D I S C I P L E S H I P
U N I T E D
C O N N E C T I N G G E N E R A T I O N S
T H R O U G H D I S C I P L E S H I P
Thesis research in Lord of Life Christian Fellowship in Doña Carmen, Metro Manila, the Philippines
Bachelor of Theology
Supervisor in the Netherlands Dr. Michael Mulder Supervisor on the field Ing. Iljo de Keijzer 1st examinator Prof. Dr. Mart-Jan Paul 2nd examinator Dr. Teus van de Lagemaat Ede Christian University of Applied Sciences (CHE) July 10, 2016
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Foreword
When a church is committed to grow together as disciples of Jesus, they become both signs of and instruments for the full experience of the body of Christ and the church will continue to grow into a dynamic and vibrant community of faith, poised to bear abundant fruit throughout the twenty-first century.
From the first century onward, followers of Jesus received the command to be a united faith
community as you can read in 1 Timothy 5:1-2: ‘Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity’.
Our dream is to see every church discovering and rediscovering its intergenerational heart and soul and to grow together as disciples of Jesus. Through our study in the Philippines we learned a lot about discipleship and generations in international churches. From the other side, we are praying that we gave LOLCF the opportunity to develop discipleship more intergenerational.
We want to give special thanks to our supervisor Iljo de Keijzer on the field and our supervisor Michael Mulder in the Netherlands who guided us through the process of research and writing our thesis. We are very grateful to kuya Tonton & ate Nona Caballero and Anke Malessa who taught us about the Filipino culture, language and who were always there for us. Beside them we are very thankful for all the Filipinos who shared their stories and invited us in their homes. Without all those beautiful people our research was not possible. May God bless their families!
Above all, we want to thank God and we pray that our thesis may contribute to His Kingdom. Jonne Knevel and Eline Wassink
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Summary
The main purpose of this research is to give Lord of Life Christian Fellowship (LOLCF) in Doña Carmen, Metro Manila recommendations and practical suggestions how to give shape to discipleship resulting in mutual interaction and growth between generations.
Our main question is: ‘How can discipleship in LOLCF be further developed to result in mutual interaction and growth between generations?’ (Knevel & Wassink, 2016)
To be able to answer this question adequate and to deliver useful recommendations we have used the already gathered information and results from the research of T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus. We have done a literature research on discipleship, generations, leadership, Filipino city culture and how to do proper research. Besides the literature research we have done a Biblical and theological word study about discipleship and generations and how to connect these two.
We have put together a survey for the members of sixteen years and older in LOLCF, the Diliman Bible Church (DBC) and the Life Gospel Church (LGC) as the fundament and quantitative side of our research. After the survey we have done in-depth interviews with the members and leaders of LOLCF as the qualitative side of our research.To underpin these findings we have attended many activities for observational research, to see in what ways generations interact.
The greatest result of our research is the finding that the generations 16-30 and 50+ actually do not differ as much from each other in their vision on discipleship and that they both long for more interaction. At the same time they are both attached to their own ways of giving shape to
discipleship. Looking at our results and Biblical findings we were able to give recommendations that could realize more frequent intergenerational interaction.
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Index
Page Foreword Summary 1. Introduction 42. Historical background and context of LOLCF 6 3. Biblical and theological word study
3.1 Discipleship 8
3.2 Generations 11
3.3 Discipleship United 14
4. Thesis research methods
4.1 Participants in the research 15
4.2 Research design 15
4.3 Measuring instruments 17
4.4 Analysis procedure 17
5. Results
5.1 Lord of Life Christian Fellowship 19
5.2 Diliman Bible Church 27
5.3 Life Gospel Church 30
6. Conclusions
6.1 What is going on? 33
6.2 Why is this going on? 34
6.3 What ought to be going on? 37
6.4 How might we respond? 39
7. Recommendations 7,1 Practical suggestions 41 7.2 Further research 42 8. Evaluation 43 9. Bibliography 44 10. Appendices
Appendix 1 Results LOLCF: Survey 46
Appendix 2 Results LOLCF: In-depth interviews 53
Appendix 3 Results DBC: Survey 85
Appendix 4 Results DBC: Interview pastor 89
Appendix 5 Results LGC: Survey 90
Appendix 6 Results LGC: Interview pastor 93
Appendix 7 Format Survey 94
Appendix 8 Format In-depth interview 98
Appendix 9 Invitation council meeting 100
Appendix 10 Invitation for the presentation 100 Appendix 11 Handout presentation July 10, 2016 101 Appendix 12 Intergenerational discipleship - huddles 102 Appendix 13 Intergenerational church leadership in the 21st century 104
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1. Introduction
Christian congregations across the whole world are rediscovering the power of the intergenerational faith community for forming and transforming people in Christian faith. In a world dominated by age-segmented and age-focused activities, experiences, products and programs, it is easy to lose sight of the importance of intergenerationality in our congregations. Far too many Christian churches have lost the primacy of intergenerational relationships, community, and faith-forming experiences for developing and sustaining faith in people of all ages and generations (Amidei, Merhaut, & Roberto, 2014). Every church can discover and rediscover its intergenerational heart and soul. The only question is how? How can a church that is age-oriented reintegrate an intergenerational identity? This research is a following up research on the thesis of T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus, which they have done in LOLCF a year ago. The purpose of their research was to give LOLCF in the Philippines
suggestions on how to improve the way they develop discipleship. In the research of T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus it became clear that, except of the Sunday fellowship, every age group has their own activities in LOLCF Doña Carmen. They have recommended LOLCF to do further research in what ways LOLCF can connect her members more, especially on how they follow Jesus as disciples (Kapteijns & Heus de, 2015).
For our follow-up research we will answer the following main question: ‘How can discipleship in LOLCF be further developed to result in mutual interaction and growth between generations?’ (Knevel & Wassink, 2016). This research will be focused on LOLCF Doña Carmen, but we hope that the other two LOLCF outreaches could still profit from the practical recommendations for the church in Doña Carmen.
To be able to answer our main question we will use a certain model, known as the OSMER-model (Osmer, 2008). This model is used for practical theology and research. He suggests four sets of questions:
⋊ What is going on? (1-3) ⋊ Why is this going on? (4-5) ⋊ What ought to be going on? (6) ⋊ How might we respond? (7-9)
Related to these four set of questions we have formulated nine questions as you can see below. The first three questions will help us to answer the question: what is going on? Question number four and five will tell us why this is going on. Question number six will indicate what ought to be going on. Finally, the answers to questions number seven till nine will help us how we might respond. 1. How does LOLCF define discipleship? And in what way does it relate to the explored literature? 2. How is discipleship given shape in the older generation?
