Brad Waggoner is vice president of B&H Publishing Group, and formerly served as dean of the School of Leadership & Church Ministry at Southern Seminary He holds a Master of Arts degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Master of Religious Education degree and Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Brad's book, The Shape of Faith to Come: Spiritual Formation and the Future of Discipleship uncovers the ugly truth that many professing Christians live lives that are not qualitatively different in character and practice than that of nonbelievers. Even as many of our churches are growing in number we need to take time to consider what kind of Christians we are actually producing.
In The Shape of Faith to Come, Brad looks at the beliefs and actions of 2,500 active Protestant churchgoers from across the country against seven key standards of biblical spiritual formation: learning the truth, obeying God and denying self, sharing faith, serving God and others, exercising biblical faith, building solid relationships, and seeking God. The research itself is challenging, and Brad pushes back on the apparent weaknesses in our disciple making processes.
This book is one of our first "LifeWay Research" related book line.
I recently had the chance to talk to Brad about his new book. Below is the interview and Brad will be around all day to answer questions in the comments.
Ed Stetzer: What prompted you to write Shape of Faith to Come? What is the book about?
Brad Waggoner: Having been in the ministry for many years I know how easy it is for churches and church leaders to become distracted from the real task of equipping and forming spiritually mature believers. I also know it is easy to fall prey to using other forms of measurement to determine success.I wrote The Shape of Faith to Come to draw attention to the current crisis: that many of our churches are not using biblical standards to make God-honoring disciples.
ES: Discuss the research. Who/how many sampled.
BW: To address this crisis, we created a study that surveyed 2,500 Protestant churchgoers, people who said they attended a Protestant church at least once a month. Then a year later, we sampled more than 1,000 of the original group to determine if they had matured in their faith over the course of the year.
ES: What kinds of questions were asked?
BW: The survey was designed to determine the degree to which churchgoers believe, think, perceive and act like a biblical disciple. We asked questions about their beliefs and their perspective on certain points of doctrine. Key categories covered: Learning the Truth, Obeying God & Denying Self, Exercising Faith, Sharing Christ, Seeking God, Serving God & Others, and Building Biblical Relationships. We also ask several questions to determine the nature and frequency of many behaviors.
ES: What was the most surprising to you?
BW: I was most surprised by how compromised the belief systems are for many people who claim to be Christians and who attend church on a regular basis. For example, in our survey only 70 percent agreed strongly in the doctrine of the Trinity and only 72 percent agreed strongly that Jesus died on the cross and was physically resurrected from the dead.
ES: What, in your opinion, is the bad news from the research?
BW: That many self-professed Christians and churchgoers hold to beliefs and perspectives that are clearly unbiblical. And that overall the sample of churchgoers did not grow or mature over the course of a year.
ES: What, then, is the good news?
BW: The good news is that many people are interested in spiritual things. They want to know and love God. This study enables us to affirm what many leaders have known for centuries- it is the Word of God that transforms hearts, minds and character. In our study, the number one predictor of spiritual maturation was the daily discipline of reading the Bible. In other words, the most common trait of those who did grow over the course of a year, were those who had the practice of reading the Bible on a regular basis.
ES: What would you say to the pastor who responds, "not in my house," "this is not what people in my church believe?"
BW: Well, I would ask every leader, "Do you know what your flock actually believes and how they act on a daily basis?" From what we saw in our study, I think most pastors would be surprised to discover what their regular churchgoers believe and how they live. For example, 54 percent of those surveyed do not participate in church outside of worship service, and that during worship service 47 percent admit they are only going through the motions.
ES: What hope can you offer for those pastors who think they are fighting a losing battle?
BW: The good news is that God's Word makes it clear how we are to go about making disciples. We are to model and teach His eternal principles. This isn't easy, nor is it mysterious or overly complicated. No human leader can transform another person. But God, through His Word and through the work of the Holy Spirit, does change hearts, minds and character. I encourage pastors to be faithful to what God says we are to believe and how we are to act.
I always find hope in what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:6, "I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
ES: So how can churches become more effective in making disciples?
BW: One of the things I tried to avoid in the book is a "one size fits all" approach to making disciples. But the book does contain prescriptive content that provides practical steps for spiritual formation and discipleship.
We have also provided access to the Spiritual Formation Inventory, the very same survey we used for the book, for both personal assessment and for use by pastors to assess leadership at www.lifeway.com/sfi. Also, several places within the SFI summary report, you will be directed to the SFR (Spiritual Formation Resources) for additional guidance and resources both for personal spiritual formation and for the discipling of others.
Over the centuries many churches and individuals have been used of by God to equip others in their pursuit of knowing, loving and serving God and others. Every church and properly motivated and equipped leader can be a tool in the hands of God.
Be sure to weigh in below with comments or questions.
