Hello fellow educators,

Welcome to podcast number five. In these first inaugural podcasts I have been laying down the philosophical foundation for discipleship-based Christian education. I want to remind you that in the future it just won’t be me talking. I’ve already done an interview with Phil Hills, who is Western Canada’s full time director for the Associated Christian Schools International for a future series of podcasts. In the next couple of weeks I will be talking to the former director and one of my personal mentors, Anne Rauser. In February I have the opportunity to speak in a number of teacher conferences and I will be looking for opportunities to speak with Christian leaders and educators who can help and inspire us in our journey together.

Last week we started to explore the meaning of discipleship and I took an excerpt from my book, “Discipling this Generation for a Digital World.” By the way, I want to let you know, we are offering a free copy of this book to everyone that will email us. I will give the details at the end of the podcast. The excerpt helped to define two of the three main concepts in understanding discipleship. I received a comment from one of our online teachers who, in a very articulate way, he’s an English teacher, summed up the ideas of the context and curriculum of discipleship. He wrote: “I think I am now getting a better sense of where your “unique” vision comes from. On one hand you are passionate about “going into” the world (proactive and intentional ... which is what I have always loved about your sense of mission), but from the other hand comes your “ethnos-sensitivity” (care for inclusivity and particularity). It now comes to me as facilitating pro-activity in a spirit of receptivity. That is a very exciting leadership! It would also explain why you want strong curriculum, but also want to deliver it in a more open way. Maybe staff need to be a little more caring about the ethnos side of the mission and see its implications in our “local” calling.”

Thanks Mark, I don’t think anyone could ever say it better than you. The context in which we educate is constantly changing. In my book I try to make the case that our culture is in a historic upheaval of change. We have to find ways to reach and disciple this generation in the midst of this change and prepare them for what they will face. But this is always contrasted with the unchanging curriculum of discipleship. Jesus finishes the Great Commission with the words, “teaching them to observe all I have commanded you…” His commands, principles and truths are unchanging. This is why one of the most relevant ideas is, “what would Jesus do in 2008.”

The challenge of discipleship will mean that we must develop a quality relationship with our children so that we can help them become solid believers in an anti-Christian world. Our goal must be more than passing on information, it must be transformational. This third concept of discipleship will help to see this process in a new light. Here is the excerpt from the audio version of “Discipling this Generation for a Digital World: 

The Means of Discipleship 

        It is here where the blend of context and curriculum find their practical means. Discipleship is, by its very nature, a relational term. There is one who receives discipleship and one who gives discipleship.

        The best metaphor for this relationship is the idea of apprenticeship. Unfortunately the word is getting a bad name because of the recent “reality TV” show featuring Donald Trump and the contest to become his personal apprentice. In so many ways, this show reveals the world’s approach toward discipleship. It is all about competition and greed. There are over a million losers in order to achieve one apprentice. This is in complete contrast to the means and spirit of such a noble relationship in Christ. To be a disciple of Jesus means that you will become His apprentice which requires no contest to win this prize of God’s grace.

         My home church is blessed with a large number of tradesmen. Many of them are participating in the journeyman-apprentice relationship.

         Apprenticeship is a highly relational idea. Perhaps the most important aspect of apprenticeship is the relationship between the apprentice and the journeyman. In many cases, the journeyman is the one who recruits the novice. They initiate and give the beginning inspiration for the apprentice to pursue the craft and trade. They give the apprentice their first experiences within the craft and, in most cases, supply their first income in the trade. The journeyman is the first teacher who lays the primary paradigms of understanding about the craft and trade. There is a specific accountability in this relationship but that accountability finds a larger context within the trade. 

         The journeyman-apprentice relationship is one of instruction, guidance, inspiration, employment and accountability. Consider an electrical apprenticeship. The primary level of accountability comes from the physics of electricity. There are certain things you can and cannot do with electricity. This is the basic curriculum for the apprentice. It determines the entire nature of the craft and ultimately the trade. To overstate the obvious, the journeyman cannot train the apprentice to cause electricity to do things that are physically impossible or dangerous. Understanding the differences of volts and amps, how much power can go through a wire and what materials conduct electricity are the foundational concepts that must be taught and passed on.  