3. How is discipleship given shape in the younger generation? 4. How are the generations relating to each other?
5. Are the found dynamics in LOLCF recognizable in the Diliman Bible Church and Life Gospel Church in Manila?
6. What is the desired situation in LOLCF regarding to the connection between generations? ⋊ For the older generation
⋊ For the younger generation ⋊ For the leaders of the church
7. How can older and younger generations mutually encourage each other within the process of giving shape to discipleship?
8. How should leadership be organized to create more connection between both generations? 9. Practical suggestions to give shape to discipleship resulting mutual interaction and growth between both generations
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Concept definition
We will explain and define certain key-words that you will find in our questions above and in the rest of our thesis. By explaining them we hope to prevent any misunderstanding.
⋊ Church
A Filipino Christian fellowship including Sunday service and other activities and ministries where church members come together to serve God.
⋊ Discipleship
The following of Jesus as His disciples did. This involves knowledge, attitude and discipleship in our practical lives (as it is formulated in the Bible). We understand discipleship to be an ongoing process of personal spiritual growth, learning through the teaching of a discipler and resulting to discipling others.
⋊ Generation
A generation (age group) in sociological meaning is a category of people who are born in the same period, circa 20 years. When we talk about generations we think about the age categories 16-30, 31-49 and 50+.
⋊ Mutual and frequent interaction
Mutual sharing of your daily life, struggles and faith circa two times a month. ⋊ Leaders of LOLCF
Council: a group of 9 adults (in the age of 29+) who are elders and deacons (one chairman) Core-group: a group of 7 young professionals (in the age of 21-32) who are youth leaders Other leaders: people who organize and facilitate activities and ministries
⋊ LOLCF
When we use the term LOLCF we mean the mother-church Lord of Life Christian Fellowship in Doña Carmen, Metro Manila.
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2. Historical background and context of LOLCF
1988-2010
Lord of Life Christian Fellowship is a member of the Alliance of Bible Christian Communities of the Philippines (ABCCOP). It began as a church-planting ministry in Fairview, Quezon City.
In 1988 the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) surveyed the area. The church-planting team grew when two OMF missionaries moved to Fairview in 1990. In 1991 the Diliman Bible Church (DBC) helped the team in its outreach. New Bible studies started and in 1993 the first baptisms took place. In September 1993 the church began holding Sunday worship services. In October 1994 the church was formally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Lord of Life
Christian Fellowship of Quezon City. In June 1995 Pastor S. Castro was invited to join LOLCF ministry team and the next year he assumed his position as the first Filipino pastor of the church. In 1999 the ministry team of LOLCF became all-Filipino when the last two OMF missionaries wrapped up their church-planting involvement with LOLCF.
In 2001 the church purchased her own land at the Congress Park Subdivision in Quezon City. In its new building LOLCF continued her ministry and the church’s vision of reaching out to the people in Fairview, Quezon City and beyond. The divers programs included: worship services, baptisms, support for missions work, children’s and adult’s Sunday School classes, Bible studies, medical-dental missions, men’s and ladies’ fellowship meetings, youth fellowships, Daily Vacation Bible School, enrichment seminars, involvement in retreats and camps and participation in sports fests. Pastor S. Castro was the one who facilitated the trainings for leadership in de church. In January 2004 LOLCF moved to the building and started using its facilities for Sunday worship services and other church activities. On June 27 the inauguration ceremony of the building was held by the church (Kapteijns & Heus de, 2015).
2010-2015
In 2010 young professionals of Doña Carmen started to come together and the youth ministry (radicals) was woken up and became active again: ‘youth fellowship’. The 1-1 discipleship groups started also in this period, initiated by the young professionals (core-group) for the youth. In June 2012 an outreach started in Carissa, Bulacan, followed by another in Faithville, Batasan. LOLCF in the Philippines right now consists of three churches: the mother-church in Metro Manila, Doña Carmen, and the other two outreaches in Batasan and Bulacan.
In 2013 S. Castro left as pastor of the church in Doña Carmen. Then, some members lost their commitment: they changed their priorities. Only a few (ca. 10-15) members continued to go to the prayer meeting and Sunday school. From this time on the younger generation chose to have their own discipleship groups and most of them decided to not go to the Sunday school anymore. The discipleship groups of the core-group are growing, almost all the youth is involved in the discipleship groups. To take care of this, the core-group choose more young professionals to join their team.
2015-2016
After the research and the presents of T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus last year, LOLCF continued with their activities: Youth Hangout (before it was named Youth Fellowship), discipleship groups, Bible studies, Sunday school and many different other activities.
Although T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus recommended the core-group to have a discipler, this did not happen. Also it was hard for LOLCF to connect the Youth Hangout with the rest of the members and to connect the older with the younger generation. This has many different causes: last year was a very busy year for LOLCF. Their new pastor J. Togle left after one year of serving the church. The council had to manage their mother-church and outreaches without having a pastor. Therefor other priorities were taken: for example the existence of the two outreaches and fulfilling the task of preaching in all churches.
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Current situation of LOLCF Doña Carmen (2016)
LOLCF in Doña Carmen has about 70 members, 50 of them are active members. LOLCF has begun 24 years ago with different couples who were baptized by foreign missionaries of OMF. Now, 24 years later, the church structure still consists of mostly the same families, but the new generation is growing older and is reaching the age of taking responsibilities in the church.
The situation right now in Doña Carmen is that the leaders of LOLCF are looking for ways to continue to stimulate their members in interaction between generations and how they together can grow in their life with Jesus. Doña Carmen got activities for the adults, the youth and the kids to teach them about a life with God. But the leaders of LOLCF mentioned that there is not much interaction between those target groups. LOLCF believes that the generations could help and learn from each other when it comes to following Jesus. The question is how every target group in their own phase of life can grow together as disciples of Jesus.
Another mentioned struggling in LOLCF is the gap between the age of 16-30 and 50+. The final problem that this gap causes, and that is mentioned by the leaders of LOLCF, is that most of the leaders are in the 50+ category. Because of the gap a fluent following up in leadership is difficult, cause of the fact that there are only few members in the 31-49 age category that can take the place of retiring leaders. Because of that the 16-30 generation has to prepare how to be the leaders of the future. The question is how do you prepare the young generation to start taking leadership in the church in a way they have real influence and that is acceptable for the 50+ generation? (Knevel & Wassink, 2016)
Vision LOLCF
‘Our vision is to become a life changing fellowship of believers growing in cells, congregation and celebration, actively committed to worship Christ as Lord, to serve one another in love and proclaim
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3. Biblical and theological word study
3.1 Discipleship
Introduction: discipleship in general
‘Discipleship is not just a theme or a subject, but a lifestyle. You cannot just do it sometimes as some might think. That is not a right concept of discipleship, because your life is discipleship. In everything you do you have to be a disciple. Discipleship is the learning process of becoming more like Jesus.’ T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus explained the meaning of discipleship as a lifestyle (Kapteijns & Heus de, 2015). A lifestyle that lives out an important subject that goes through the whole Bible: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matt. 22:37-40, NIV 2013). A lifestyle that becomes visible through answering Jesus’ last commandment to His disciples, the great commission: then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mount where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ (Matt. 28:16-20, NIV 2013).
