D17 Part 9: Bye Bye Syllabi

I was that guy - that guy in college who on the first day of class took the syllabus from each class and within hours had a spreadsheet for the entire semester of what homework needed to be started by what day so that it would be ready not just on the due date, but before the due date. You know ... just in case. I carefully figured in load balancing, too, so that I was not trying to do too much homework at the same time (which of course meant that some projects had to be done well before the due date). Mock me if you will, but it worked swimmingly well. And I had no sympathy for those who had to crunch for their homework in full stress mode because they realized too late something was due tomorrow!!! Slackers. Schedulophobic syllabi-peasants.

I am that guy - that guy that if it's not on my calendar or to-do list, it won't get done. In fact, if it's not on either of those two electronic lists, it flat out doesn't exist. You and I could talk about it for 20 minutes, but if it doesn't make the calendar or to-do list, our conversation never happened.

Which is why I'm so challenged by the 9th entry in our "17 Truths About Discipleship" ("D17").

Jesus’ kind of discipleship is mostly unscheduled but very intentional.

In other words, the primary way Jesus discipled others was "Off Calendar, but On Purpose."

A typical example is in Mark 8:27, "... on the way, He asked His disciples..." On the way ... as they were going about their daily rhythms, traveling, working on a project, eating dinner, going to the market, fishing in a boat. The disciples' "classroom" was just about any place, inside or outside, but rarely was it a room we would typically label a "classroom." While they were busy doing disciple-y things was the most common time that Jesus taught discipleship.

He asked His disciples ... unscheduled didn't mean unintentional. He was very intentional. He had a purpose - there were specific things He wanted His disciples to learn. He frequently asked them questions in order to most effectively drive to that purpose. He was no slacker.

Jesus observed His surroundings and the circumstances, with the attitude that He was never not discipling. Then He seized those moments, teaching far more often during the unscheduled times.

Many of us like our schedules, and in fact find it hard to function without scheduling. I like to think it's because I'm so busy and important and necessary and valuable and indispensable and worthwhile. It's more the case that my schedule can be a way to avoid an attitude of never not discipling. Being too scheduled to disciple others is both safe and pious.

Scheduled times for discipleship are not bad. The danger is that we might limit discipling to certain blocks of time, and miss out on the richest environments that Jesus used to disciple others.

Recall that in our missional marching orders, Jesus said, "As you go, make disciples..." (Matt 28:19). Don't segregate disciplemaking to only certain venues, certain times, and certain methods. Adopt an attitude of never not discipling. Remain alert for the richest opportunities to orient someone more toward Jesus, especially when you're nowhere near a classroom.