Consumer or Apprentice

Shortly after the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the communist hold on Eastern Europe, a friend, Dean Truog, had the opportunity to meet with a pastor from one of those countries. The man had been imprisoned because of his faith. His prison guard was a former member of his congregation. Dean asked the man, what made the difference between one who goes to prison for his faith and one who renounces it and joins the persecutors? After a thoughtful pause, the man replied that one comes to Jesus as an apprentice, and the other comes as a customer. One wants to learn to be like Jesus. And the other one only wants things from Jesus.

The most important decisions in our lives have to do with relationships. Deciding to be an apprentice of Jesus Christ gives us an understanding of the purpose of our lives. In deciding who will be with us as apprentices—our companions on our journey of faith—we are deciding who will help shape our character, provide us a place of spiritual nurturing and help us discern the leading of God.

Diana Butler Bass in Christianity After Religion underscores the importance of apprenticeship in being transformed by Jesus Christ. She wrote:

“We are to be learners on the way, then initiates, apprentices, skilled practitioners, and masters. Not just members of a church.”

When we show up in a church setting claiming that our membership entitles us to the sermons we like, the music we enjoy singing, and the promise that we will prosper by being there we come with a consumer mindset that not only keeps us from encountering the real Jesus but leaves us frustrated when it doesn’t work – so off we go to another church to get what WE want only to find that God doesn’t respond to our consumerism. Here are some thoughts on the pressures we face in North American society to be a consumer:

“The church in the United States has focused on a consumer mentality more than on the spiritual formation of its people. Programs and techniques have overwhelmed the natural processes that people need in order to be healthily formed in Christ.” The Kingdom Life by Alan Andrews

“We live in a consumer culture and the slow work of transformation is preempted by numerical and programmatic success. Leaders discover that the bottom line is performance, effectiveness and accomplishment. In a performance-oriented system trust and deep relationships are unintentionally traded for results.” Forming the Leader’s Soul by Morris Dirks

“In our land of consumption, we often behave like consumers of church. It is always easiest simply to leave one congregation for another that ‘better suits our needs’ rather than do the hard work of integrating our minds and hearts within themselves and with our fellow parishioners.” Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson

“If we cast the gospel in terms of benefits, we’re setting people up for disappointment. We’re telling them lies. This is not the way our Scriptures are written. This is not the way Jesus came among us. It’s not the way Paul preached. Where do we get all this stuff? We have a textbook. We have these Scriptures and most of the time they’re saying, “You’re going the wrong way. Turn around.” Spirituality for all the Wrong Reasons by Eugene Peterson

“It remains to be seen whether churches that commit themselves to whatever sells will last in the long run. Pandering to consumers will blur the lines between entertainment (which is a spectator sport) and worship (which is anything but).” Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris

Thoughts on being an Apprentice

As followers of Jesus, we do receive things from the Lord that are life-giving, so in one sense, we “consume.” He often asked those who came to him, “What do you want?” And our life of prayer is in part a time when we ask for what we need to live as faithful followers. However, this is different from the consumer mentality that infects our society. And as apprentices, we receive what we need to live a Jesus-style life.

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “You know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, etc.” The Greek word for “know all about” is parakoloutheo, meaning to “follow alongside; one going in the same way; to be a companion.” The word indicates that Timothy is being reminded about the point in time he decided to join himself to Paul. In the living out of that decision, he grew to know Paul’s life of faith, and he became an apprentice of Paul and of Jesus. He probably did not know the nature of the journey when he decided to join Paul. Perhaps he joined because of Paul’s vision, or maybe just because he felt loved by Paul. Whatever the reason, what he received was the life-changing companionship of a devout follower of Jesus. Jesus’ approach is for us to learn in community as apprentices to Jesus. Here are some quotes on that thought:

“If we stay close to Jesus, we might notice that between the time of Judas’ betrayal and the crucifixion – presumably two of the hardest experiences of Jesus’ life – he prayed for unity among his followers. With penetrating eyes and surety of speech, he told us in no uncertain terms to ‘pick a community and stay with it. Pick a path and stay on it. To ‘pick a community and stay with it’ goes completely against our consumer mindset.” Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton

Developing Church Leaders Through Apprenticeship

A friend for many years, Carolyn Johnson, explored the necessity of the Kingdom moving forward through the equipping of apprentices. Here are some of her thoughts in her book, Developing Church Leaders Through Apprenticeship:

“Jesus did not open a seminary to train his disciples. He used the primary method of leadership training that we see in the Bible—apprenticeship. Jesus offers the most extensive look at this model, but he did not invent it. We see examples of leadership training by apprenticeship in both Old and New Testaments. Two examples in the Old Testament stand out. Joshua was Moses’ apprentice. Elisha was Elijah’s apprentice.”

“Apprenticeship is also the primary pattern of leadership development we see in the New Testament. It is the method Jesus used to train the apostles. Following his example, it becomes the process by which leaders are trained in the early church. Jesus exemplifies the apprenticeship learning cycle of teaching, practice, and reflection.”

“Paul trains apprentices as they work alongside him in a team. In one case, seven of them are listed by name as accompanying Paul, who is attended by Luke at the same time (Acts 20:4-5). Like Jesus, Paul works with both individuals and with groups, investing in these people, developing them as leaders for the church.”

All of us who identify with Jesus are meant to be his apprentices, and we all need help to do this. When I read the various insights from the people I quote in this piece, the implication is that we have someone to mentor us. And I have certainly had wonderful friends who have mentored me.

But mentoring relationships have two dangers:

1. The first is that we can so easily lose the sense of equality that all Paul’s teaching about the Body of Christ affirms. To his friends in Ephesus he encouraged them to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
2. The second danger is a mentor/mentee approach can easily become the passing on of a system—a way of doing things—rather than all parties being apprentices to Jesus and learning from him.

What has been life-giving for me is to walk with some who have been on the journey for a long time and also to walk with others who are just starting. In both relationships I learn different things as together we learn from Jesus. It is just very, very helpful to have someone else with whom we walk as we both learn from Jesus.

The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard is one of the most important books I’ve read on the subject of being an apprentice—learning from Jesus. Some of his thoughts on this subject give further insights:

“A disciple, or apprentice, is simply someone who has decided to be with another person, under appropriate conditions, in order to become capable of doing what that person does or to become what that person is. We are not learning from Jesus how to lead his life. His life on earth was a wonderful one. But it has now been led. We are learning from Jesus to live our lives as he would live our lives if he were us.”

“We become a life student of Jesus by deciding. It will not just happen. We do not drift into discipleship. Intention and decision are absolutely fundamental in this matter of apprenticeship to Jesus. His disciples are those who have chosen to be with him to learn to be like him.”

“No one goes sadly, reluctantly into discipleship with Jesus. No one goes in bemoaning the cost. They understand the opportunity. Counting the cost is precisely what the man with the pearl and the hidden treasure did. Out of it came their decisiveness and joy. It is decisiveness and joy that are the outcomes of the counting.”

Seventy years ago, I decided that I wanted to be like Jesus.

Little knowing the nature of the journey, I joined myself with companions: Bud Sharpnack, Kelly Kenagy, Doug Coe, Roy Cook, and, over the years, too many others to name. As we walked together, helping each other become learners from Jesus, scores of others became companions with us on this journey. To walk with a few and to learn with a few was the best decision I ever made. The greatest gift God gave me to walk with on this journey is Kay. These intentional companions have given both Kay and me lives of decisiveness and joy. And occasionally the love and companionship we experience spills over to be a help to others.

Kent Hotaling November 2024