In this word study we want to continue to work out what was written in chapter 3.1 about discipleship in the thesis of T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus, to get a deeper understanding of the teachings of Jesus, the identity of a disciple and the identity and the visibility of a discipling church.
Discipleship in the Gospels: Jesus and His teachings
Jesus was about 30 years when John baptized Him. It was from that moment that Jesus started His ministry. The ministry of Jesus started by calling His disciples (John 1:43). The disciples were all very different from each other. They had different jobs, education and came from different places in Israel, but what they all had in common was that they were seen and called by Jesus Christ to follow Him. Jesus taught His disciples about Himself, His Father and the Kingdom that was yet to come. In the ministry of Jesus and His life with His disciples a three dimensional relationship became visible: above, in and out.
⋊ Above - with His Father;
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God (Luke 6:12, NIV 2013). Prayer was a fundamental element in the life of Jesus. It was like breathing for Him. He inhaled his Father’s presence so He could exhale his Fathers will. Jesus was in constant contact with His Father. His Father, the up relationship, was the source of Jesus’ fruitfulness. Jesus introduced His disciples to this very personal relationship with God. For if the disciples are to produce fruits they (branches) must abide in Him (vine). Without it, they will be fruitless (John 15).
⋊ In - with His chosen followers;
After this time of prayer with His Father He went back to His disciples and chose twelve of them. He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that he might send them out to preach (Mark 3:14, NIV 2013). Jesus selected these twelve specifically so He might be with them, spend time with them, and build strong relationships with each of them over the three years He had his public ministry. But this was not just a ‘seminary setting’. Jesus came as a ‘human being’ and showed how human beings are supposed to live out their lives in society with others. From the crowds who followed Him He chose the twelve (Luke 10). Within that inner circle, He had three close friends: Peter, James, and John. Jesus shared food with these friends, laughed with them and met their families. In other words: He ‘did life’ with his chosen circle. This was the ‘In’-ward dimension of His relational life. Through the sharing of life Jesus taught His disciples about who He was, about His Father and the Kingdom that was yet to come. He did this in His life through several ways;
Preaching: in the sermon on the mount Jesus taught His disciples and the hearers around them about His Father, the Kingdom of God and the best way of life (Matt. 5-7; Luke 6).
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Example: Jesus didn’t only preach, He was a living example of His own preaching’s and the living witness of who He was. In Luke 11:1 we read about how Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. Through the whole four Gospels we read about Jesus stretching out His arms healing the sick, feeding the hungry, freeing the possessed and raising the dead.
Challenge: to make His disciples more and more aware of the truth He challenges them by sending them and giving them the power to do all those things He himself has done (Luke 10; Matt. 28:19-20).
⋊ Out - with the hurting world around Him;
‘He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.’ (Luke 6:17–19, NIV 2013). Jesus never lost sight of his Father’s vision: to reach out to a dark and dying world. Besides spending time with His chosen disciples He also walked among the crowds and reached out to the people in need: teaching, feeding, healing and comforting them. It was after these three years of sharing His life with His disciples He entrusted them to set forth what He had started, sending them into the world with the great commission (Matt. 28:16-20) (Breen & Cockham, 2011).
Identity of a disciple
‘In the heart of a disciple there is a desire, and there is a decision or settled intent. Having come to some understanding of what it means and having ‘counted up the costs’, the disciple of Christ desires above all else to become like Him’ (Willard, 2006).
The word ‘disciple’ comes from the Greek word: ‘μαϑητιῆ’, mathētēs’, the word is found 269 times in the New Testament. The Greek word means ‘learner’. This is exactly what a disciple is and what he or she will always be: ‘a learner of Christ’. The disciples of Christ learned from Him with the desire to live like Him (Parnell, 2014). The word ‘disciple’ is only mentioned in the four Gospels and the book of Acts. The reason for this is because the meaning of the word disciple is related to the practice known to the Jewish context.
Besides the direct Greek translation of the word mathētēs we find many other definitions and elements of what a disciple is. For example, in the book of Acts we find the word ‘disciple’ used many times to define a Christian (6:7; 11:29). Paul mentions aspects of the word as faith and obedience (Rom. 1:5, 11:29) without directly mentioning discipleship. In the book of Acts the word ‘disciple’ also refers to brother (11:1, 29), friends, Saints and others who came to believe (2:44, 4:32). In general the book of Acts makes it clear that ‘being a disciple’ specifically means to respond to the call of faith and to remain true to faith (Brink, van den, 2003).
The process of following Jesus
When reading the New Testament we witnessed three crucial features in the process of being a disciple:
1. Become a learner/follower of Jesus (disciple)
It starts with the call of Christ and the growing desire to become more and more like Him. A big difference between the following of Jesus and the following of a Jewish Rabbi is that the initiative comes from Jesus. He called people and said: ‘Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people’ (Mark 1:17, NIV 2013). Only short after that He said: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30, NIV 2013). Jesus not only chose His twelve disciples but He invites everyone, especially those who are weary and burdened.
2. Live as a learner/follower of Jesus
Because of the call ‘come, follow Me’ Jesus has brought His disciples into a permanent relationship and an intimate community with Himself (Mark 1:17; 2:14). They spent time with each other despite the situation, sharing love and pain. This was a different relationship than one between a Rabbi and
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its pupils. Jesus did not establish a school, but brought a new community, a new ‘family’ with new relationships. Jesus adjusted Himself to the culture of His ministry. Besides focusing on the teachings like the Rabbis of His time did, Jesus went a step further by sharing His life with His disciples and giving priority to getting to know them.
Responding to the call: ‘come, follow Me’ brings a person into an unique relation with the Son of God and that makes everything else, all other relationships secondary: the relation with your job or family or your own self. Jesus, for example, says in Luke 14:26-27 ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes even their own life – such person cannot be my disciple’ (NIV, 2013).
The personal element of the relation between Jesus and His followers becomes visible in his conversation with the two men from Emmaus (Luke 24:13). They are not talking about the teachings of Jesus, but He himself is the subject of their conversation. This personal relationship asks for a personal commitment. A disciple has an unconditional faith and respect for the authority of Jesus Christ. Believing in Him is not something for the inner self or done in secret. Believing in Him means to be a witness of Him in all times. He says: ‘Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven’ (Matt. 10:32-33, NIV 2013). The devotion of a disciple also means that you are prepared to suffer with Jesus and if necessary to die (Mark 8:34-36). Being a disciple is like a person condemned to die, who is uncertain about its life because the Kingdom of God is the contrary of this world.
