I'm reading a book titled "The Complete Book of Discipleship", by Bill Hull. So far the book has been a very interest read and I love how he has gone back in history to see 'discipleship' has grown and evolved over the years. Being a history buff or a 'context' guy, the more I understand the past of something the better I grasp the concepts presented. He is a new idea I read. A young pastor looking at the church he was part of realized it needed a boost. It needed a new breath of life, it had grown cold and lacked zeal. So here is what he came up with:
- To encourage a more extensive use of the Word of God, it should be read and discussed in the collegia pietatis or small group.
- To encourage members to read the Scripture privately.
- To read books of the Bible from start to finish so they could be understood the way they were written.
- To conduct one's small group much like the Scripture instructed in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.
- To minister to one another as believer-priest.
- To hold each other accountable to live out the truth of God's Word with integrity.
- To help each other keep their commitments to God.
- To conduct themselves well, even among those they disagreed with.
This young pastor name is Philip Spener and he lived from 1635-1705. He helped bring about reform in the Lutheran Church which after a hundred years after Luther, which had grown in orthodoxy, cold, detached, in need of resuscitation. You see there isn't anything new, Solomon was right. This list is still needed today.
-ps
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