Discipleship: Working with Recipes

The title for this, the last lesson in the series on Discipleship, in the Study Guide is Lesson 13: Patterns of Discipleship.

Going through this week's lesson, one of the thoughts that came to mind that I considered writing about was in regards to Design Patterns, Architectural Patterns, component reuse, and code reuse. These are all subtopics within the field of software engineering and development. And from my perspective, I think there are a number of analogies to be made between those and this week's lesson topic. But after thinking about it, I decided against it because the analogies would only make sense to people already familiar with it.

Anyway, here are a whole bunch of questions that I have as I look back over the quarter.

We've spent thirteen weeks on the theme of Discipleship. What have we learned? Do we know any more than when we started? Are we doing anything differently than we have before we started this series? Has spending three whole months on this topic been of any benefit?

What is discipleship? If it has something to do with the formation and development of disciples, what is a disciple (of Jesus Christ, that is)? Am I a disciple? What characterizes a disciple? Am I doing enough? Or is that even a good question to be asking? When is introspection and self-examination appropriate? Is it ever appropriate? If it is, is there a point where introspection becomes navel-gazing? Where?

Can a person exhibit qualities of a disciple and not be one? Can a person not look like a disciple, and yet be one? Who is to judge? Is it okay to judge one's self? Or is even doing that treading on dangerous ground?

I've been reading Philip Yancey's Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? I came across a few sentences that, although speaking of prayer, seems appropriate to expand to the whole topic of discipleship.

A media-saturated culture conditions us to expect a quick fix to every problem. Relationship problems, however, rarely lend themselves to quick and easy solutions. I have not seen, for instance, that shelves of books on “how to save your marriage” have had any discernible effect on divorce rates. If relating to another person proves so resistant to formulaic advice, how much more does relating to God? (p. 159)

I think discipleship is about relationships -- both vertical and horizontal. Discipleship is about how a person relates with God and how that relationship translates into how he or she engages the world. The danger of any treatment of discipleship is to take what is taught as formulas and try to apply everything precisely in the manner taught, expecting results that were offered for following the formulas. Discipleship isn't mathematics -- it's more sociology and psychology. There are broad principles, but specific applications vary from person to person, from place to place, from time to time, etc.

Here's another. Yancey had been describing prayer routines of a number of individuals and groups. He's discovered that simply following prescribed methods doesn't work. Some practices just aren't a good fit for him and his personality. And so he concludes this part of his discussion:

The routine of prayer for Judy Morford bears little resemblance to that of Henri Nouwen, not to mention his Trappist adviser. I must find my own way to pray, not someone else’s. And as life changes, my prayer practice will no doubt change with it. A person battling chronic illness will pray differently than a college student who mainly worries about final exams and a noisy roommate. Taking a mission trip, getting married, managing a houseful of kids, giving care to an aging parent – every major life change will have its effect on prayer, both its practice and its content. The only fatal mistake is to stop praying and not to begin again. (p. 163)

Again, I think it is appropriate to expand the whole of discipleship into the above passage:

I must find my own way to follow Christ, not someone else's. And as life changes, as my relationship with Christ changes, my discipleship practices will no doubt change with it... Every major life change will have its effect on discipleship, both its practice and its content. The only fatal mistake is to stop following Christ and not to begin again.

While thinking about all this last night while lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, my mind stumbled upon the metaphor of recipes as it pertains to cooking. (I think this metaphor is more appropriate for a general audience than the software engineering ones that I mentioned above.)

Cooking, at its very basic, is a task performed to produce material that is fit for our consumption. It can be as basic as washing some carrots. Or it can be more complicated such as a Torta Barozzi. (BTW, I have not even attempted this.)

For me, I enjoy the process of cooking. I also want others to enjoy what I create. Recipes are critical for both the process and the result. About a year ago when I really started to cook on a regular basis, I followed recipes almost slavishly. Since I've been cooking a couple (and sometimes more) dishes nearly daily, I've come to learn techniques, food chemistry, herb and spice combinations, etc. that are common across many dishes. As I've become familiar with certain recipes, I don't always pull out the written formulas. Even when I do, it's more often to make sure I hadn't forgotten an ingredient or missed a key step. However, when I'm trying a new dish, I will usually (though not always) follow the recipe pretty closely and carefully.

What I most enjoy though, is improvising on recipes, with techniques, and with ingredients. I browse through cookbooks, or the collection of recipes that I've used in the past, and then try to come up with the broader theme upon which I can improvise. It may be to use up produce or other ingredients that are about to hit their "best used by" dates. Or it may be that I want to try a new ingredient that I found. Or I might simply want a slight twist to a familiar dish. When the improvisation is successful (meaning the family enjoys it too), I find tremendous joy and a sense of accomplishment -- much more than if I had slavishly followed a formulaic recipe. Not only that, but I now have a new recipe, as well as ingredients, spice combinations, techniques, etc. to add to my cooking arsenal. Now sometimes, the results aren't quite as successful as I'd have liked, and I use those as "learning experiences." I try to analyze what went awry and try to do those things differently the next time around.

Getting back to the topic of discipleship, I wonder if the examples, the stories, and even the commands in regards to discipleship that are found in Scripture are like recipes. Maybe as a new believer is just starting to discover fellowship with Christ, he or she might want to closely follow some of the "formulas" of discipleship in the Bible. As they get familiar with a few of the techniques, is it possible that God wants his children to experiment with new and different ways of following him? Sometimes they might be wildly successful and other times these experiments may turn out to be "learning experiences."

Lately, I've been growing into the impression that there is a lot more of God than is found strictly in the Bible. I think that God wants us to push the boundaries that we have made for ourselves and explore more of what is outside the fences. I think that God finds joy when he sees his children going beyond the formulas and patterns that are already known, and to discover new patterns and methods that draw God and the person closer together. I think that the person, too, finds great joy discovering what is new. It doesn't take much of a stretch to think that there is much greater joy in what is new than in simply following what is already known. Following Christ, being a disciple, doing discipleship, should not be a drudgery. Joy shouldn't be something just at the end -- it should be available all along.

Lest someone think I'm advocating a free-for-all, that is not it at all. In cooking, the end result must be at least palatable; but the desire is to create something extraordinarily good. In discipleship experiments, the end result is to strengthen a person's relationship with God. I believe that Christians have for too long minimized (if not in word, then in practice) the role of the Holy Spirit as a guide to truth and fellowship with God. We do not take seriously enough the statement made by Jesus (John 16:12-15),

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." (NIV)

Is there more to truth than what the Bible records and what we have interpreted? Is there more to discipleship than what the Bible records and what we have interpreted? If we take Jesus' statement seriously, then I believe the answer is "yes" to both questions. I believe we need to give the Holy Spirit (which is, after all, the Living Word living within each of us) at least as much authority and credence as we do the written Word of God. I acknowledge that this could lead to more subjectivity and less objectivity. But I wonder, is that such a bad thing? The Bible is a tool, not the end or even an end. Jesus, getting to know him, letting him love us, and learning to trust him, is the end. That is the goal of discipleship, which is yet just another tool...

... Just like a recipe.