Through this personal relationship with His disciples, Jesus makes them His companion in His mission. Giving them the authority to do as He has done sending them with the mission: ‘As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The Kingdom of heaven has come near” Heal those who are ill, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give’ (Matt. 10:7-8, NIV 2013). Disciples become co-workers in the Kingdom of God.The task is two dimensional: first of all the preaching of the message that the Kingdom of God is near with the coming of Christ, the Messiah. Secondly, He commands them to do the works He did (Matt. 9:35). These are the signs of the presence of the Messiah and His Kingdom (Matt. 11:3-5). As substitutes of Christ we are expected to spread this message through word and deeds (Brink, van den, 2003).
3. Build a discipling church (ecclesiology)
Acts 2:42-47 gives a describing of the first community. There are four characteristics: ⋊ Teaching by the apostles
⋊ Koinonia, forming a community ⋊ Celebrating the Lord’s Supper
⋊ Persevere in prayer, morning and evening prayer in the Temple
The first community came together to serve God (Brink van den, Bette, & Zwiep, 2000). Jesus himself gave the example how to serve one another: in the book of John we read about the last Supper Jesus has with His disciples. For it is here that Jesus teaches His disciples an important and essential lesson. Before Jesus has His last Supper with His disciples He bows down and washes the feet of His
disciples, a job supposedly done by the least: a servant. It is here that He shows His disciples the heart of the messianic community: subservient love. In this emotional setting Jesus said to them: ‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:34-35, NIV 2013). Jesus shows that discipleship has everything to do with fellowship and that discipleship is a form of fellowship where mutual love should be its fundament. It is not something that can be done solo; discipleship is done together (Stoppels, 2013).
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3.2 Generations
Introduction
Intergenerationality is an expression of who God is. God’s character is Trinitarian – a community or communion of love (Amidei, Merhaut, & Roberto, 2014). Intergenerationality has also deep roots in the Jewish and Christian heritage. You can read this in the Old Testament and also Jesus himself showed us in the New Testament how to follow Him together as one unity. In this chapter we want to discover the Biblical and theological view in what ways generations should be connected.
Generations in the Old Testament: the covenant and instructions
The call for one generation to share its faith and story with future generations is deeply embedded in the Jewish tradition. From the beginning God searched Adam and Eve when they went their own way. He called them by name: ‘Man, where are you?’ He promised that a Saviour would come to heal the sinful mankind (Gen. 3:15). This salvation will be for Adam and Eve but also for their descendants, the generations in the future. Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come’ (Gen. 17:9, NIV 2013). God instructs Abraham how to keep His covenant, and through Abraham his family and all his descendants. From the first century onward, Christian faith communities have been intergenerational communities (Amidei, Merhaut, & Roberto, 2014).
You’ll find this promise in many other parts of the Bible as well. When God reveals himself to Moses in Exodus 3:15: God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, the LORD, the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob - has sent me to you. This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation’ (NIV, 2013). Every generation is important for God, every generation has to know the name of the Lord.
In Deuteronomy 6:7 God points out the responsibility of the older generation: ‘Impress them (the ten commandments) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up’ (NIV, 2013). Jews call this the Shema (Sh’ma
Yisrael). The Shema indicates that everything begins with the availability for the younger generation. Giving them space to learn how to become a believer of God (Dijk van, 2011).
In the history of Israel, during the Exodus from Egypt, a whole generation disappeared because of their disobedience (Deut. 1:34). But a new generation, the ‘young’ Joshua-generation will enter the promised land. In Judges 2:8-10 is written how after the death of Joshua and after that whole generation, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what He had done for Israel. This is an example for how difficult it is to obey God like He has demanded in Deuteronomy 6.
But new generations rose and the praiseworthy deeds of God are told again to the new generations: Psalm 78:3-4: ‘I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old - things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their
descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done’ (NIV, 2013). On their turn the new generations wouldn’t hide these words for their descendants. The praiseworthy deeds, power and wonders of the Lord are shared together in a community (Ps. 78:1). This results in a list of heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. A list of names of ordinary people who followed God’s ways, through trial and error.
In the 115th Psalm are the young and old added, as a totality. All categories, both simple and significant (Kamp van de, 2002). In general God calls the generations together, as a united group. Those who are naturally different shall come together on God’s holy mountain, the young are a paradigm for hope (Isa. 11:6-9). No one is too young to be a messenger of God (Jer. 1:4-10). The Old Testament closes with a call for parents and children to turn their hearts toward each other (Mal. 4:4-6).
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Generations in the New Testament: Jesus’ example and instructions
Luke 5: 37-39: ‘And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better’’ (NIV, 2013). Jesus’ teaching about His Kingdom has not only to do with learning but involves your whole life. In this text Jesus isn’t talking about what’s good or what’s bad. Luke tries to connect the history of the Jews with Jesus. It isn’t a parable to tell that the old ways are better or that the new ways are better. But no one who’s choosing for new wine would try to pour it into old wineskins (France, 1997). A new period has begun and Jesus is more than a reformer of the old. He is not expecting that the old of the Judaism should tread new paths. The old paths are good. But this parable comes also with a warning. Being content with the old paths is a pitfall, also for Christians today. Sometimes we should accept that God brings new ways into our lives (Blomberg, 1994). Jesus is talking with the Pharisees while He’s telling this parable. The Pharisees are trying to pour new wine into old
wineskins. You almost hear them saying: ‘we have our habits and rules, adjust yourself.’ What Jesus is trying to learn them is that being a disciple means a new way of living. A new way of living with old and new traditions and structures for what fits in the church of today. Jesus never gives a value judgment about the old wine. He says that no one who’s drinking the old wants young wine. The old wine is good. But old wine can run out and when it’s too old it can taste like vinegar (Oussoren, 2013).
Jesus gave the example of being connected to all different age groups: Jesus teaches with whole families present (Matt. 14:21, 15:38) and uses a child as a visual reminder of the disposition
necessary for salvation (Matt. 18:1-5). Later on Jesus affirms the presence of children in the midst of adults as a special sign of the Kingdom of God. He rebuked his disciples who tried to hinder the little children to come to Jesus; Mark 10:15: ‘Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it’ (NIV, 2013). How can adults come to know God’s kingdom without regular contact with children? (Amidei, Merhaut, & Roberto, 2014)
Generations and their tasks in a community
To Titus Paul writes about the different tasks of all members of the church. Every human being requires its own approach, every generation has its own abilities. ‘Teach the older men to be temperate (…), teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live (…), then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children (…), encourage the young men to be self-controlled (…)’ (Tit. 2:1-8, NIV, 2013).
Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus as young leaders of the church about the relationship between old and young. 1 Timothy 4:12: ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity’ (NIV, 2013). Because of the young age of Timothy, the old generation could not take his role seriously. But through his lifestyle, passion, strong faith and integrity he showed the community how to live as a disciple. 1 Timothy 5:1-2: ‘Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity’ (NIV, 2013). Older and mature leaders in de community should be respected, but they also have to treat younger men as brothers, older and younger women as sisters. This text is an example how to live as a family as Christians in a community. A family with a grandpa, mother, teenager, children and babies: all different ages. Living as a family consists learning from each other in love and patience, but not without correcting each other (Houwelingen, 2009).
In 2 Timothy 2:1-2 Paul doesn’t talk about ages anymore. It’s more important to be capable and mature as a leader than to reach an age. ‘You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others’ (NIV, 2013). Timothy receives the command to train a future generation who has a ministry as a teacher or leader in the church (Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:9) (Brink van den, Bette, & Zwiep, 1970).
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For the sake of the gospel
1 Corinthians 9:19-23: Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings (NIV, 2013). Paul uses his freedom to voluntarily serve others, in this he follows the example of Jesus. Paul wants to win the people for Jesus and therefore he adjust himself to the Jewish habits. And for the weakest he became weak. Paul didn’t change the message of the gospel but denies his freedom for the sake of the gospel (Brink van den, Bette, & Zwiep, Studiebijbel 1 Korinthiërs, 2000). Through these verses it becomes clear that we can’t disciple with certain formulas. It’s more important to know the (un)believers by person first, to know their hopes and fears and to disciple in that way. Contextualization is a well-known word in the missionary world. But it takes time. In case of different generations it can mean that we should adjust to each other. Move along to understand the other, for the sake of the gospel.
Generations in the church (ecclesiology)
The first community was committed, epi to auto (together). They came together to worship and to have services. They were one community, not separated because of geographic- or groups borders (Brink van den, Bette, & Zwiep, 2000). J. Hendriks argued: ‘A constitutive church is to heed the Call of the Voice (God or Christ) and search the unity with God, each other and the world’ (Hoek, 2008). Matthew 18:19-20: ‘Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’ In this verse Jesus emphasizes the importance of unity. Sunphoneo is composed of sun (together) and phoneo (voice). The literarily meaning is a harmony of voices. The certainty of the answer is the presence of Jesus in collective prayer (Brink van den, Bette, & Courtz, 1994). A community is a place where people together search for God, each other and the society. It can be a community with different generations, but not always. Also a group of students can be a community. The question that rises is how such community will develop in the long-term when the students will marry and get children. In the future it will probably be a community with different generations in one community.
Intergenerationality is essential for the church. Intergenerationality was a distinctive feature of the faith communities in both the Old and New Testaments. An integral component of Christian
ecclesiology continues to be that communities of the Christian faith (churches) should normatively compromise person of all ages (Amidei, Merhaut, & Roberto, 2014). Intergenerational processes are integral to personal faith development. Children and youth grow in faith by being discipled by adults and adults grow in faith through the process (mutuality).
A community will mostly be a place to meet different generations. That demands adjustment, openness, sometimes giving up of habits and most of all: the trust in the Almighty God (Micah 6:8).
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3.3 Discipleship United
Why is it needed to give shape to discipleship where all generations are involved in as a unity? In this chapter we want to see what place generations have in how discipleship is given shape in the Bible by summarizing and relating chapter 3.1 and 3.2.
To heed the Call of the Voice of God a community needs others. Others who help to understand the Voice of God. A way of teaching could be discipling, which we explained in the word study before (Ch. 3.1). Disciples are learners of the great and best teacher Jesus, to grow spiritually and make
discipleship their lifestyle. Disciples stay learners their whole life, no matter in what age they are. Discipleship has everything to do with fellowship where mutual love should be its fundament (John 13:34-35).
Discipling is possible in many ways. It can take place in a group setting or in a personal setting. It can take place in the same generation and between different generations. For example in a group of friends and brothers or sisters of the same generation: Mark 3:13-14: These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (…), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (…), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot (NIV, 2013). Or one to one between an older and mature discipler and a young believer as Paul discipled Timothy: ‘Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers’ (1 Tim. 4:15-16, NIV, 2013).
Especially discipleship between generations is a very Biblical way of discipling. First of all,
community and unity are characters of God’s heart. Secondly, we have seen that Abraham, Moses, the older generation of Israel and Paul, Timothy and Titus received the responsibility to teach the young believers. As mature believers they often have a major impact, even in the formation of young believers. Thereafter the younger generation wouldn’t hide God’s words for their descendants (Ch. 3.2). Discipling should be mutual discipling: the young believers can learn a lot of the mature believers and the mature believers on their turn can be renewed through the young believers. But how do you connect different cultures of generations? If we take a look unto how Jesus connected different cultures we see that He’s adjusting himself to the Jewish culture that’s established but at the same time He is bringing a new culture. Jesus goes deeper: He started to build relationships with His disciples before He taught them (Ch. 3.1).
There needs to be a mutual willingness to make a long commitment. Along with everything else, we need generations who are willing to make mutual commitments for a lifetime to build mutual relationships. Through these relationships they can share their daily life, struggles, challenges and faith holistically. The praiseworthy deeds, power and teaching of God have to be shared together as a unity until the day of days.
Revelations 19:5: Then a voice came from the throne, saying: ‘praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!’ (NIV, 2013). In Greek is written: οἱ μιϰροὶ ϰαὶ οἱ μεγάλοι. The great and the small, the young and the old receive the call to worship God. The addition of young and old show the universal call for everybody. The whole community should praise and serve God together (Brink van den, Bette, & Zwiep, 2000).
The overall picture from Biblical and theological perspective is that discipleship begins with a mutual relationship. Intergenerational interaction is important to enable disciples to move towards
increasing maturity in their faith, through the unity of word, behavior and attitude, which was modeled and advocated by Jesus himself.
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4. Thesis research methods
Introduction
To be able to answer our main question adequately and deliver useful recommendations we have chosen for the following approach: a quantitative-, qualitative- and observational research. But beforehand we have done a Biblical and theological study on the subjects: discipleship and generations and in which ways these are connected. Also we have done a literary research on the Filipino city culture and on how to do proper research. We did this so that we can write Biblical recommendations that fit in the Filipino city culture.
Further in this chapter you will read about the process of the research and how we justify certain choices we made during the process of research. We realize that the generation gap can have different causes. Not only the way of being as a church and the way of discipling will be a cause, also social sciences causes will involve this generation gap. But since we’re doing a theological study, we’ll mainlyfocus on the theological, ecclesiological and cultural results and causes.
4.1 Participants in the research
Lord of Life Christian Fellowship (LOLCF)
The participants in our research were mainly members of LOLCF. The church has about 50 active members. We choose to start from the age of 16, because it is around this age that the members start picking up certain roles and tasks in the church. It is also from this age that we find the teenagers capable enough to fill in the survey and give a personal developed answer on the questions in the survey and in-depth interviews. 51 members filled in the survey: 25 of them were between the age of 16-30, 8 of them were between the age of 31-49 and 18 of them were above the age of 50. Most of the members have been part of this church for more than 6 years (76%).
