April 13, 2016

I am away at Clergy Conference this week (back in the office tomorrow).  It has been a good time of seeing and connecting with friends, getting in some quiet time, eating too much, and listening to our keynote speaker, the Rev. Scott Gunn.

Scott is the current director of Forward Movement.  You may be most familiar with that organization through their Day by Day publications.  They also produce most of the pamphlets we have on the wall in the narthex.  They have grown over the years to include books and other educational materials, and they are constantly looking for new ways to engage the church.  Scott is a fantastic speaker and he's giving us a lot of useful information on discipleship and leadership.

And that, Discipleship and Leadership, is exactly what his topic has been.

He began by referring back to 1934 when Forward Movement was created.  The person tasked with leading this new arm of the Episcopal Church (I've forgotten his name) wanted to make discipleship an intentional part of the lives of Episcopalians.  He came up with a seven-step process because he thought seven tied in nicely with the roughly seven weeks of Lent.

Those seven steps are:

1. Turn.  This goes back to our baptismal covenant of “whenever you sin, will you repent and return to the Lord?”  Sometimes we need to admit we aren't going in the right direction and need to turn.  We also need to be aware that we don't know where we'll end up.
2. Follow.  As disciples, we pledge to follow Jesus.  Following often means we need to admit that we don't know all the answers, and it requires trusting whom we are following.
3. Learn.  Most people stopped learning about their faith after the 4th or 5th grade.  We need to make an effort to constantly learn.
4. Pray.  There is no right way to pray; but, like exercise, we need to do it daily.
5. Serve.  We need to serve by answering God's call for us, and we need to serve others (see Matthew 25).
6. Worship.  Weekly worship should be a priority in our lives.
7. Share.  We need to share of our abundance, but we also need to share our faith.

These seven steps were first written down in 1934, but they still have a place in our lives today.  I will be saying more about these in the future, through Wednesday Words, the Luke's Log, maybe a sermon or two, or any other place I can think of.  But for now, as we look to become active disciples in our post-resurrection world, how might you see yourself turning, following, learning, praying, serving, worshiping, and sharing?  What do you think you do best?  What do you think you need to work on the most?

If you have been looking for a way to strengthen your discipleship and deepen your relationship with God, consider putting this list in a prominent place and reflecting on how you can incorporate these seven steps into you life.

Amen.