This is the fourth sermon (first HERE) in a series entitled “The Shadow of a Doubt.” Rev. Talbot Davis preached this at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC.

I have known for several years that on some level behavior precedes doubt.

In other words, we don’t arrive at our shadow of doubt by objective analysis of relevant facts; instead, most of us begin to act a certain way and then circle back around and develop some doubts to substantiate that behavior.

We don’t think our way into doubting.  We (mis)behave our way into it.

It’s the kind of thing Psalm 14 teaches if you take the time to dig.  So I dug.  And along with that study came  the bottom line for doubt’s origin here:

Doubt justifies disobedience but surrender magnifies understanding.

We like finding out where things come from, don’t we? The origins of things.  That question is the source of some of the human race’s most intense scientific speculation:  where did the world (and the universe it’s in) come from and where did our particular human species come from?  And scientists have reached some kind of consensus that in the recesses of time there was actually a BIG BANG that is ultimately the source, the origin, of all we see.  Agnostics give that Big Bang a scientific explanation; people of faith tend to say more simply: God spoke – BANG – and it was.  But we’re interested in all kinds of origins. On things bad and good; ugly and beautiful. Where did the HIV virus originate?  Where did the beauty of a monarch butterfly originate?  Where do mosquitoes come from? (Wetlands!)

And on the more positive side, what parent hasn’t dreaded that moment when your eight-year-old turns and asks, “where do babies come from?”  We’re interested in origins; we like to know where things ultimately come from. But have you ever wondered where doubts come from?  Their origins?  What is the Big Bang that tends to produce doubts?  I mean, we all have some level of doubt – it’s why this thing is called the Christian faith, not the Christian certainty.  But where do they start?  Whether it’s the kind of doubts and uncertainties that I’ve decided I can live with – what’s the deal with dinosaurs? what about people who never hear about Christ? – or the kind of doubting you may have seen or gone through in college – you know, when the college professor of philosophy or comparative religion was so smart, so shrewd, and they have a knack for chopping the Christian faith of their students right down.  You knew at some level you weren’t educated or mentally agile enough to engage in debate, and so your faith felt like it was perpetually stuck in a second grade Sunday School class:  why do you believe?  Because my parents did.  It’s hard to measure up.  Where do those kinds of sophisticated, superior doubts come from?

Or even worse, the kind of doubt you may have seen or lived when you ultimately decide, “nope, that’s not me anymore.  I used to believe a little but no more.”  Where do those doubts come from?  And will locating doubt’s Big Bang origin in any way help us to stop dwelling in its shadow and move beyond it?

This may make Psalm 14:1 seem like an odd place to answer those questions, beginning as it does with more than a little aggression:

“The fool says in his heart,
‘There is no God.'”

So from the perspective of biblical wisdom, disbelieving in God’s existence or living like you do is the apex of arrogance and folly.  And given our image of the super-intellectual doubter – people like Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, and Christopher Hitchens  – you might think the next line in Psalm 14:1 would be:  “he sits in the ivory tower and writes books,” or “he hangs out with East Coast elites and pontificates at trendy bars,” or “he corrupts the minds of young collegians,” or “he weighed all the options carefully and still made the wrong choice,” or “he dug for bones for a living and became convinced there was more evidence for dinosaurs than for God.”  I mean, really, that’s our expectation for a description of how it happens that a person comes to believe in his heart there is no God.

Except that’s not what comes next in Psalm 14:1.  Instead, look at 14:1b and c:

“They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.”

Ahhh, the Psalm goes immediately to deeds: what people do; how they act, how violence and revenge govern their interactions.  And then the Psalm becomes incredibly comprehensive in 14:3:

“All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”

By the way, Paul, in writing the New Testament book Romans uses this Psalm and this verse in particular to articulate a compelling argument on our sin nature. It’s where we get the term “original sin.”  Yet from the perspective of the Psalm’s logic, it’s almost like it works backwards.  These deeds, this corruption, that totality of sin piles one on top of the other, act upon act, and finally the perpetrator – the one Psalm 14 calls the fool – decides, “Nope! There is no God.”  See, I look at the way the logic flows, I look at what it doesn’t say and the conclusion is inescapable:  the disobedience, the behavior, the sin, the deeds come first and then the doubt follows.  We don’t come by our doubts innocently.

It’s very rare that people explore all the options and come to a head-only belief that there is no God, or at least one who is remotely interested in what we do.  It’s much more common that people behave in a certain way, adopt a frankly self-centered mode of living and then, as if to substantiate it, decide and declare that any God who might possibly disapprove simply does not exist.  Here’s how it circles back around:  doubt justifies disobedience.

It’s a pattern I’ve noticed in atheists both famous and anonymous.  You investigate their back stories and it is almost never an unbiased review of evidence that led to their conclusion; it starts with a behavior, a pattern, an outlook that gets settled deep inside the person and then it becomes, “oh, I don’t believe in the God who didn’t want me to do that thing.”  Doubt is to justify what you are already doing.  Remove God, remove guilt, remove accountability, remove correction.  You remove God so that you can become one and then do as you please.  I’ve seen it all over, even in church.  Money, sex, and anger seem to be the primary areas.