You are welcome (and encouraged) to comment below, but be sure your comment relates to the post. Feel free to discuss the topic, but do not denigrate individuals. Comments are moderated and usually appear within 15 minutes of being posted. Regrettably, Ed cannot personally respond to most comments and questions.
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18 Comments
10/29/08 @ 8:28 AM
thanks Ed, another great interview (btw, I don't think your posts are too long)
Dr. Waggoner, what advice would you give to a pastor who became a Christian later in life and has never really been discipled by anyone or worked through plans or programs. Where do you start?
10/29/08 @ 8:28 AM
I think about this so often in my church. This book is so timely. I would definitely be open to being a part of this study with our growing congregation.
10/29/08 @ 8:49 AM
The thought you posted that says, "it uncovers the ugly truth that many professing Christians live lives that are not qualitatively different in character and practice than that of nonbelievers." is a sad reality.
After 13 years of church ministry now I've seen the status quo of "X" percent of believers doing "X" percent of everything.. and the numbers are staggering. They are percentage levels that if any of our kids came home with on their report card would surely lead to at least a "good talkin' to". These are "failing" numbers.
If our goal is to make disciples, and see life transformation, then what we are doing is not working. Our methods are (and have been) failing.
And what are the unseen wounds that result? Certainly a loss of Moral Authority. I would imagine as a group (Christians/The Church) the discrepancy between the seemingly "discipled" but reality of no or very little life change has a negative domino effect on our leadership, our church culture, our social impact, community reputation, as well as our ability to lead our own children (kids seem to see things as they really are.) The percentages reveal a serious authenticity crisis.
As pastors, we have a tendency to stick our head in the ground to these issues. We are in denial. I think the solution starts with more questions. As Jim Collins says, "A great leader is always asking what their question to answer ratio is, and is always seeking ways to increase it." I'm glad you guys are asking them... and giving some great insight as well. Keep asking the right questions.
Thanks.
10/29/08 @ 8:50 AM
Sounds very similar to research in Barna's book Growing True Disciples from 2001. Statistically, it seems as though his advice was not followed. What are the key elements/activities you would advise a church to build discipleship around? Can you offer any proven methods (or are they in your book) that consistently create mature Christians? For example, I agree with you that daily Bible reading is extremely important for a disciple to mature. Have you found ways that stimulate daily Bible reading among Christians?
Thanks for your time!
10/29/08 @ 8:52 AM
I have not received a copy of the book as of yet, am curious to what extent spiritual practice involvement related (if surveyed) to apparent growth?
10/29/08 @ 9:24 AM
Brad, looks like an interesting and eye-opening book. I've not read it yet but it sounds like I should :) What role do you see for small groups with respect to the future of discipleship? There's a lot of discussion going on these days about whether small groups are effective at building disciples at all, while most agree they can be quite useful for helping people connect and at least provide a context in which biblical relationships and friendships can form. Did your study show any trends or insight on how small groups can/should help in building true disciples? Thanks! - Larry
10/29/08 @ 10:06 AM
Ed, thanks for posting this interview. I am finding in the church planting efforts with CityTeam that the discipleship/making disciples is essential to reaching those that are not yet followers of Jesus. Using a discovery approach, a group of people are lead to determining "I Will" statements which are obedience focused. It is interesting to see person without a salvation relationship to Christ making the commitments and life behavior changes according to the discovered truths of God. I am encouraged that many (hopefully many) are seeking to make the obedience based discipleship as discovered out of Scripture to be the norm so that healthy disciples are making other disciples. "paco"
10/29/08 @ 11:05 AM
Another timely piece of information. When I saw this- after yesterday reading/skimming the info in the newest Facts and Trends, my real question is this:
As a small church, single staff pastor, where in the world do I find time to strategize? to get my lay-leaders together to pray and dream and strategize? It seems that most of my week is spent in preparing for Bible Study's, Sermons, messages, and my own volunteer engagements (I am the pres of a non-profit board in our community, serve on a county commission, etc...).
I'd love to hear what others in similar situations are doing in this regard.
Steve
10/29/08 @ 11:56 AM
J.T. you are not alone in your experience as an adult who has never been discipled (more than likely you are referring to an intentional one-on-one discipling relationship). As you know, God in His infinite goodness is the real “disciple-maker�. The Holy Spirit uses the Word to transform any believer who seeks Him.
You asked, “Where do you start?�. I assume that you are asking about where to start in learning to disciple others. First of all, keep in mind that you are discipling others as you carry out your pastoral responsibilities of preaching and teaching. This is not somehow unrelated to discipling. Beyond this “public ministry� I have seen much fruit from seeking a few individuals to meet with on a weekly basis. The Navigators used to say to look for “FAT� people (faithful, available, teachable). (Not too politically correct, but it communicates.) I meet one-on-one with these individuals to pray, share, study and to move them toward the application of biblical truth. I use a basic Bible study for new or young Christians to serve as the study element. Then as I get to know the person I provide them individualized instruction and guidance based on where they are in their knowledge of God and spiritual maturity. I also encourage them to become active in some sort of biblically sound small group, to be faithful to attend corporate worship, and seek some type of ministry involvement that fits their maturity level and giftedness. Remember the principle that discipleship is “life-to-life�, not just “notebook-to-notebook.� Balance content with life-to-life learning.
