Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Liberty University

HOW GOD ORGANIZES PEOPLE FOR EFFECTIVE ACTION

Submitted to Dr. Allan England in partial completion of course requirements for DSMN 500 Discipleship Ministries

Elke Speliopoulos Downingtown, PA June 19, 2011

Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 God Creates and Uses a Specific Environment to Accomplish His Will ...................................... 1 Gods Example in Numbers 1-5 .................................................................................................. 2 The Concept of Fathers Household or Family Continues into the NT ......................................... 2 The Concept of Job Design ...................................................................................................... 4 What an Environment for Discipleship Ministry Can Be Like ..................................................... 5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 6 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 7

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Introduction The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob mercifully did not leave His people on their own when it comes to understanding how He intends for them to live and structure their lives. In the pages of Scripture are rich examples of instructions given to the Israelites, in particular during the time of the Exodus from Egypt to the Holy Land. Moving approximately 2 million people, if the text is read literally, is a huge logistical undertaking and certainly not a task for the fainthearted, and God ensured that Moses and the tribal leaders of the Israelites were properly equipped to safely guide the people under His supreme leadership. Likewise, leaders today can leverage the principles expressed in Scripture as they formulate plans for ministries or Christian education. As will be seen, Gods original model of family is still applicable in Christian ministry and education today. God Creates and Uses a Specific Environment to Accomplish His Will In her book The Epic of Eden, Sandra Richter introduces Old Testament students to the concept of the basic household unit within Israelite society, the fathers house(hold), in Hebrew the btb. She describes this as an extended family, which would include the patriarch of the family, his wife(s), his unwed children and his married sons with their wives and children.1 Within this construct, there was physical, economic and legal protection. Families thrived and grew under these conditions, which may be one reason the Hebrews became such a strong people group in Egypt, leading to the fear of the Egyptians that they might become too powerful. Sandra L. Richter, The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry Into the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 26.
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Likewise, Jesus pursued the concept of intimacy with His disciples when He chose twelve to disciple directly. In Mark 3:14, we read: And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach (ESV) Not only did Jesus select a finite number of men, but He also selected a symbolically significant number, twelve, to represent a continuation of the twelve tribes of Israel. He also gave them a title that set them apart from the rest of the followers, apostles. Gods Example in Numbers 1-5 In Numbers 1-5, this concept of family was clearly also behind the manner in which God organizes the tribes in His camp, ensuring that there was protection both within each tribe, and then within the tribe within each clan. This is demonstrated in Numbers 2:2, where God directed the Israelites: The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. The responsibility was equally shared by all the tribal members of an appropriate age, as established by a census. From shared responsibility also came shared protection, as demonstrated by the physical layout of the camp designed by God Himself. Those needing to be closest to the Tabernacle, the Levites, were to raise their tents around the Tabernacle area, surrounded then further on each side by a like number of tribes (three tribes were to settle on each side). The Concept of Fathers Household or Family Continuesinto the NT This elevating of the twelve disciples allowed men, who were not well educated, to become power houses of early Christianity after Jesus death, as evidenced in Acts 4:13: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (ESV) They were perceived as special because they had been part of the family. They had sat under the

direct discipling of the Christ. They had been able to absorb everything He said and did. It now made them set apart from the other followers of Christ. Mitchell picks up on this when he describes the family metaphor as the ideal environment for learning to occur. He describes Gods act of first creating a natural family when He instituted the family and thereby formed this trinitarian union of the bodies, souls and spirits of man and woman.In the further revelation of Scripture, God creates a national family through the lineage of Jacob. Ultimately in the New Testament (and really beginning in some of the Old Testament writings, such as Jeremiah 31), God creates a spiritual family, which incorporates all believers.1 Mitchell describes four elements he sees as essential for building this metaphor of family into discipleship or Christian education: an educational environment, which should be stimulating and collegial, challenging but not overbearing, supporting the biblical learning model2, an appropriate physical environment, which need to be inviting and attractive3, a relational environment, which allows students to observe exemplary lives that are consistent with the words spoken in the lessons presented4, and a familial environment, in which kind and quality of the relationships5 really matter. It is in such an environment that students can learn truth that are related to an individuals life and explore relevant areas. Yount describes this as an environment where the learners can progress to a sensitized life and an independent ability to grow.6 Michael R. Mitchell, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class Education in the Church, School, and Home (Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2010), 334-35.
2 3 4 5 6 1

Ibid., 331. Ibid., 332. Ibid. Ibid., 333.