        The secondary area of curriculum that the apprentice must learn is the specific code within the jurisdiction of the apprenticeship. Every region applies the physics of electricity a bit differently. If you were to do your electrical apprenticeship in Europe where they use a 220-three phase approach, then you would need to learn a different way of applying the physics of electricity. Contrast this with the 120-two phase system you would learn in North America. The physics of electricity don't change because you are in Europe or North America but the application of those physics can and do change. Therefore each jurisdiction has their own way of doing things and this is what makes up the specifics of the "code" for that area. 

          It is in this application of the “code” that a larger accountability structure is involved with the apprenticeship. The governing jurisdiction has its own way of applying codes and standards for their specific region. Both the apprentice and journeyman find themselves accountable to this larger authority.        

         In our region (British Columbia) an electrical apprenticeship lasts four years. During this time the apprentice must attend several courses and pass several exams in order to complete their training. This brings a larger sense of accountability into the apprenticeship relationship.        

        Discipleship and apprenticeship are almost identical terms. Most people come into discipleship through a more experienced Christian. This Christian develops a sense of accountability for their new-found disciple. They begin a process of initiation into the Christian faith. This may involve new believer classes at their local church or one-on-one time laying the foundational paradigms of the Christian faith. It is within this new relationship that the disciple has his new experiences in Christianity. The discipler has the responsibility to interpret and help the disciple through this process.      

         Like the journeyman-apprentice relationship, the discipleship relationship has a much larger context of accountability. In our example, the first level of accountability is the physics of electricity. In the discipleship relationship this external reality is the Word of Truth. Jesus laid this foundation in John 8:31-32 (KJV): “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” I expand this to mean the orthodox teachings of the Christian faith and the broad application of scripture. In a sense, this is the physics of Christianity.       

        Again, like the journeyman-apprentice relationship, the discipleship relationship has a broader governance. The local church brings to the specific jurisdiction the interpretation and application of the truth. This forms the “code,” so to speak, of how this jurisdiction applies the truths of Christianity in its particular culture. Both the discipler and the disciple are accountable to their relationship with this agency.        

        It continues to be the role of the local church to help its disciples through to the next level of growth and to help supervise their greater relationship within the culture. We are not left to ourselves to determine how, when and where we are to relate to the surrounding culture. We have a heavenly agency to superintend our apprenticeship.       

         I write to inspire this relationship. Too often people who are innovative in their connection to culture are marginalized and criticized by the church. I refer back to the Christian music debate. It took some time before the church I attended was comfortable with the idea that rock and roll was an acceptable medium for the gospel. In that process many young musicians went through undo pressure and many became disillusioned with the need for any accountability to the church.        

        We will find ourselves imbedded in the same types of conflict with our digital missionaries if we don’t begin to consider ways to disciple and guide them through their call. We need to apply the “code” to some of the very difficult moral, ethical and spiritual battles that await our digital disciples.         

       This is more than preparing our youth for the work force. It is commissioning them to go into all aspects of our culture and preach the gospel. We must equip them as missionaries to go into the world of communications, science, mathematics, biology, genetics, robotics, nanotechnology, and the many places and professions being transformed by a flattening global world. 

Well, back to the podcast here. As you heard here the relationship of discipleship must be personal and dynamic. It is not just a transferring of ideas, as important as that is. Educators, whether you are a home school parent or classroom teacher, have to make a dynamic connection with your student. I think this also means we have to look for creative methods, processes and experiences that will lead our students through the broad curriculum of Christian Education. I have been working on a Family Studies course for our online school. I’ve taught and lived the truths of this course for the last two and a half decades. I can write out the concepts and instruction set fairly easily. I have an abundance of Biblical material and life experience. But I am struck with the challenge of how to engage the students in this curriculum especially in a distance learning context. My goal is to see these students, not only understand these concepts, but, more importantly, embrace them so that their future families will be built upon the principles of the Word of God. The goal is transformational not just informational.