In our denomination we have a whole collection of church leaders in other parts of the country who’ve decided they are smarter than the Bible when it comes to sexual boundaries.  It’s not the doubt of atheism like what appears in Psalm 14, but it is the doubt that can cause you to decide the Bible no longer applies.  And these leaders and teachers often couch their suddenly-smarter-than-the-Bible position in terms of helping others and extending love. Yet when some of the stories go a bit deeper you discover, “Nope.  There’s quite a bit of self-interest involved.  People want to indulge themselves sexually and still keep their jobs.”  Doh! Less principle and more convenience.  Doubt justifies the disobedience that’s already going on.  I may be a know-it-all, but I am not smarter than the people who wrote the Bible when it comes to boundaries for sexual intimacy.

I tell you all that to say this:  if you are harboring doubts, if you are thinking of leaving the faith because of questions you have, what’s really going on?  What’s honestly behind it all?  Is it the desire to spend your money as you wish and not as some 3,000-year-old text commands you to?  Is it the anger you want to express, either physically at those you love or digitally at those you hate?  Is it the affair you are contemplating, the one you’re having, the one that just ended?  Are you truthfully, honestly like the nervous guy who came to the confessional booth one time and blurted out, “my sin is full of life!”  Will you be honest enough to acknowledge the sort of selfish, mostly ego-based origin of all those doubts?  Will you take that kind of personal inventory?  It’s not that you truly don’t believe in God, you just want to remove God so you can become one . . . do whatever . . . the hell . . . you want to do.  Doubt justifies disobedience.

However. Except. But.  We’re not at the end of Psalm 14 by a long shot.  Look at 14:6:

“You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.”

The strong-armed atheists of this Psalm don’t know that the people who appear weak and humble and pitiful actually have the Lord on their side.  And in that refuge there is a marvelous combination of strength and clarity. Look at 14:7:

“Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!”

There is coming a time when oppression against believers ceases and faithful people know the source of their deliverance.  Not the Big Bang of their doubt, but the Big Bang of their deliverance!  They’re given the insight here to see below and beneath the surface events – why it is that seemingly wicked people prosper on earth – and into the heart and will of God.  You know what that means?  Doubt may justify disobedience but surrender magnifies understanding.

Yes!  Sometimes you’ve got to do in order to know.  You follow the instructions,  the commands, the teachings without complete clarity and along the way you discover:  “Oh, I get it!  That’s why he says to live this way!”  It’s the pattern of the entire Bible!  Abraham: Go. Leave your family, your property, your business, your 401K, and go to a land you don’t know.  Lord, can I have the agenda for the trip?  No, just go.  Along the way you’ll understand.  And so he did.  Moses, take your people and get out of slavery on the other side of the Red Sea.  Do what I say and leave now.  And Moses answers, what’s the plan? what shall I tell them? Tell them my name and who I am and that’s enough.  Along the way, you’ll understand.

And Jesus to Peter, the fisherman son of a fisherman.  Peter, come follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men.  Peter: who’s keeping the books? (Judas!) Who’s your right hand man? What’s the plan?  When are you coming back?  Jesus answers: Not for you to know the times and seasons, Peter, just come with me and you’ll discover along the way.  People:  they all followed first and comprehended second!  As if it is, “Oh, once I did this, I got that!”  And it hasn’t stopped being true!

It’s true with generosity: what would more strengthen your doubts than this archaic Old Testament notion of 10% going to God and then a New Testament crew of people who gave more than that!  It’s so tempting to say, “I don’t believe in a God who would ask that! Doesn’t he know I’ve got taxes, alimony, insurance?”  Yet I hear from those of you who follow on this – word after word after word – and you say “I did it and it worked! I understand!”  Goodness, in our own house we’ve been committed to some New Testament levels of giving for years and my wife’s company was sold to private equity. Everybody around Julie lost their jobs. Except her. No explanation but God.

It’s true in the realm of sexual intimacy.  Talk about an area where people want to doubt so they can justify behavior!  But then, I run across these exceedingly odd yet inordinately blessed couples – young adults and middle age! – who wait, and they realize that abstinence before marriage reinforces fidelity after it.  Oh! This command that cramped my style ended up saving my life!  I get it now!  The same is true with how you express your anger, how you refrain from gossip, how you bless people you could manipulate.  Just because you think it doesn’t mean you must say it.  Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.  You show your relational power by restraining it . . . and then God lets you know this is why it works better. It’s just like Jesus.

If you’re in the middle of a season of doubt, surrender to that which you do not fully understand.  Follow first, and comprehension will come.  Because here’s what I truly believe happens when you surrender to that inconvenient, unpredictable, madly-in-love-with-you Savior:  you start on a road in the dark but the longer you walk, follow, and submit, the more clear become the ways and will of God.  And you’ll experience the Big Bang, not of doubt, but of your own living relationship with Jesus Christ.