I could say much more, but let me encourage you to go to www.lifeway.com/sfr for additional input. We just launched this website with some basic content and we will be adding material on a regular basis to assist people in personal growth and in their ministry of discipling others.
10/29/08 @ 12:13 PM
Thank you for your question Kenneth. One of the reasons we wanted the Spiritual Formation/Discipleship Study to be longitudinal was to allow us to evaluate the degree to which certain “practices� over time correlated to spiritual growth. The top statistically significant practices were: reading the Bible, praying for the church and church leaders, being prepared to witness, making time for fellowship, confessing sin, seeking to know God’s will, and exercising faith in tough times.
Obviously there are many other biblical practices that foster spiritual growth. In our study these were the ones that statistically showed the strongest correlation to spiritual formation.
10/29/08 @ 12:39 PM
This is a good question Larry. As you stated, I think there is little doubt that a quality small group experience can go a long way toward building meaningful relationships. Over my years of church ministry I routinely taught a Sunday school class and facilitated a small group in my home. I saw much fruit from both.
In terms of a more objective point of view, in our study, of the 74 practices and attitudes we measured, intentionally making time for fellowship and interaction with others, and attending a small group Bible study, study group or cell group, were respectively #6 and #15 on the list of the practices that most strongly correlated to spiritual growth.
Let me be quick to add that we were not able to determine the exact nature and quality of the small groups or Bible studies. Nonetheless, we can confidently say that there appears to be a strong correlation to spiritual growth and involvement in some type of small group. By the way 39% of our sample attended a Christian education class (Sunday School) 2 or more times per month, and 28% attended a small group or cell group 2 or more times per month.
10/29/08 @ 1:19 PM
Very informative interview, thank you.
10/29/08 @ 6:40 PM
Since we're after transformation of the heart, why is there no reference to stewardship as a measure of spiritual maturity. "Were your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Mt. 6:21. Most discipleship material/books, etc. stay away from the #1 topic of the parables. Why?
10/30/08 @ 7:00 AM
Peter, I agree that stewardship is a very important characteristic of a biblical disciple. I dealt with this issue in chapter five- Serving God & Others in the book The Shape of Faith to Come (pages 131-136). I sought to measure several attitudes and practices related to service. Stewardship of time, money and gifts were three of the important characteristics I sought to evaluate. One of the challenges in conducting quantitative research is that you have to keep a survey response time to about 15 minutes. There are many other questions I would have liked to include in the survey, but response rates goes way down if the survey is too long. Thanks for stressing the importance of stewardship.
10/30/08 @ 10:31 AM
Dr. Waggoner, I'm reading this right now for a PhD seminar w/ Dr. Pettigrew and, as I understand it, will be having you visit and lecture for a day...right? I'm very excited to read the book and look forward to hearing from you in a few weeks at SBTS.
One question that may be answered in the book...you state that you began with 2500 subjects, but then a year later, only followed up on 1000. Why the reduction in sample? How did you choose the 1000 out of the 2500? What about the other 1500? Just curious.
Terry
11/02/08 @ 10:45 AM
Doggonit, I always get here too late for the discussions I like.
Steve Schenewek, I wish your question had been answered. I have some personal opinions about this issue and would have liked to measure them by the response to your question.
Personal dicipleship with those few F.A.T. ones is where some of this challenge can be met. As your Deacons and or core membership grow, they should be able to shoulder some of the teaching/preaching needs. Ministries can be handed off for leadership by others.
I also don't think we all need a blog, two newspapers a day and subscription to more blogs. Have you ever noticed the number of blogs with 'Comments 0' posted below. Sure, we have good things to say but there are 672,000 other bloggers out there. Concentrate the message where it can do some good.
In my own favorites file labled 'Blogs worth reading", there are only three. Doctor George Wood, Dr. Ed Stetzer and Jesus Loves Jamaica (close friends on the mission field).
02/05/09 @ 9:51 AM
Awana recently did a significant study around many of the same issues addressed in this book. Awana specifically focused on individuals who have gone through the Awana experience. The results are astounding and reinforce the dire times we are in in regards to mature discipleship. The good news is that those who went through Awana came out on the other side with a solid foundation for future growth and spiritual stability. There are solid ways to form Christ in His followers. Check out study..http://www.awana.org/moderndayjoseph/docs/alumni-survey-report-08-web.pdf
02/18/09 @ 8:13 PM
Hey, Brad, I'm just starting the book. Looking forward to your insights. Hope we can use them here in Norman.