DISCOVERING AN APPRENTICE MODEL OF DISCIPLESHIP by Judith L. Ransbottom-Stallons

192 Pages·2017·2.15 MB·English

by  Judith Stallons

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ABSTRACT
FOLLOWING OUR RABBI:
DISCOVERING AN APPRENTICE MODEL OF DISCIPLESHIP
by
Judith L. Ransbottom-Stallons
What happens when we forget how to follow our Rabbi? We lose our direction
and look for something or someone else to follow: a charismatic leader, the latest trend,
the most popular text. When none of it works, we are left scratching our heads and
wordlessly wondering what it is we are doing wrong. It is the quandary of the 21st century
church, and for the purposes of this paper, The United Methodist Church in the Kentucky
Annual Conference.
Some churches grow no matter what. Some churches close no matter what. Yet,
the possibilities for substantive growth may have measurable potential if every church
restored what it means to follow our Rabbi. In the case of Christendom, our Rabbi is
Jesus the Christ. We keep reading more books and attending more seminars, yet it does
not seem to catch fire the way we imagined it would. Church membership dwindles,
baptisms and professions of faith are sometimes rare occurrences, so we are missing
something.
Through the distribution of surveys to pastors within the Kentucky Annual
Conference of The United Methodist Church who have utilized either Spiritual
Leadership Inc. or 3DM as their top choice for renewing church vitality and what it
means to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” this
dissertation seeks to rediscover what it looks like to follow our Rabbi Jesus and what we
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are missing that keeps us from fully realizing our mission statement and our Commission
from Christ.
The results revealed that it is not an either/or answer, but an “and.” Together, the
best of SLI and the best of 3DM remind us of how Jesus discipled his closest followers,
and how they then continued that pattern after his death, resurrection, and ascension to
live out the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Three key discipleship practices are
evident is scripture and are replicated in the best practices of SLI and 3DM: 1) Jesus had
a method for gathering his disciples and introducing them to a life of formation. 2) Jesus
had a method for training his disciples in what it looked like to be citizens of the kingdom
of God. 3) Jesus had a method for teaching his disciples how to first follow him and then
grow to a point where they could then teach others.
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DISSERTATION APPROVAL
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled
FOLLOWING OUR RABBI:
DISCOVERING AN APPRENTICE MODEL OF DISCIPLESHIP
presented by
Judith L. Ransbottom-Stallons
has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for the
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at
Asbury Theological Seminary
Dissertation Coach Date
Representative, Doctor of Ministry Program Date
Dean of the Beeson Center Date
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FOLLOWING OUR RABBI:
DISCOVERING AN APPRENTICE MODEL OF DISCIPLESHIP
A Dissertation
Presented to the Faculty of
Asbury Theological Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry
By
Judith L. Ransbottom-Stallons
May 2017
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 2017