I’m not an athlete. People who know me would confirm that readily and likely with eye rolling agreement. But I love athletics. I enjoy watching physically talented people who passionately commit themselves to their sport. I admire their dedication to training, to doing whatever is necessary to be the best.

There’s a training exercise in tennis that I find especially intriguing – not just because I can’t play tennis to save my life, but because of the larger meaning that it provides me as I seek to follow Jesus. This training exercise focuses on readiness. Players face the coach and run in place on the balls of their feet. They watch for the coach’s signal to move to either left or right, up or back. Until the coach gives the sign, the athletes hold in readiness. That’s a crucial skill, to be able to hold yourself in readiness. There’s a big difference between being on the balls of your feet and sitting back on your heels – it can mean the difference between points won or lost.

It’s not easy to hold yourself in readiness. You have to be alert, your entire body engaged and prepared to move. You have to be focused, intent on watching for the necessary sign. You have to be willing to act, following the signal the moment it arrives.

All this is true for tennis players, and it’s also true for followers of Jesus. We have to train ourselves in readiness. We have to cultivate a heart that holds itself in readiness. We need to be alert, engaged with our entire beings – not just our heads, not just our hearts – our whole selves, held in readiness.

It’s a matter of focus. You can’t be facing inward and be ready – you’ve got to be facing outward. You can’t be worried about your own desires and preferences and be ready – you’ve got to be concerned with what’s going on beyond yourself.

The ability to hold yourself in readiness. Important in tennis. Crucial in following Jesus.

A church volunteer I encountered recently described himself as ‘that donkey tied to a tree in Jerusalem, just waiting for Lord to have need of him.’ That guy knows how to hold himself in readiness.

Jesus closed his parable of the ten bridesmaids with this reminder: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13). This isn’t just instruction for the end of our life, it’s instruction for the whole of our life. We are to live our lives on the balls of our feet, holding ourselves in readiness.

How do you hold yourself in readiness? What new experiences have you encountered because you were ready? What have you missed because you weren’t?

It’s nearing the end of summer and there is a pretty good chance, if you are a Methodist or attending a church in the Wesleyan tradition that either your church newsletter or weekly bulletin is currently showcasing upcoming Bible studies or spiritual formation classes under a banner headline, “Fall Discipleship Opportunities.”It might be that there is an advertised afternoon volunteer for a project in the community. If so, you are in pretty good company as it means your congregation’s leadership has been proactive about recruiting persons to head up this essential component that fosters health in congregations. If your newsletter or bulletin isn’t advertising for upcoming classes – hold fast! It might be that the next one you receive will be doing just that!

As you peruse the menu of offerings it is not uncommon to ask, “I wonder if I am prepared to sign up for this course?”or “Should I do this class….or maybe I should try this study?”or even, “Do they really want me to volunteer?”It’s always helpful to ask someone in leadership or a friend you know who has taken a study because it can be easy to feel intimidated or overwhelmed by the possibilities that lie before us.

Unfortunately, some of us will decide to opt out because either we don’t think we have the background and we will be in over our heads or we remember that we did a study similar to that a few years back and it doesn’t seem worth our while this time round. Truth be told, we are susceptible to falling into patterns ingrained in us during our formal education in high school or college as teenagers and young adults. Just as then, we are apt to decide from the course catalogue that a particular study is “too hard”or another is “too easy”and not worth our while. Often, we pigeon hole discipleship as something necessary for new Christians who do not know the Bible or feel comfortable praying out loud, yet. Alternately, it is possible to think that discipleship is reserved for the “super”Christian – the seasoned believer who seems to have a handle on their faith. And there are some of us who volunteer for a service project because we want to see tangible results – if we are willing to make that commitment at all!

The truth is this: every Christian – regardless of our stage in faith – is in need of discipleship! And here is another important thing: I am not just referring to an 8-week class or a long term study. Discipleship, attending to your relationship with God, is more than a class – it is a way of life! Discipleship is to literally respond to the call of Jesus, “Follow me!”As disciples of Jesus, our discipleship is to discover what it means to become like Jesus. John Wesley often referred to discipleship as “having the mind that was in Christ so to walk in the way that he walked.”Another way Wesley discussed the idea of discipleship was with the phrase “holiness of heart and life.”In short, our discipleship entails being like Jesus, so we can do like Jesus.

Discovering what it means to be like Jesus in a constantly changing world means each and every Christian can benefit from another opportunity to intentionally engage learning what it means to be Jesus’disciple. Discipleship is a lifelong endeavor! For most of us, our discipleship benefits from joining a Bible study or becoming a part of a group exploring various prayer practices – or even learning how to pray! But our discipleship is not measured by our small group experience. We experience the mind that was in Christ and walk in the way of Christ when we engage our everyday life – answering the phone, responding to emails, or shuttling the kids to and from their various activities.