In our campus school, Heritage Christian here in Kelowna, we have developed a program called Global Citizenship. Our former secondary principal, Steve Smith, spent a year of his life working with a Christian relief organization in Sudan. This experience so altered his view of the world and his responsibilities as a Christian that he is now compelled to pass this passion on to his students. For several years we used to take groups of students on a two week missions trips to Northern Mexico together. Though this was good and helped our students see the world a bit differently, it didn’t seem to go far enough. It wasn’t transformational. So he envisioned extended periods of time with our students in Mexico. We take our entire grade eleven class to Mexico for six weeks and work on ways of exposing them to the culture, people and Christian mission of service.  This experience so impacted one of my sons that he has returned to Mexico to work with the missionaries there for eight months. It wasn’t until this experience that his life purpose and calling began to come into focus. He grew up in a Christian home and in a good Christian school but it took an apprenticeship like experience for all the training to fall into place.

The apprenticeship relationship can work well in a home education environment as long as the educational process is more than just learning the next steps in the curriculum. As home educators parents have the opportunity to disciple their children into very specific directions and the freedom to create transformational experiences. Obviously, our lives together in the home on an everyday bases is passing on our values and beliefs. But home schooling can also begin to shape unique and special directions for our students that are personally tailored to their life purpose. For three years in a row we took our children on family mission’s trips to Northern Mexico. Instead of playing the Christmas game we wanted them to learn what it really meant to give of themselves. These trips meant that we spent six days together in our van on the highway, certainly a transformation experience. Instead of the materialistic North American Christmas we and our children shared in the lives of hundreds of Mexican children. We traveled with a Mexican pastor who had an overwhelming passion to reach his people. Our kids made close friendships with his kids. When we decided to stay in Canada and celebrate the North American way our kids all commented on how much they missed the Mexico trip and how hollow the Christmas season seemed.

Classroom teachers as well need to see themselves as more than the instructor of a subject or a grade level of curriculum. One of the best metaphors for classroom teachers is that of the coach. A good coach has to always focus on instruction with his players. The best coaches in any sport are excellent teachers. They have the ability to pass on the information necessary for the athlete to know how to play the game. But their role does not stop there. They also have to drill their team. They have to practice what they have taught. This means they must hone the skills necessary for the athlete to play their sport and ultimately they must lead their team through the challenges of competition. If a coach relies only on his  instructional processes he will have a well educated team but they will most likely lack the skills and development to achieve success. And it goes without saying that without the instructional knowledge they will face the same fate in competition.

One final point on the metaphor of apprenticeship. The goal of every journeyman is to take their apprentice through their program so they will become journeyman themselves. The nature of this relationship is reproductive, they want to reproduce themselves in their apprentice. They must also develop a love for the process of apprenticeship so that the student will embrace the process and become an apprentice maker when they mature as a journeyman. We want our kids to grow up and answer the great commission, to make disciples of the nations. Our kingdom mandate goes beyond raising safe well adjusted Christian adults. In fact, there really is nothing safe about being a Christian in this world. We want our students to grow up into radical world changers who will engage in this supreme battle for the hearts and minds of their generation. We are not interested in creating a nice community that can be self sustaining. We want to launch the biggest and most influential force of Christians into this next generation that will confront, engage and ultimately alter this emerging postmodern, digital world. Our task is transformational not just instructional. We can change this world one young disciple at a time.

If you would like us to mail you a free copy of this book simply send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and let us know what type of an educator you are, home schooler, classroom teacher, school administrator, or interested parent. Please let us know how you heard about the podcast and, of course, please include your mailing address.

Thank you for listening and for your commitment to discipleship-based Christian education.