful.

Likewise, Jesus pursued the concept of intimacy with His disciples when He chose

twelve to disciple directly. In Mark 3:14, we read: “And he appointed twelve (whom he also

named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach” (ESV)

1 Sandra L. Richter, The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry Into the Old Testament

(Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 26.

significant number, twelve, to represent a continuation of the twelve tribes of Israel. He also gave

them a title that set them apart from the rest of the followers, “apostles”.

responsibility was equally shared by all the tribal members of an appropriate age, as established

by a census. From shared responsibility also came shared protection, as demonstrated by the

This elevating of the twelve disciples allowed men, who were not well educated, to

become “power houses” of early Christianity after Jesus’ death, as evidenced in Acts 4:13: “Now

when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated,

common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (ESV)

They were perceived as special because they had been part of the family. They had sat under the

direct discipling of the Christ. They had been able to absorb everything He said and did. It now

made them set apart from the other followers of Christ.

for learning to occur. He describes God’s act of first creating a natural family when He instituted

woman. In the further revelation of Scripture, God creates a national family through the lineage

of Jacob. Ultimately in the New Testament (and really beginning in some of the Old Testament

writings, such as Jeremiah 31), God creates a spiritual family, which incorporates all believers.1

Mitchell describes four elements he sees as essential for building this metaphor of family

into discipleship or Christian education: an educational environment, which should be

“stimulating and collegial, challenging but not overbearing, supporting the biblical learning

model” 2, an appropriate physical environment, which “need to be inviting and attractive”3, a

relational environment, which allows students to “observe exemplary lives that are consistent

with the words spoken in the lessons presented”4, and a familial environment, in which “kind and

progress to a sensitized life and an independent ability to grow.6

Likewise Barna notes that it is in these intimate settings that “lead people to integrate

spiritual growth into their lives in ways that make the process less intrusive and less

2 Ibid., 331.

3 Ibid., 332.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid., 333.

6 William R. Yount, Created to Learn: A Christian Teacher's Introduction to Educational

Psychology (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1996), 174.

7 George Barna, Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine

Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001), 155.

Foss et al., in investigating the dynamics behind job design in the business world found

that designing jobs well is an exceedingly important consideration if collaboration and sharing of

knowledge is to happen between individuals working together:

knowledge. For this reason, job design is an antecedent of actual knowledge-sharing

behaviors in organizations. Job design may therefore be an important design variable for

firms that want to benefit from employees’ sharing of relevant knowledge. 1

Indartono, Chiou and Chen investigated how personal job fit and servant leadership stand

in relationship to job design and performance. They found that a “worker's belief that harmony

on the job and leader's support will influence the different levels of working performance.”3

What can be clearly seen here is that the secular workplace’s workforce is driven by a

very similar idea of wanting to be motivated through not just pressure or even intimidation to

learn, but rather through an intrinsic motivation resulting in a great harmony among all

participants and the free exchange of information (or life experiences in ministry environments).

1 Foss et al., “Encouraging Knowledge Sharing Among Employees: How Job Design

Matters,” 871.

2 Ibid., 875.

Contemporary Research in Business 2 (December 2010): 44.

Certainly 1 Thessalonians 2:6 – 10 can serve as a great example of what discipleship

ministries need to be if we are to incorporate the family aspect: “Nor did we seek glory from

people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of

Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of

God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember,

brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of

you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy

and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.”

Spirit or all believers in the New Testament, it is through the power of the Spirit that these

families can form and bond together. This is underlined in Paul’s writings in 1 Thessalonians 1:5,

where he tells his readers that “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in

that much of what those coming to church groups or discipleship settings are seeking for is exactly

this feeling of being plugged in to the Father’s household.

1 Rod Dempsey, Healthy Church Systems, Word Document handout in DSMN 500.

From the beginning of Scripture when God creates the first natural family with Adam and

Eve to His giving clear instruction to the national family, the Israelites, and ultimately in the

spiritual family seen in the New Testament bringing all believers together, it is clear that God

Himself seems to believe in a family setting for living and learning. Secular workplace theories

seem to support this as well when they state that employees perform best when they feel that

they are appreciated and that they “belong”.

When the concept of family is extended to Christian learning environments, almost

identical dynamics are at work. The participants in such learning will learn best when they feel

that they also “belong”. When personal authenticity, physical environment and Christian love