Diliman Bible Church (DBC)
DBC in Quezon City is a congregational ABCCOP church and exists for 45 years. In total the church consists of 110 members (family structure), with about 25 members in the 16-30 generations, 35 members in the 31-49 generation, 55 members in the 50+ generation. The members that took part in the survey were 28 and are belonging to the different age groups: 16-30 (9), 31-49 (6), 50+ (13).
Life Gospel Church (LGC)
LGC in Payatas is an outreach from the LGC mother church and a congregational ABCCOP church. LGC is a smaller church compared to LOLCF and DBC, the church consist of about 25 members (family structure). There were about 25 members that took part in our survey and they are belonging to different age groups: 16-30 (12), 31-49 (5), 50+ (5).
4.2 Research design
Quantitative research
For the quantitative research we have put together a survey. This is the fundament of our research. The survey has been set-up in English with the Tagalog translation next to it, done by one of the members in LOLCF that speaks both languages fluently.
The survey done in LOLCF is the same survey that was executed in the two other churches, but they were held with different reasons. The survey in LOLCF was done to get a good indication on the situation there. We wanted to see how the different generations answered the survey and find out which differences and similarities there are in the interaction between the two main generations (16-30 and 50+), on their vision of and how they give shape to discipleship.
The survey done in the two other churches in Manila had two slightly different reasons. First of all we wanted to see how generations are divided and if they also were dealing with the generation gap as was seen in LOLCF. Secondly, we wanted to see how they give shape to discipleship in their church. This way we could see if this phenomenon also occurs in different churches in Manila or if it is only typical for LOLCF and how we can learn of their situations in case of generations and
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Qualitative research
The qualitative research is an extension of the quantitative research. Meaning that the qualitative research is meant to give us further understanding on the data found in the quantitative research. For the qualitative side of the research we have done in-depth interviews with the council (4) and the members (6) of LOLCF and we interviewed the pastors of LGC and DBC.
We did in-depth interviews with the council members because they are very active in the church. Therefor we knew they could give us a lot of information. At the same time we were aware that each interview is a personal response to our question. Another reason for us to do in-depth interviews with the council, is to make them aware of the situation and to involve them in our research. So that hopefullywhen we deliver this thesis, the leaders of the church will reflect and implement the recommendations, which they themselves contributed to (see appendix 9).
We did the in-depth interviews also with members from the different generations. The people that were interviewed were chosen because they either fulfilled an important role in the church or didn’t at all. This way we hoped to get a wide range of different people as possible so that all voices are heard and so that we would get a good as possible view on the situation. We also wanted to do as much interviews as possible so that also the members will be involved and aware of the research that is taking place.
The interviews with the pastors of the two other churches in Manila were done to get a good view on how discipleship is shaped in the churches and how the interaction between the generations is. This was not the same in-depth interview as was done with the members of LOLCF because we only needed the more basic information about the church and their discipleship activities and not the deeper understanding.
Observational research
For the observational research we mainly used the participating observation technique, attending several activities of LOLCF. We have been to the services on Sunday, Sunday school for adults, different discipleship groups, adults prayer meeting, core prayer meeting, family retreat, family devotions, ABCCOP sport fest, Youth Hangout, and we stayed with the families during our research. We attended these activities to see if the findings in the research of T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus and the results of the quantitative and qualitative research would be confirmed. We wanted to see for ourselves how the activities are given shape in reality and how the generations are interacting during these gatherings.
All the members of LOLCF were aware of the fact that we were doing a research and investigating the way discipleship was given shape and how generations were interacting (overt observation technique). Although, the participants were not always aware that we were observing them during the activity (naturalistic observation technique). These various techniques for our research are important to be able to give an objective description of the lifestyle and actions of the members during the church activities.
Possibilities and challenges
Choosing these approaches for our research gave us possibilities and challenges. The possibilities of this approach are as followed:
⋊ Deepened and confirmed: because we have three sides to this research (quantitative-, qualitative- and observational research) we gathered a lot of data. This made it possible to get a good grip on the situation in LOLCF. For example, the gathered data through the quantitative research will be deepened, confirmed or denied through the qualitative and observational research.
⋊ Broader view on the situation: the survey in the two other churches in Manila and the interviews with their pastors told us if the situation of LOLCF is common in other churches or not. Both outcomes gave us insights in our research and helped usto approach the situation of LOLCF from a broader point of view.
17 The challenges that we experienced in our research are:
⋊ Language barriers: although most members in LOLCF speak English very well, we
experienced that certain words can be interpreted different from our definition of the word and vice versa. We noticed this through the survey and during the in-depth interviews. Sometimes words needed to be further explained or we had to reformulate questions so that the participant would understand our question. Despite of the fact that this took us a lot of time, we believe to have made the right decisions and that the results still give us a proper and correct reflection on the dynamics of the three churches.
⋊ Cultural barriers: in our in-depth interviews we experienced that the relation between one another is very important. This made it hard to keep formal interviews – so we chose sometimes to go different ways than asking our questions step by step.
⋊ Setting boundaries: because our research wasthree dimensional (quantitative-, qualitative- and observational research) we gathered a lot of information. This was very helpful but at the same time it challenged us not to wonder off. We had to set boundaries and make important choices to stay focused on answering our main question.
⋊ Supervisors in the Netherlands: sometimes it was hard for us having our supervisors in the Netherlands, especially in the second phase of our research. Our contact was through e-mail and Skype that sometimes led to misunderstanding. It was also difficult sometimes to not be able to get (direct) visual help and feedback.
4.3 Measuring instruments
Quantitative and Qualitative research
In our research proposal and in the introduction of this thesis we have clarified the definition of a few important words that we used in our research, to prevent any misunderstanding. Also in our survey we have explained the definitions of certain keywords.
For example in question 12 when we spoke about frequent interaction. Between parentheses we made clear that when referring to frequent interaction we mean about two times a month and not family related. Also in question 13 we specifically asked the participants about the activity that shapes them the most as a disciple in following Jesus. We clarified in the survey that when we speak about discipleship we mean the actual following of Jesus.
Before publishing the survey we made sure that the questions contributed to answering our sub-questions. We did this by categorizing the survey questions into our sub-sub-questions.
We did this also with our in-depth interview. First we checked that the questions weren’t an iteration of our survey questions and we were certain that they would give us a deeper understanding of the answers given in the survey or on the situation in LOLCF. This way we knew that our main/sub-question would get answered. Measuring the answers of the in-depth interview was difficult because the participants responded to the question from their own point of view and experiences.
