Ministry
There are a number of ways in which to define education, but one of the best methods for doing so came from John Dewey in the early 20th century. Dewey stated that education, in its most general concept is the means through which the goals, aspirations and habits of one generation is passed on to the next generation (Dewey, 1916). He also believed that students attended school in order to experience real and guided events that allowed them to interact with others socially, learning how to contribute to society through those actions and interactions.
Discipleship, on the other hand, can often be perceived as a following of a person or individual and the spreading of that individual's theology or beliefs by those who become disciples. Regarding disciples of Christ, one could say that a disciple of Christ would be the individual who not only believed in and followed Christ's teachings, but who also was one with Christ, one who would lay down the worries of the world and follow Christ in all things.
Spiritual formation is a cross between both education and discipleship. A recent article states that spiritual formation is "a showing how" (Vann, 2009, p. 56)or in other words, an education in how to worship the Creator through worshiping alongside other who are the same and also different. We learn be example and that example becomes a part of us that in turn becomes a part of others through the same process. We show others how to become more Christ like through our actions, this leads to a spiritual formation.
As described above, the similarities among all three should be obvious. Each is a method of not only learning the teachings of Christ but modeling that which is learned so that others might benefit from our learning as well.
Spiritual formation can be accomplished through example, as can discipleship, whereas education is all about example. One recent study determined that "most programs of adult Christian learning today expect students to engage in theological reflection" (Williams,...
54) which, in truth is equally a part of education, discipleship and spiritual formation.
These three concepts are different from each other as well in that discipleship is often described as a complete giving over to one's beliefs in Christ and focusing one's entire life on proclaiming the teachings of Christ to others, while both education and spiritual formation are forms of learning and living certain teachings without the total commitment to spreading the gospel as is necessary from discipleship. Additionally, spiritual formation is the art of learning through watching the examples of others, while education can easily be described as a course of study; not necessarily by example. For instance, a professor could conceivably teach gospel principles while not living them.
A recent study asks the question "How do the varying factors in one's life such as family history, education, work context, family situation, and personal beliefs get incorporated into the process of choice?" (Schutte, 2008, p. 415). Schutte goes on to explain that when we are fostering a life of purpose we are often forced to make difficult choices. In fact, says Schutte "The claims between work and family do compete…one cannot easily replace the other, and sometimes both are not an option" (p. 415). So it is also true in the purpose of the ministry, both from the perspective of the student, and the perspective of the instructor. The purpose of the overall educational institution or community should also be considered when determining what course to take.
Should the ministry promote discipleship over education or spiritual formation? That is a question that likely should be answered by the individual student, rather than the ministry at large. As one recent study found "most programs of adult Christian learning today expect students to engage in theological reflection" (Williams, 2011, 0. 54), yet at the same time when we ask the students to engage in this type of activity, it is most likely that they will discern their own…