When we take advantage of a Bible study of spiritual formation class at church or in the home of a neighbor, we are intentionally cultivating our discipleship by opening our hearts and minds to learn what it means to be like Jesus. When we enlist to serve lunch at the soup kitchen or assist in the construction of a local building project, we are intentionally cultivating our discipleship by earnestly offering our particular gifts and talents – our strengths – and doing as Jesus did. It is important to carve out intentional times and places where we learn and rediscover what it means to love the Lord with all our heart, our mind, our soul and our strength.

It is equally important to have those “in between times”to reflect on our discipleship and discern how our heart, mind, soul, and strength are integrated, demonstrating our love for God and for our neighbor – times that are not devoted to learning or service, but are carved out of everyday life as well. During those times we can ask if we are really loving God with our whole heart. Are we becoming more like Jesus? Are we more holy in our inward being and outward doing? Sometimes it serendipitously happens when we linger in the parking lot chatting with one another after a study or comes up in a conversation with a trusted friend over coffee or a meal. But it is especially helpful if there is a small group in your church or neighborhood that intentionally seeks to discern the integration of heart, soul, mind, and strength. Wesley called these “class”and “band”meetings. Today, we might call them “Reunion Groups”or “Accountability Groups.”The important thing is that in addition to learning what it means to be like Jesus and act like Jesus, we reflect that these classes and service projects are really affecting a change in our hearts and lives.

So, as you wonder while you examine the opportunities your local congregation is officially sponsoring, the answer is, “Yes!”There IS some sort of discipleship endeavor for you this upcoming year. If you don’t spy something that seems suited for you at your stage of the Christian journey, ask. Better yet, search your heart in prayer and see what doors God opens up! Maybe it is time for you to launch a group or begin by asking a few spiritual friends to reflect together on your discipleship; on how your heart, mind, soul, and strengths is connected with one another to express your love for God and for your neighbor!

Discipleship isn’t just education – it is a lifelong endeavor!

The church today puts a lot of focus on the need to make disciples of Jesus Christ. But do we take seriously what that work requires of us?

I’m not so sure. I am very sure, on the other hand, that we’re living in a culture that does us no favors when we even begin to approach the work of disciple-making.

Think about it. In the West, we live in a world where most things we want are within reach. We’re not good at delayed gratification. We think we have a right to gratify every felt need we have. We don’t like to suffer.

Discipline isn’t easy. That’s particularly the case when we’re talking about a discipline beyond what it takes to make it to work on time, get through the day, keep the kids fed, and pay the mortgage.

So what about the discipline required to become a disciple?

We’d like it to take about as long (and require about as much suffering) as it takes to warm up a HotPocket in the microwave. And that’s a problem.

We find the command to make disciples in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20. It’s one of the best known teachings of Jesus. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” Jesus says. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (RSV).

It’s the mission statement for the whole Christian church! It couldn’t be clearer what Christ Jesus wants his followers to be busy doing.

So how do we do it?

I want to ignore the cultural challenges we face in disciple-making for a minute and instead turn to the deep spirituality around faith formation in the Wesleyan tradition. I believe the latter offers a wonderful context for how to understand disciple-making.

Disciples are not made overnight, in truth. They’re made through a process of formation that takes a great deal of time and dedication. Here are four Wesleyan commitments that can help us think about that process—

1. Being comes before Doing

John Wesley explains in “The Character of a Methodist” what he thinks is distinctive about Methodist identity. He says that it has nothing to do with different opinions or customs about things that don’t strike at the heart of the Christian faith.

So what is a Methodist, then? Wesley says, “I answer: a Methodist is one who has ‘the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him’; one who ‘loves the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength’. God is the joy of his heart, and the desire of his soul, which is constantly crying out, ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee!’ My God and my all! Thou art the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever!” (¶5).

In other words, becoming a disciple is first about receiving new birth by the Holy Spirit. It is about being filled with the love of Christ—knowing that because of Christ you have been adopted into the family of God. It’s about receiving God’s saving grace and knowing yourself as forgiven. Discipleship is about being before it is about doing.

2. Holiness always moves from heart to life

Wesley’s favorite phrase to describe the life of sanctification is “holiness of heart and life.” There’s a lot wrapped up in those five words. We are made holy by grace, and this happens to us through an inward renewal of the heart. When that renewal begins, though, the experience is going to radiate outward into every aspect of our lives.

So “holiness of heart and life” is a kind of shorthand for describing a type of discipleship that is authentic and real just because it has taken root within us and then begun to express itself in our daily living.

In his sermon, “Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, IV,” Wesley describes the heart-to-life rhythm this way: “Love cannot be hid any more than light; and least of all when it shines forth in action, when ye exercise yourselves in the labour of love, in beneficence of every kind” (¶II.2). So there is a deep inward spirituality to true holiness, but that spirituality is ultimately directed outwardly through active form of discipleship. That’s also the logic of what it means to love both God and neighbor!