Judith L. Ransbottom-Stallons

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ....................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. xii
CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1
NATURE OF THE PROJECT........................................................................................ 1
Overview of the Chapter ............................................................................................. 1
Autobiographical Introduction .................................................................................... 2
Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................ 4
Purpose of the Project ................................................................................................. 5
Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 5
Research Question #1 ............................................................................................. 5
Research Question #2 ............................................................................................. 6
Research Question #3 ............................................................................................. 6
Rationale for the Project ............................................................................................. 7
Definition of Key Terms ........................................................................................... 12
Delimitations ............................................................................................................. 15
Research Methodology ............................................................................................. 16
Type of Research .................................................................................................. 16
Participants ............................................................................................................ 16
Instrumentation ..................................................................................................... 16
Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 17
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 18
Generalizability ..................................................................................................... 18
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Project Overview ...................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER 2 ..................................................................................................................... 24
A LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE PROJECT ...................................................... 24
Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................... 24
Biblical Foundations ................................................................................................. 24
Old Testament Focus ............................................................................................ 25
Moses and Joshua ............................................................................................. 25
Eli and Samuel .................................................................................................. 27
Elijah and Elisha ............................................................................................... 28
Isaiah ................................................................................................................. 29
Jeremiah and Baruch ......................................................................................... 30
New Testament Focus ........................................................................................... 30
Intensive Reading of the Passage ...................................................................... 33
Segment Study .................................................................................................. 36
Book Context .................................................................................................... 38
Canonical Exploration ...................................................................................... 41
Consultation ...................................................................................................... 45
Interpretive Summary ....................................................................................... 52
Reflections on Application/Appropriation ........................................................ 53
DIVISIONS/SECTIONS/SEGMENTS ............................................................ 58
Early Methodism ................................................................................................... 62
Other Sources ........................................................................................................ 65
Mainstream Focus ..................................................................................................... 68
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The Secular Business World ................................................................................. 68
Discipleship Models.............................................................................................. 71
Educational Theory ............................................................................................... 74
Leadership Models ................................................................................................ 76
Church Vitality Strategies ..................................................................................... 79
ABIDE .............................................................................................................. 79
LAY MOBILIZATION INSTITUTE ............................................................... 81
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP INC. .................................................................... 82
3DM .................................................................................................................. 84
Scholarly Focus (Dissertations and Professional Journals) .................................. 90
Final Synthetic Reflection......................................................................................... 91
ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE PROJECT ................................................. 92
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 92
Nature and Purpose of the Project ............................................................................ 93
Research Questions ................................................................................................... 93
Research Question #1 ........................................................................................... 93
Research Question #2 ........................................................................................... 95
Research Question #3 ........................................................................................... 95
Ministry Context for Observing the Phenomenon .................................................... 96
Participants ................................................................................................................ 96
Criteria for Selection ............................................................................................. 96
Description of Participants .................................................................................... 97
Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................... 97
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Instrumentation ......................................................................................................... 97
Reliability and Validity of Project Design ............................................................ 97
Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 99
Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 101
CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................... 102
EVIDENCE FOR THE PROJECT ............................................................................. 102
Overview of the Chapter ......................................................................................... 102
Participants .............................................................................................................. 104
RESEARCH QUESTION #1 .................................................................................. 105
DESCRIPTION OF EVIDENCE ....................................................................... 106
RESEARCH QUESTION #2 .................................................................................. 107
DESCRIPTION OF EVIDENCE ....................................................................... 107
RESEARCH QUESTION #3 .................................................................................. 108
DESCRIPTION OF EVIDENCE ....................................................................... 109
Summary of Major Findings ................................................................................... 110
First Finding ........................................................................................................ 110
Third Finding ...................................................................................................... 111
CHAPTER 5 ................................................................................................................... 114
LEARNING REPORT FOR THE PROJECT ............................................................ 114
Overview of Chapter ............................................................................................... 114
Major Findings ........................................................................................................ 118
First Finding ........................................................................................................ 118
Second Finding ................................................................................................... 124
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Third Finding ...................................................................................................... 127
Ministry Implications of the Findings..................................................................... 133
Limitations of the Study.......................................................................................... 135
Unexpected Observations ....................................................................................... 136
Recommendations ................................................................................................... 137
Postscript ................................................................................................................. 137
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 143
FORMS ....................................................................................................................... 143
3.1 Email Cover Letter ............................................................................................ 143
3.2 Research Consent Form .................................................................................... 144
3.3 Survey ............................................................................................................... 146
4.1 Survey Responses ............................................................................................. 148
SURVEY #1........................................................................................................ 148
SURVEY #2........................................................................................................ 150
SURVEY #3........................................................................................................ 151
SURVEY #4........................................................................................................ 152
SURVEY #5........................................................................................................ 153
SURVEY #6........................................................................................................ 155
SURVEY #7........................................................................................................ 156
SURVEY #8........................................................................................................ 158
SURVEY #9........................................................................................................ 159
SURVEY #10...................................................................................................... 160
SURVEY #11...................................................................................................... 163