4.4 Analysis procedure
Quantitative research
Analyzing the survey from the members of LOLCF was a growing process, meaning that it went step by step. First we received the surveys on paper. We gathered them and digitalized each survey (see appendix 1). In the process of digitalizing them we found out that not all questions were filled in correctly. If this was the case, we noted them as invalid; except for question 7. Here we processed the answers as a total top three, since not all of the participants numbered their answers.
Having gathered all the correct answers we tallied all the answers and filled them into an excel document. For the open answers, we first got the Tagalog answers translated. Then we went through all the gathered answers and tried to summarize similar answers into certain keywords (see Q. 20 to 22). This way it was possible for us to keep a tally and fill them into excel. After filling in the answers in excel we calculated the percentages. This we did per generation and the amount of answers they had given. We made bar-/circle graphs and compared the results. First of all we compared the
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answers given by different generations. Then we compared the answers of the questions that are related with each other, for example question 13 to 16.
The members of LGC and DBC received the same survey. Not all of the members got the chance to fill them in, especially for DBC. Most of the active members of LGC filled in our survey but many of them did not understand the questions well or did not fill in all the questions. We processed the surveys in the same way we did with LOLCF (see appendix 3 and 5). First we digitalized the answers, with the Tagalog answers translated.
We did not process all the questions into excel. We only processed the questions that were needed to answer our sub-question 5: Are the found dynamics in LOLCF recognizable in the Diliman Bible Church and Life Gospel Church in Manila? There for we used the questions 1-6, 9, 12-21. We choose these questions because they gave us the most insight in the church and the way generations interact and on how discipleship is given shape.
Qualitative research
We digitalized every interview and in-depth interview we did (see appendix 2, 4 and 6). During the in-depth interviews it was not always possible to ask all of our questions. Because of the culture the relation has a very high standard. In our in-depth interviews we tried to stay aware of that and tried to keep the interview as informal as possible by listening carefully and asking further questions to what they tell us, taking the participant very seriously and trying to show our respect. After that we processed the answers as a response to our in-depth interview questions leaving the participants anonymous.
We under estimated the time it would take to process all the results correctly. Because of this and the priority of having a meeting with the council, we were not able to achieve the 12 in-depth interviews we had planned, but instead we reached the amount of 10 in-in-depth interviews.
Observational research
After every activity that we attended, we wrote down a short summary of the activity. Especially focusing on which generation was there, how they were connected, and how the activity was given shape. We processed the observational research in our results and conclusions.
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5. Results
5.1 Lord of Life Christian Fellowship
General information
Ages of members LOLCF (Q.1-3)
In LOLCF Doña Carmen there were in the 16-30 generation 25 respondents on the survey, in the 31-49 generation 8 respondents and in the 50+ generation 18 respondents (except for some answers which are not valid). The church has around 50 active members so this means that the response on our survey was 100%.
Membership and baptized members LOLCF (Q.4-5)
Almost half of the 16-30 generation (44%=11) is member of LOLCF for 6-15 years and 60% (15) is baptized. Of the 31-49 generation 38% (3) is member of LOLCF for 1-5 years and more than 15 years, 76% (6) is baptized for more than 5 years. 82% (14) of the 50+ generation is a member for longer than 15 years and 72% (13) is baptized for more than 15 years.
There are 6 members (24%) of the 16-30 generation who are member of LOLCF for less than 5 years. The most new members are in the youngest generation. The church has got the last few years only one member (6%) who is older than 50 year.
Tasks in the church (Q.6)
Figure 1
Figure 1 shows us that the 16-30 generation with 60% (15) is involved in the worship ministry. The 50+ generation is with 50% (9) involved in the worship ministry. Both the oldest and youngest generation are most involved in the worship ministry of all the tasks. The rest of the tasks of the 50+ generation are divided equally. Other striking results came from the task of discipler. The 50+ generation has a higher percentage 39% (7) than the younger generation 24% (6). These results are in line with the in-depth interviews and the observational research were we found out that the generations have different ways in how they are involved with discipleship. See figures 8-10 for more information about how they give shape to discipleship.
Many tasks in the Sunday school for kids are fulfilled by the 16-30 generation 36% (9). The 50+ generation fulfills this task with 11% (2). In the Sunday school for adults has the older generation more tasks: 17% (3). This is one person of the youngest generation (4%).
The council (9 councilmembers) consist mostly of the 50+ generation: 33% (6), 13% (1) of the 31-49 generation and 4% (1) of the 16-30 generation. This is consistent with the results of the in-depth interviews.
Chosen others by 50+ generation: coordinator (1), constitutional amendment group (1), Bible study group (2), CPT (2). 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Pr ea chi n g U sh er in g W o rsh ip m in ist ry C o un ci l Yo ut h lea der Sun day A dul t Sun day ki ds D is ci p ler N o t as k O the r
Tasks in the church
Generation 16-30 (n=25) Generation 31-49 (n=8) Generation 50+ (n=18)
20 Discipleship
Life values (Q.7)
Figure 2
For all generations are ‘spiritual growth’ and ‘loving one another’ the most chosen life values as you can see in figure 2. The youngest generation choose more ‘spiritual growth’ (74%=17) than ‘loving one another’ (39%=9). The 50+ generation choose more ‘loving one another’ (73%=8) than ‘spiritual growth’ (55%=6). For the 31-49 generation ‘spiritual growth’ and ‘loving one another’ are both chosen with 75% (6).
Differences between the generations became visible in the remaining values: the 16-30 generation choose ‘commitment’ with 39% (9), ‘wisdom’ with 26% (6), ‘honesty’ with 22% (5). The 31-49 generation choose ‘health’ with 38% (3), ‘accountability’ with 25% (2), ‘wisdom’ with 25% (2). The 50+ generation choose ‘wisdom’ with 36% (4), ‘commitment’ with 27% (3) and ‘accountability’, ‘cooperation’, ‘honesty’ and ‘health’ with 18% (2). Apart from some minor differences, the most values between generations are broadly the same.
The influence of the presence and the survey of T&E to live out discipleship more (Q.8)
Striking is that of all the members of LOLCF the generations 16-30 (58%=14) and 31-49 (71%=5) are influenced the most by the presence and the survey of T. Kapteijns and E. de Heus. Of the 50+
generation is 31% (4) influenced by them.
Bible texts to explain the vision on discipleship (Q.9)
First Bible text Figure 3
The most striking results of figure 3 is that 46% of the 16-30 generation (11) choose for Matthew 22:37-39. This text is about ‘love your God and your neighbor’. The 31-49 generation choose this text with 72% (5). This text is chosen by the 50+ generation for 38% (6). The text that also ranks high is Matthew 28:18-20: ‘making disciples and baptizing them’. The youngest generation choose this text with 34% (8), the 31-49 generation with 14% (1) and the 50+ generation with 50% (8). For the 50+ generation is Matthew 28:18-20 the most chosen Bible text to explain their vision on discipleship.