3. Trust that God’s grace will be found in the means that God provides

For Wesley, the practices that he calls the means of grace lie at the heart of practical Christian living. He calls the primary means of grace “instituted” because he sees them as instituted by Jesus Christ in the gospels. Prayer, Searching the Scriptures, Fasting, the Lord’s Supper, and Christian fellowship are given to us by Christ through his teaching and personal example. Thus, we can expect that Christ will meet us in them when we practice them faithfully in our own lives as well.

If we take Wesley’s counsel about the importance of the means of grace seriously, we will begin to see how revolutionary Wesleyan spirituality really is. He believes that the means of grace should be the defining pattern of daily life for a Christian believer. Not our consumer choices, not our workaday jobs, and not our entertainment or extracurricular preferences—rather, it is the daily and disciplined use of the means of grace that are the characteristic mark of the Christian life. If this sounds difficult or even dreary, then it is only because we are so tied to consumerist materialism that we have a hard time imagining another way to live.

For Wesley’s part, he believed that the transformation we can experience by grace gives us the only real happiness we can know in this world. In the sermon, “The Important Question,” Wesley says that the “fruits of love” we experience through our use of the means of grace within a community of other Christians “are means of increasing the love from which they spring; and of consequence they increase our happiness in the same proportion” (¶III.4).

4. Practices of Piety are intimately linked to Practices of Mercy

The instituted means of grace are what Wesley elsewhere calls “works of piety.” They are practices of worship and devotion. But there are other practices that Christians engage in. These are the “works of mercy” that Jesus points us toward when he speaks of finding him in the context of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and showing hospitality to the stranger (Matthew 25:31-40). When we pursue this work of compassion and justice, we find that the works of mercy, too, are true means of grace.

In Wesley’s teaching, piety and mercy go hand-in-hand. “But what are the steps which the Scripture directs us to take, in the working out of our own salvation?” Wesley asks in the sermon, “On Working Out Our Own Salvation.” We should always “be zealous of good works, of works of piety, as well as works of mercy,” he says (¶II.4). Wesley does not believe authentic discipleship can ever exclude one or the other. Indeed, he seems to believe that they mutually reinforce one another: our practices of devotion and worship ready us for works of mercy, while actively pursuing compassion and justice in the world reveal to us the deep need for a life of piety.

These four Wesleyan commitments for disciple-making may not sound like good news to the person who is enthralled with the easy-as-you-please culture of our present day. It may just give us the right insight into what it really takes to make a disciple of Jesus Christ, though.

Discipleship is not about techniques and gimmicks. It doesn’t happen HotPocket-quick. It is about being formed in a way of life over the course of time, and with a deep immersion into the practices of the Christian faith. We’ll find transformation in that process, too, and it will reveal within us something we’d never dream of otherwise.

I wish Jesus described himself as the “donut of life” instead the “bread of life.” It just makes a little more sense that way. It would make my preaching easier too. That is what I want – I want a donut. We know that one does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God, so why not throw in some pastry goodness once in a while, God?

I live in a donut culture. It seems that we are no longer satisfied with that which daily satisfies unless it is sugared up. The majority of us are serving them right on up each and every Sunday.

Public confession time – I like donuts. I have traveled throughout the United States and Europe in search of the perfect donut. In each culture I tasted (along with a nice cup of coffee) simple and basic ingredients made up into the glorious thing we call the morning donut. By the way – the donut is like eating a piece of cake for breakfast, which is another one of my favorite things to do.  It was not on a snowy winter morning in Stockholm, or in a spring filled Paris coffee shop, or in Berlin’s smorgasbord of pastry shops that the best donut was found – oddly it is in the small bakery down the street from my childhood home. They don’t even have a place to sit down, let alone any sense of atmosphere – what they do have is phenomenal donuts. That is what they do and they do it well. They don’t want you hanging out all day getting in the way. Their whole vibe is get in, get your stuff, and get out because you are holding up the line.

A donut is quick and it is accessible. You eat it while you drive to work and hope not to spill the crème or junk in the middle down your shirt. Everyone at your office will judge you for being the person who couldn’t take two minutes to have a sensible breakfast and decided to be the dude who slurps donuts each morning. Welcome to Lazytown, we’ve been expecting you. But I just love donuts, don’t you? Once you taste it you know. It’s fresh, it’s good, and you want more of it.

Here is the problem: I can’t thrive on donuts. Sure, I might be able to survive but what kind of life is that? Donut in – donut energy out. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but a donut a day – wait I just forgot what I was going to say because I fell asleep after my donut sugar crash. Jesus as the donut of life is appealing for us to sink our teeth into, to experience, and to believe in. The problem is that this Jesus leaves us with a similar sugar crash afterwards. The hard teachings or call of discipleship could leave a bad taste in our mouths.

Jesus does not give us the option for the donut of life. He talked about bread. Poor Jesus. I feel bad for him for not being able to experience the joy of donuts, but I guess that’s why he is so skinny and handsome in all of the paintings in my church. He is the bread, so we have to speak about the bread. Bread actually engages the body to produce the sugar that the body needs.

