In his book about the congregational practices that promote fruitfulness in ministry, Robert Schnase identifies one key practice as Intentional Faith Development. The adjective “intentional” makes all the difference. Churches have always been about faith development, but what happens when a church organizes, budgets, and commits to deliberately and purposefully growing faith in Jesus Christ? What happens when the people of the church double down on their discipleship? It can be transformational!
Here are a few thoughts on what it might look like to grow in intentionality as we seek to grow in our faith.
Intentional faith development is intent on building community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it this way: “Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” The early church was intentional about building community — or “koinonia,” in the language of the New Testament. Acts 2:42-47 tells how the first Christians ate, prayed, worshiped, and shared their common wealth with those who had needs. Koinonia is about relationships in and through which our faith is developed and shared. Developing faith can take many forms, from educational to missional. The bottom line is that it is critical to be part of a group in the church that knows us, misses us when we’re absent, and will speak truthfully to us. These are the relationships that know our struggles and our joys, and are there to support and encourage our journey. Living in community, we find that we have a spiritual home from which we can face the world.
Intentional faith development is intent on communicating content. Acts 2:42 tells us that the Christians were not only devoted to the fellowship, but also to the Apostles’ teaching. Relationships are vital — and there are also things you need to know to mature as a Christian. We need to grow biblically literate. We need to know something of tradition, how Christians have addressed the perplexities of life. We need space to go beyond superficiality and wrestle with life’s tough questions. We need to know our spiritual gifts. We need to receive and give grace. We need space to give our resources to lasting things on mission and in ministry. We need to learn how to look beyond ourselves and our self-interest. A haphazard, sometimes-when-I-feel-like-it religion doesn’t have much strength or endurance to it.
Intentional faith development is intent on salvation. Acts 2:47 speaks about the fruit of a community that practiced intentional faith development: “And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” Here, salvation is not presented as an event at a single point in time. When we talk of salvation, I believe it is more fully understood as a process, revealed in a daily walk with God, learning and growing intentionally toward Christlikeness as you follow Jesus. Matthew’s Gospel concludes with Jesus’ commission to his disciples to go and make more disciples. Our mission is to initiate people into Christian discipleship — to make pupils, students, apprentices of the way. We are all about making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Intentional faith development is a daily, lifelong commitment. I want our church to organize and plan in a way that supports a process of intentional faith development for all those we know — and those we don’t yet know. Whether seeker or saint, anyone at Yates should be welcomed without reservation. From that welcome, we begin the work of developing a disciple — one who can deepen his or her faith, discover his or her spiritual gifts, and live meaningful lives that participate in God’s ministry in the church, community, or anywhere in the world. It is a journey that carries us through our lifetimes and beyond, “bearing fruit that will last.” (John 15:16)
There is a person I admire who has very publicly and humbly shared his intentional faith development with the world. The Irish rock singer Paul Hewson — better known as Bono — is the lead singer of the world-renowned band U2. Famous for his music, Bono has always been candid about his faith in Jesus. Over the years, he has leveraged his notoriety to lead in social concerns, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, knighted by the Queen of England, and was one of Time Magazine’s 2005 Persons of the Year. In an interview, he spoke about the process of his own intentional faith development:
Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time…. I have heard of people who have life-changing, miraculous turnarounds, people set free from addiction after a single prayer, relationships saved where both parties “let go, and let God.” But it was not like that for me. For all that “I was lost, I am found,” it is probably more accurate to say, “I was really lost. I’m a little less so at the moment.” And then a little less and a little less again. That to me is the spiritual life. The slow reworking and rebooting the computer at regular intervals, reading the small print of the service manual. It has slowly rebuilt me in a better image. It has taken years, though, and it is not over yet.
God is not through with any of us yet. Jesus invites us every day into the process again — together. Will you renew your commitment with me toward intentional faith development in the days to come?
Grace and Peace,