Implementation of the first Bible text in the church (Q.10)
The 16-30 generation (n=23) sees her first chosen Bible text for 78% (20) implemented in the church. In contrast to the 31-49 generation (n=7) who sees their first choice implemented for only 43% (3). Every one of the 50+ generation (n=16) sees her first chosen Bible text implemented in the church (100%). 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% A cc o un ta b ili ty C o m m it m en t C o o p er at io n D is ci p li n e E q ua li ty Lo v in g o n e an o th er Sp ir it ua l g ro wt h T ra di ti o n s In de p en den ce In n o v at io n He alt h R espe ct Ho n est y Ho n o r U n it y W isdo m
Top 3 life values
Generation 16-30 (n=23) Generation 31-49 (n=8) Generation 50+ (n=11) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% M at t. 2 2: 3 7-3 9 M at t. 2 8: 1 8-2 0 Lu c.6: 35 Lu c 11 .1 Ac ts 5: 4 2 Ro m . 10 :14 -1 5 Ro m . 10 :17 E p h. 4: 32 He b r. 1 0: 2 4-2 5
1st Bible text discipleship
Generation 16-30 (n=24) Generation 31-49 (n=7) Generation 50+(n=16)
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Second Bible text (Q.9) Figure 4
In figure 4 you can see that 29% (7) of the 16-30 generation choose for Matthew 22:37-39, ‘love your God and your neighbor’ as second text. This text is by the 31-49 generation chosen by one person (14%) and also by one person of the 50+ generation (6%). Also as the second choice is this text chosen many times by the 16-30 generation in contrast to the other generations.
In the generations of 31-49 (29%=2) and 50+ (25%=4) is Hebrew 10:24-25, ‘fellowship together’, the most chosen Bible text. The 16-30 generation choose this with 13% (3).
Third Bible text (Q.9) Figure 5
The biggest part of the 16-30 generation (29%=7) has chosen as third Bible text for Hebrew 10:24-25: ‘fellowship together.’ This is the same result for the other generations: the 30-49 generation with 29% (2) and the 50+ generation with 38% (6).
How young people are prepared for leadership (Q.11)
Figure 6
72% (18) of the 16-30 generation believes that the young people are given tasks to prepare them for leadership. The percentage for this answer is also high for the 31-49 generation: 75% (6) and the 50+ generation: 61% (11).
Other striking results in the survey are that 89% (16) of the older 50+ generation believes that young are prepared for leadership by letting them participate in the council. The 16-30 generation choose this option with 32% (8) and the 31-49 generation with 38% (3). With regards to the in-depth interviews we found out that the young
generation is allowed to participate in the council when they are voted by the congregation, but most of the time the young people don’t find themselves capable enough to participate in the council. The opinions about the influence of the young generation are divided between all generations.
Another notable result is that 75% (6) of the 31-49 generation says that the old generation is teaching the young to prepare them for leadership, the 50+ generation choose this with 33% (6), and the 16-30 generation with 40% (10).
Chosen others: 16-30 generation: training outside the church (1), 31-49 generation: partnership with other churches (1), 50+ generation: through trainings (1).
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% M at t. 2 2: 3 7-3 9 M at t. 2 8: 1 8-2 0 Lu c.6: 35 Lu c 11 .1 Ac ts 5: 4 2 Ro m . 10 :14 -1 5 R o m . 10: 17 E p h. 4: 32 He b r. 1 0: 2 4-2 5
2nd Bible text discipleship
Generation 16-30 (n=24) Generation 31-49 (n=7) Generation 50+ (n=16) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% M at t. 2 2: 3 7-3 9 M at t. 2 8: 1 8-2 0 Lu c.6: 35 Lu c 11 .1 Ac ts 5: 4 2 R o m . 10: 14-1 5 Ro m . 10 :17 E p h. 4: 32 H e b r. 1 0:2 4-2 5
3rd Bible text discipleship
Generation 16-30 (n=24) Generation 31-49 (n=7) Generation 50+ (n=16) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Prepared for leadership
Generation 16-30 (n=25) Generation 31-49 (n=8) Generation 50+ (n=18)
22 Discipleship and generations
Frequent interaction with another generation (Q.12)
Figure 7
75% (6) of the 31-49 generation has frequent interaction during church activities and Sunday worship with the youngest generation. The 50+
generation has for 47% (8) frequent interaction with the youngest generation. 32% (8) of the 16-30
generation has only frequent interaction with their own generation.
56% (14) of the 16-30 generation has frequent interaction with the 31-49 generation. 65% (11) of the 50+ generation has frequent interaction with the 31-49 generation. Of the 16-30 generation 20% (5) has frequent interaction with the oldest generation. The 31-49 generation has frequent interaction with them for 88% (7). 12% (2) of the 50+ generation has only frequent interaction with their own generation.
Activity that shapes the most as a disciple in following Jesus (Q.13)
Figures 8-10
Figure 8 shows us that the 16-30 generation choose with 45% (10) for ‘disciple group’ as activity that shapes them the most as a disciple. One person (14%) of the 31-49 generation choose this activity and also one person of the 50+ (8%).
Figure 9 shows us that the 31-49 generation choose besides ‘disciple group’ for ‘Bible study’ and ‘ministry/outreach’ with 29% (2). We have to mention that the ones of the 31-49 generation who chose ‘ministry/outreach’ are also members of the outreach of LOLCF. In the 31-49 generation there was one person who mentioned another activity: ‘preaching’.
Figure 10 shows us that 69% (9) of the 50+ generation choose for ‘Bible study’ as activity who shapes them the most as a disciple. In the in-depth interviews we heard that depending on where the Bible study is organized (Bible study can be the Sunday school for adults, home Bible studies or outreach Bible studies) most of the time there is also a moment of sharing insights and praying for each other. The 16-30 generation choose with 18% (4) for ‘Bible study’.
We can underpin these differences and divisions in giving shape to discipleship through our observational research. These results are also in line with the information we got out of the in-depth interviews. The generations have almost the same vision of discipleship but they are giving shape to discipleship differently. Three years ago when the generations had discussions about the adult Sunday school, the youth leaders, propose that they want to have a separate Sunday school, they named it disciple group. The leaders and some parents at that time agreed with that, now they regret. The reason the young generation gave was: their schedules are different and they can’t relate to the discussions of the adults, they don’t feel a click with the older generation, their characters are different. Some of the older are thinking that the younger ones doesn’t want to mingle with their parents.
In case of 1-1 discipleship, persons of the younger generation mentioned that the older generations doesn’t see the need of 1-1 discipleship. In contrast to this, some of the 50+ generation mentioned that they would like to be discipled like the 16-30 generation is discipling each other. At the same time they also say that it is something for in the future or that they themselves first want to be discipled before they can disciple others.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Frequent interaction Generation 16-30 (n=25) Generation 31-49 (n=8) Generation 50+ (n=17)
