Gravitas. Reimagining the Sunday Lecture Model - Restoring Jesus' Conversational Model!
Ricky Kroeger
Synopsis "Gravitas. Reimagining the Sunday Lecture Model - Restoring Jesus' Conversational Model!"
Over the last 30 years, the internet has made it possible for thousands of Christian scholars to peer review each other's work from anywhere in the world. Most importantly, this has led to their ability to collaborate, confirm, and identify original scriptural context that has been lost down through the ages. As you will see, this lost context is essential to our depth of understanding and therefore to our success in making disciples.
Unfortunately, these core cultural understandings were left behind in Israel as we left for the other cultures of the world. These first European cultures filtered the text of the Bible into their own hierarchical Hellenistic cultural context, and we therefore lost so very much of its meaning. Having been able to regain these cultural contexts of what Jesus was saying to the people of Jesus' day, we are now radically reforming our understanding of church and the way that we have been errantly trying to make disciples of all nations.
Disciples or Talmidim? A talmid is probably different than you think because we do not have any word for it in our English language. Unlike the words disciple or student or apprentice that suggest a learning and doing process, the word talmid is a Hebrew term that describes a becoming process. Talmidim desire to become just like their rabbi. It is more than the practical application of the knowledge gained. It is more than taking actions based upon our understanding of his teachings. A talmid of Rabbi Jesus will have a heart after the Father, be growing to reflect the very character of Jesus and be gaining the mind and attitudes of Christ.
Many of our people have been going to church for decades. If we have been making talmidim, most would be mature talmidim by now and be out making talmidim who are making talmidim who are making talmidim... and we would not be closing a net of eight churches each day here in the USA. They should be mature talmidim by now...
Hebrews 5:12, 6:1-2 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 6:1-3 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
In Jesus' day, the clear responsibility of the rabbi was to teach them "how to live a life pleasing to God". Jesus came to live it out and engrain it conversationally. We have lost our way in this. We have left behind the conversational model Jesus used with the twelve for the lecture model he used with the masses from a mountainside or a boat just offshore. As Jesus piqued the curiosity of the crowd in these, individuals were drawn closer for the deeper conversations.
As the twelve became proficient through the life-on-life time Jesus afforded them, they were then able to do the same in support of the 70 and the 500. "Hey, John, Jesus is surrounded by people asking him questions and I can't get close to him. You are one of his guys, what does he have to say about this...?", thereby initiating a life-on-life opportunity for them! How many cannot get to you and eventually give up on asking their questions because there is no one else to ask? Without 12 of your own, and a high level of visibility and recognition of who your 12 are, how many walk away - and we lose our chance to grow them? Not only them, but the 70 and the 500!
Please read this summary of Life, Love & Leading. Life, Love & Leading were written to support your discipleship and development efforts and are available free in both the published version and download...
