Tyndale University College and Seminary

The Spiritual Discipline and Ministry of Walking Along

An assignment
submitted in partial fulfillment of
Nurturing Spirituality: A Lifestyle of Mentoring,
Discipleship and Spiritual Direction
Tyndale Seminary

For

Dr. Barbara Haycraft

by

Neil Richard S. Zagala

Toronto, Canada

April 2017
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

CHAPTER 1 DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS 4

CHAPTER II BIBLICAL BASIS AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 8

CHAPTER III REFLECTION 11

CHAPTER IV PACKAGES 13

CHAPTER V GIFTEDNESS SET 15

CHAPTER VI PERSONAL APPLICATION PLAN 16

CONCLUSION 17

APPENDIX A SUMMARY OF DISCIPLESHIP SECTION 18

APPENDIX B A POSSIBLE OVERLAP OF TERMS 20

BIBLIOGRAPHY 21

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 INTRODUCTION

No man is an island.

John Donne

One of the possible outcomes of this paper is to inform the model of spiritual

formation being prepared for another class. In the model, one of the suggested spiritual

disciplines was spiritual direction. Looking closely though, the real intent of the author is

not just spiritual direction but the spiritual discipline of walking along. This phrase will

for sure elicit a lot of questions. The goal of this paper is to answer some, if not all, of

those questions.

This paper will start by defining the meaning of this phrase. It will also

differentiate walking along as a spiritual discipline as opposed to walking along as a

ministry. This will be followed by terminologies associated with the phrase. Explanations

will then be given on why these can be considered as means of nurturing spirituality. The

biblical basis of this spiritual discipline will be explored and the historical development

traced. Understanding and reflection on dyadic mean of spiritual formation will be

incorporated. A giftedness set and a package will also be included followed by an outline

of a personal application plan to incorporate this practice to life and ministry.

It is hoped that through this presentation, the reader will have a better

understanding and appreciation of the spiritual discipline and ministry of walking

along.

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 CHAPTER 1

DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven
miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that
had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near
and went with them.
Luke 24:13 15

The verse above is a very good picture of our phrase walking along that our title

referred to as a spiritual discipline and as a ministry. Two of them were walking and

talking and Jesus joined them in their journey.

It is hard, if not impossible, to live the Christian life on our own. We need

someone whom God will use to pour out His direction, will, blessings, etc. to us and we

need to be used by God to pour out the same to someone else. In reality, God does not

need us to do this. He is the Almighty God! Nothing is impossible for Him. But He, in

His wisdom and power, chose to use us for this purpose. God chose someone to walk

with us in our journey. God would like to use us to walk with someone else in his or her

journey.

It was mentioned that this walking along is a spiritual discipline. It is a spiritual

discipline when you are the one who benefits more from the relationship. You are the one

mostly receiving the pouring out.

This phrase will be considered a ministry if you are the one being used by God to

pour out to someone else. God is using you as His channel for the other person to receive.

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 The phrase walking along is such a general term to be used as a means of

nurturing spirituality. There are different terminologies that the church uses that fall under

this general category.

The first and probably the most common term is discipleship. This is what the

new convert goes through. After he or she is evangelized, he or she is discipled. Dietrich

Bonhoeffer ties discipleship closely to grace. He said, discipleship simply means the life

which springs from grace (Bonhoeffer 1995, 56). What does grace do? According to

Bonhoeffer, costly grace (which he differentiated from cheap grace) compels a man to

submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him (Bonhoeffer 1995, 45). He further defined

discipleship as adherence to Christ (Bonhoeffer 1995, 59). This adherence to Christ

goes through a process (Boa 2001, 377) with different dynamics, must be founded in a

biblical philosophy and can be in a one-on-one context (see Appendix A).

The next term is mentoring. Rick Lewis defined this as, Within intentional,

empowering, unique relationships, Christian mentoring identifies and promotes the work

of Gods Spirit in others lives, assisting them to access Gods resources for their growth

and strength in spirituality, character and ministry (Lewis 2009, 20). Simply put, you are

missing a skill and someone will help you develop that. Since we are dealing with

Christian spirituality, no human being using his or her own power alone can spiritually

mentor someone else. He or she needs the help and the power of God in this process.

The next term is counseling. If mentoring deals with missing skills, counseling

deals with problems, in most cases lots of it. We can deduce from the introduction of

Charles Kemps book the definition of counseling the ability to understand and deal

effectively with the personal needs and problems of individuals (Kemp 1947, ix).

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Something is broken and needs fixing. Something is wrong and needs to be made right.

We need counseling. The dead body present in a Christian will most probably bring him

or her in counseling situations. Kemp relates this idea to mental hygiene (Kemp 1947,

262) and mental health (Kemp 1947, 282-283).