William R. Yount,Created to Learn: A Christian Teacher's Introduction to Educational Psychology (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1996), 174. 3

Likewise Barna notes that it is in these intimate settings that lead people to integrate spiritual growth into their lives in ways that make the process less intrusive and less overwhelming than might be experienced through a more overt process.7 The Concept of Job Design Foss et al., in investigating the dynamics behind job design in the business world found that designing jobs well is an exceedingly important consideration if collaboration and sharing of knowledge is to happen between individuals working together: We argue that job design may impact specific employee motivations to shareknowledge. For this reason, job design is an antecedent of actual knowledge-sharing behaviors in organizations. Job design may therefore be an important design variable for firms that want to benefit from employees sharing of relevant knowledge.8 Foss et al. further note that there are two types of motivation, external and internal. An individual may engage in an activity to attain a positive or to avoid a negative external outcome. The same individual, however, would engage in an activity because it is in accord with the individuals intrinsic interest and personal values and will even enjoy doing this specific activity.9 All this, according to their research, can be guided by a well thought-through job design. Indartono, Chiou and Chen investigated how personal job fit and servant leadership stand in relationship to job design and performance. They found that a worker's belief that harmony on the job and leader's support will influence the different levels of working performance.10 George Barna, Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001), 155. Foss et al., Encouraging Knowledge Sharing Among Employees: How Job Design Matters, 871.
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Ibid., 875.

Setyabudi Indartono, Hawjeng Chiou, and Chun-His Vivian Chen, The Joint Moderating Impact of Personal Job Fit and Servant Leadership on the Relationship between the 4

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What can be clearly seen here is that the secular workplaces workforce is driven by a very similar idea of wanting to be motivated through not just pressure or even intimidation to learn, but rather through an intrinsic motivation resulting in a great harmony among all participants and the free exchange of information (or life experiences in ministry environments). What an Environment for Discipleship Ministry Can Be Like Certainly 1 Thessalonians 2:6 10 can serve as a great example of what discipleship ministries need to be if we are to incorporate the family aspect: Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. Here is a perfect example of what God taught the Israelites in the Old Testament of belonging, a concept identical to what Christ exhibited in His dealings with His disciples in the New Testament. Ultimately, whether certain men empowered by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or all believers in the New Testament, it is through the power of the Spirit that these families can form and bond together. This is underlined in Pauls writings in 1 Thessalonians 1:5, where he tells his readers that our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. (ESV) Task Characteristics of Job Design and Performance, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 2 (December 2010): 44.

Dempsey highlights the concept of family also when he suggests such measures of success in church settings of the internal love level in your church right now.11 This clearly shows
that much of what those coming to church groups or discipleship settings are seeking for is exactly this feeling of being plugged in to the Fathers household.

Conclusion From the beginning of Scripture when God creates the first natural family with Adam and Eve to His giving clear instruction to the national family, the Israelites, and ultimately in the spiritual family seen in the New Testament bringing all believers together, it is clear that God Himself seems to believe in a family setting for living and learning. Secular workplace theories seem to support this as well when they state that employees perform best when they feel that they are appreciated and that they belong. When the concept of family is extended to Christian learning environments, almost identical dynamics are at work. The participants in such learning will learn best when they feel that they also belong. When personal authenticity, physical environment and Christian love come together, an atmosphere is created that allows the Holy Spirit to work in and through both the teacher and the student for true growth.
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Rod Dempsey, Healthy Church Systems,Word Document handout in DSMN 500.

Bibliography Barna, George. Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001. Dempsey, Rod. Healthy Church Systems. Word Document handout in DSMN 500 Foss, Nicolai J., Dana B. Minbaeva, Torben Pedersen, and Mia Reinholt. Encouraging Knowledge Sharing Among Employees: How Job Design Matters. Human Resource Management 48 (Nov/Dec2009): 24. Indartono, Setyabudi, Hawjeng Chiou, and Chun-His Vivian Chen. The Joint Moderating Impact of Personal Job Fit and Servant Leadership on the Relationship between the Task Characteristics of Job Design and Performance. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 2 (December 2010): 19. Mitchell, Michael R. Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class Education in the Church, School, and Home. Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2010. Richter, Sandra L. The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry Into the Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008. Yount, William R. Created to Learn: A Christian Teacher's Introduction to Educational Psychology. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1996.