My father is going through a period in his life where he has to monitor his sugar and other stuff like that. For a period of time he gave up drinking beer and eating bread. I was shocked and amazed when he said the thing he missed the most was the bread. Who is this man and what have you done with my father? Sometimes we can take for granted the daily part of bread life. We understand how much we need it and miss it when it’s gone. Bread is actually more important than what we give it credit for. Just go to a restaurant with your pregnant spouse and watch their reaction if bread isn’t on the table in a jiffy. Bread is important.

God is in the midst of the normal – not just the fantastic, chocolate and sprinkled covered parts of life. God’s presence is made real when we take simple elements, like bread, and share it. This is why we should stick to what he invites us to do – offer the bread.

The 19^th century Methodist liturgist and theologian, Thomas O. Summers, contended that Methodists have “the best catechetical literature, at least in the English language.” [1] While I won’t spend much time defending his assertion, his claim is worth considering. For many, the word “catechesis” (if it is familiar at all) is merely a synonym for “confirmation.” Sadly, this perspective has contributed to the crisis in our church today. I find Summers’ writings about the topic helpful in thinking about the true nature of catechesis.

A Baptismal Life

Because the vast majority of baptisms in Summers’ context were those of infants or children, his catechetical focus was naturally on the young. His view of baptism was robust and he often referred to newly baptized children as being “placed in the school of Christ.”[2] For Summers, the responsibility of the faithful to the newly baptized begins, not ends, with baptism. This challenges the, at least implicit, belief that the culmination of the spiritual formation of children is “Confirmation Sunday.” Summers envisioned a much more robust, intentional, and extended process—one that begins, not ends, with baptism.

Not Merely Didactic

Summers understood catechesis to be a continuation of baptism; a process established and nourished within the context of worship. Catechesis is not simply a matter of teaching information about the faith. At its most essential level, catechesis functions to prepare the newly baptized for faithful participation in the worshipping community. Summers accurately notes:

The catechetical instructions of the ancients consisted chiefly of expositions of the Lord’s prayer, the ten commandments, and some creed or confession of faith. [3]

For much of the history of Church, these three elements—“The Creed,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” and “The Ten Commandments”—comprised the primary elements of congregational participation in worship. It was crucial that the newly baptized be prepared to actively participate in worship with a deep appreciation for the mystery of faith that is celebrated every Sunday.

In my experience little, if any, preparation is given to the newly baptized to equip them for active involvement in worship. Too often we simply assume that because a person has been present on Sundays, there is nothing the Church can or should do to deepen her participation in worship. “The ancients,” as Summers reminds us, understood that our engagement in worship is enhanced as we explore the richness of the prayers we pray, the songs we sing, the words we hear, and the bread we taste.

Catechesis, then, is not a matter of simply inputting spiritual or biblical concepts into the newly baptized, rather it is a process by which individuals are equipped to fully participate in the life of the worshipping community. When catechesis becomes divorced from full, conscious, and active participation in worship, the process becomes little more than rote memorization. On the other hand, when catechesis is understood as the way in which the newly baptized are integrated into the worshipping body, it becomes a much more dynamic concept. Catechesis is a continuation of the baptismal life, a process that is established and nourished within the context of worship.

A Clear Telos

As a Methodist Summers understood that catechesis played a central role in the process of Christian perfection. In his commentary on the Ritual of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Summers writes that in baptism “all of its [the Church’s] members are pledged to holiness.”[4] When we witness a person, young or old, being baptized we all renew our commitment to holiness. Baptism begins the journey, catechesis equips the newly baptized to pursue Christian perfection through the means of grace, and the entire congregation shares in that mutual pledge.

Lyrical Catechesis

Let’s return to Summer’s claim about Methodist catechetical sources. A primary catechetical source that Summers consistently upheld was the Methodist hymnal—particularly the hymns of Charles Wesley. Summers understood that, more often than not, our beliefs are most shaped by what we sing. As a Methodist, Summers turned to the rich tradition of the Wesleyan hymns as a primary resource for catechesis.

I am convinced that Wesley’s hymns can still have significant impact in our contemporary contexts, but they require the work of a catechist to (re)introduce them to many of our congregations. No other protestant denomination has such a treasury of hymns covering a range of topics like the nature of God (the Trinity, etc.), the way of salvation (personal and cosmic), and sacramental theology—just to name a few. In light of this rich and often untapped resource, Summers’ claim seems to be in order.

If contemporary Methodists are serious about robust catechesis, we must broaden our concept of the term. We must understand that baptism is a moment that shapes our entire life—a journey in holiness. We must break free from an approach to catechesis that is merely didactic and understand that the process of catechesis is anchored in the worshipping community. And we need look no further than our own tradition for what is, perhaps, the preeminent Wesleyan catechetical resource: the Wesleyan hymns.

[1]“Brief Reviews,” Methodist Quarterly Review 14 (October 1860): 600.

[2]Commentary on the Ritual, 34.

[3]The Sunday-school Teacher; Or, The Catechetical Office (Richmond/Louisville: John Early for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1853), 10.

[4]Commentary, 51

When you hear the term “discipleship” what comes to mind? An educational program for adults in your church? The reflective/debriefing group sessions during a mission trip? A moment to promote a given ministry or event during the worship service? A particular pastor who serves at a multi-staffed church?

Each one of us can probably come up with three or four examples of discipleship that all look different from each other – and hopefully each example contributes to the same idea – that discipleship is how we live our Christian lives in love and service to God so that we are an example of God’s love in the world.

Wesley’s Take on Discipleship

The truth is, as much as contemporary Wesleyans talk about making disciples and doing discipleship, John Wesley rarely used the term “disciple.” For him, the term was synonymous with being a Christian or being an eighteenth-century Methodist. In his tract, “The Character of a Methodist,” John Wesley discussed what made those pioneer Methodists identifiable to the rest of the world. Wesley said it was not the things that early Methodists did or said, but rather that a person loved God with their heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30).

Through loving God so completely, a Methodist found contentment in God, trusted God for every need, prayed and sought after God so that the lives they lived in attitude and action were consistent with God’s love for the world. In the next to last paragraph of the tract, Wesley remarks that being a Methodist is really nothing new to the world and was simply the “common principles of Christianity – the plain, old Christianity that I teach, renouncing and detesting all other marks of distinction.” In other words, being an eighteenth-century Methodist means to be a Christian – to be a follower of Jesus Christ in any age or era.

According to Wesley, being a Christian disciple is an all encompassing endeavor. Using the customary gender-specific language of his day, Wesley describes a Christian disciple as follows:

[H]e is a Christian, not in name only, but in heart and in life. He is inwardly and outwardly conformed to the will of God, as revealed in the written word. He thinks, speaks, and lives, according to the method laid down in the revelation of Jesus Christ. His soul is renewed after the image of God, in righteousness and in all true holiness. And having the mind that was in Christ, he so walks as Christ also walked.

Methodists, or Christians, are characterized by patterning their lives after Christ and being renewed, transformed into Christlikeness as they continually follow Christ’s example.

Contemporary Implications

Two remarkable things stand out when reading Wesley’s tract. First, Wesley does not discuss what activities, actions or ministries early Methodists – or Christian disciples – do. Actually, the only activity he explicitly mentions in the whole tract is prayer; which is as much action as it is an attitude for preforming acts of mercy and piety in this world, i.e. by acting prayerfully.

The other remarkable thing is closely related and has to do with the title itself: “The Character of a Methodist.” Notice Wesley did not title it “Programs of a Methodist” or “Ministries of A Methodist” or even “Moments of a Methodist.” The fact that he talks about the distinguishing marks or characteristic qualities of Methodists makes me wonder why contemporary Wesleyans are prone to discuss discipleship as a program, or a ministry area, or a focus moment in our worship services when Wesley saw things quite differently. To be either an eighteenth century Methodist or a contemporary Christian disciple is actually characterized by a way of living in this world which qualifies the way (or manner in which persons do things in this world) for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

Christian Character Demonstrates Our Discipleship

Make no mistake, in order to demonstrate our love for God and offer it to others, Christian disciples will be engaged in activities and actions in this world. But those activities and actions are not in and of themselves our “discipleship.” After all, many activities and actions Christians do in this world – feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, offering aid in times of crisis – look just like what other well-intentioned, caring persons do in this world. Christian discipleship is characterizing how we engage in activities in this world that demonstrates the love of God to this world. Christian discipleship is about living in such a way that we distinguish ourselves as followers of Jesus from those that do similar things out civic duty, moral obligation, or humanitarian aid. Christian discipleship is not so much about doing something – or anything – at all.

Christian discipleship is being a follower of Jesus and living in a manner consistent with Christ’s example even when we are hanging out with friends, stuck in traffic, or surfing the internet. We do not “do discipleship’ as much as we “demonstrate discipleship” by letting Christ’s character infuse our daily actions and lives so that others might know Christ by the way we live.

I’ll bet there are roads you could drive blindfolded if you really needed to.

Maybe it’s the road from your house to the entrance of your subdivision, or the route you take to work, or the circuitous path you carve in your daily routine – stop, start, turn, pause, start again. The rhythm of acceleration, brake, the swing of the vehicle as you round a curve – commuters, too, know the rhythm of train stations and bus stops, so that travel becomes second nature.

We see the construction workers and construction equipment so big it nearly qualifies as a building on treads that squelch their way through mud and we think we build roads; oh, maybe not you and me. But our proxies are out in all weather spreading hot asphalt and leveling hills, that’s us – that’s Our Civilization Out There Building Roads. We think we build the roads.

I think the roads build us.

Recently I returned to central Kentucky, where I had lived for several years. I’d been away a while, and when I came back I was confronted with a new highway snaking through the rolling horse farms where an old one used to be; safer, undoubtedly, but out of sync with the old drive.

It was disorienting. I found glimpses of familiarity in unfamiliar proximity and proportion. Finally I discovered remnants of the old highway remained, running parallel to the new installation, and immediately pulled onto the original road. My body relaxed. Here was a landmark. There was a familiar farm. I knew the curves of the aged tumbling stone wall that marked old boundaries. The lift of the hills, the force of the turns – it was almost like muscle memory.

Hikers will tell you to leave your surroundings as untouched as possible, to preserve nature, to protect wildlife. But whatever trail you take, you won’t remain untouched. The path itself will have shaped you in some way.

Maybe that’s part of the reason that, over and over again, God reminded the Israelites to tear down the high places – those elevated perches of idolatry. Those paths needed to grow over and be forgotten. Those trails needed to be neglected; new roads needed to be established. Those muscles needed new memories. We hear stories of absent-minded drivers accidentally driving to their old place of work, or their old house – the same principle.

We think we shape the landscape, but the roads are shaping us.

How is it that the angle of a foot planted on a sidewalk can feel familiar? But it can. And the angle of the soul is similarly directed and shaped.

What roads are shaping you? The sentimental route to a loved ones’ house? The familiar trip to Sunday worship? The freeway journey to your job? The worn path trailing down to a beloved grave that you tend? The swaying course of a city bus to night class?

It’s best to be mindful of what roads are shaping you. Roads can be sly, shifting you this way and that when you’re lulled into complacency. Once, while driving, I mindlessly followed the person I was supposed to be following, only to look up and discover I’d been led past a Do Not Enter sign and was driving headfirst into oncoming traffic.

Examine your roads.

They shape you when you’re not looking.

And as pilgrims, we’re called to be mindful travelers.

There is a hunger in the church for meaningful community, where people can find support and comfort from others as they seek to grow in faith in the midst of the spectacular, tragic, and mundane events of real life. When I talk with church leaders about the importance of small group formation for Christian discipleship, people typically agree that small groups are important and that their churches would benefit from more small groups focused on life change. But they want to know how this kind of community can be created.

This question has come up repeatedly, for example, when I talk with church leaders about the role of class meetings in early Methodism, and my belief that they are of ongoing significance for contemporary Christianity. Class meetings were small groups that had seven to twelve people in them and met weekly to answer the question, “How does your soul prosper?” (Or, how is your life in God?) These groups were of such importance in early Methodism that for decades they were a basic requirement for membership. They were a key place where people learned about their need for salvation in Christ and the reality that salvation is freely offered to all through faith in the amazing grace of God. They also helped forge a deep sense of community as Methodists found faith in Christ and pursued a deeper relationship with the Triune God. (For more about the class meeting and how to start groups like these, check out my recent book The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience.)

Attending to basic tasks like training class leaders, gathering the critical mass needed to start a class meeting, and casting vision to start groups that are focused on a particularly Wesleyan approach to communal formation is essential. And I address these and other practical aspects of starting class meetings from the ground up in my recent book.

And yet, I’ve realized that when people ask questions about the basic process of starting class meetings, they are not just asking about the very practical details of how to start a class meeting. There often appear to be questions behind these questions. Do people really want this kind of community? Would others really want to be a part of my life in this way? And would they actually let me into their lives?

When people do get a taste of healthy Christian community, it is often like water in a dry land. It is quickly absorbed and serves to make one more aware of a deep longing to be known, seen, heard, cared for, and most of all loved. Many Christian are hungry for this kind of connection with others.

To be honest, creating this kind of community is also very difficult. It takes time – lots of time – and effort. It takes consistency and intentionality that are often only given to one’s immediate family. The challenge increases because many Christians aren’t used to talking to each other about their relationship with God at all, much less bringing major life decisions, or the things they are most ashamed of or struggle with to a group. Pastors and lay leaders, then, raise questions about the feasibility of groups like the class meeting because they are aware of just how wide the gap is between the ideal form of Christian community and the current reality of most of the people in their church.

The class meeting is ideally suited for just such a context. The class meeting helps people who are more comfortable keeping their faith to themselves than discussing it with others, but who do have a desire for deeper connection with other Christians to take a step. It is a step that a leader can reasonably expect someone to take without getting in over their heads. But it is also a step that will help the person begin to experience the kind of community for which God created each of us.

I am increasingly convinced that two essential ingredients to a successful small group are a willingness by all group members to be vulnerable with each other and a willingness to invest meaningful time in the group. Class meetings help people grow in significant ways in both areas. As people begin to learn to talk about their relationship with God with each other, they make themselves vulnerable. And as they commit to a weekly one hour meeting, they take a step toward investing time in others and allow others to invest in them.

The Christian life was never intended to be lived in isolation from others. I have found time and time again that God uses other people to bless my life and help me grow in my faith. This should not come as a surprise because the doctrine of the Trinity expresses the basic Christian belief that God’s essence is a community of self-giving love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Working towards this kind of community is challenging. But those who have experienced the benefits of healthy Christian community can testify that the benefits far outweigh the challenges.

My hope is that the church will increasingly pave the way for all Christians to experience deeper community with their brothers and sisters in the faith.