The next term is spiritual direction. This term is not widely used and practiced

within the evangelical circles for a long time. The mainline denominations are the ones

mostly familiar with this discipline. It is starting to catch on evangelical circles. What

does it mean? Chester Michael defined this term as usually a one-to-one relationship

with another individual for the purpose of obtaining spiritual guidance (Michael 2004,

7). The spiritual director helps the spiritual directee recognize the voice, work, guidance,

direction, etc. of God in his or her life. The goal of the directee is to become sensitive in

the promptings of God. He or she would like to become aware; to notice, and to pay

attention to what God is doing in his or her life.

The next term is a general term accountability. Some churches have been using

this as a separate unique program in their church. They will have either accountability

partners or accountability groups. The four terms we mentioned above, in one way or

another, requires a form of accountability. Merriam-Webster defined accountability as an

obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for ones actions

(Merriam-Webster 2017). The people involved in the spiritual discipline and ministry of

walking along are willingly and intentionally making themselves accountable within

these relationships.

Kenneth Boa categorizes nurturing spirituality as Gods call to His people to lead

others to maturity (Boa 2001, 367). It is not enough for people to become part of Gods

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family. They need to grow in their spiritual life. We nurture them by building, feeding,

protecting, encouraging, training and assisting them in their journey to maturity so that

they can pass that on to others who will become par of Gods family (Boa 2001, 367).

The terms we mentioned above are some of the ways where ones spirituality is nurtured.

There are still other terms that we can use such as spiritual friendship, soul care,

holy listening, coaching, etc. These terms though may fall in one or more of the terms we

mentioned above. Some may comment that these terms overlap and it does (see Appendix

B for a possible position). Whatever the case maybe, it is highly recommended that each

person assess their Christian life and decide which of the terms above will apply to them.

It is believed that depending on which season in life a person is in, he or she needs to

choose the appropriate walking along spiritual discipline to help him or her in his or

her spiritual journey.

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 CHAPTER II

BIBLICAL BASIS AND HISTORICAL

DEVELOPMENT

Our creator designed us to live and grow in relationship with him and in human
community. Other people are one of the most important sources of Gods grace in our
lives.
James Wilhoit (Wilhoit 2008, 177)

We can see since the beginning of time the presence of God with His people. The

things that God has done after creating the man and the woman showed His part in this

relationship. He blessed them (Genesis 1:28). Receiving a blessing from the Lord gives a

person the encouragement he or she needs to move forward in life. A term that some

groups may use is impartation, which can fall under mentoring. He gave them a task of

becoming fruitful, multiplying and having dominion over His creation (Genesis 1:28).

Were they trained to do this? Did coaching exist? There is a sense of empowerment that

happened in this verse. This term can also fall under mentoring. He provided for them.

They can have as food the plants that were created (Genesis 1:29). God provided for them

so that their bodies will receive nourishment. Will this fall under spiritual direction? How

about the mere presence of God directing them on what they need to do? That is spiritual

direction!

We may be using some of the terms we mentioned in Chapter 1 but we know that

there is an overlap. We may say it falls under mentoring but it can be discipleship. So far,

everything is definitely under accountability!

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 Continuing on the events that happened in the Bible, it is evident in the life of the

people God used the use of the spiritual discipline and ministry of walking along.

Spiritual direction can be seen when Moses, Aaron and the elders were seeking God for

His direction to them (Exodus 4:29; 24:1, etc.). Mentoring can be seen when Moses is

preparing Joshua to replace him (Number 12 and 14). There are many other relationships

in the Old Testament that show this spiritual discipline of walking along whether it be

categorized as spiritual direction and/or mentoring: Elijah and Elisha (Lewis 2009, 46-

48), Eli and Samuel, Nathan and David (Michael 2004, 3), etc. We may have

concentrated on the terms of mentoring and spiritual direction but problematic situations

were also present in the Old Testament and the term counseling can also fit in.

The New Testament also is full of these kinds of relationships. We can add the

term discipleship to the mix. Some examples these relationships are: Rabbi Gamaliel and

Saul of Tarsus (Michael 2004, 4), Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos (Lewis 2009, 48-49), the

greatest example of all Jesus and the Twelve (Lewis 2009, 52-56), etc.

Even after the times of the New Testament, this spiritual discipline continued on.

We have the examples of: St. Augustine, Benedictines, Monks of Mt. Athos in Greece,

Starets in Russia, up to the 19th century examples of Abbe Huvelin and Abbe Saudreau

(Michael 2004, 4-5). There were other examples in history where the spiritual discipline

and ministry of walking along were actively used.

As mentioned above, Jesus Christ is our model. Krallmann even coined two

words to show Jesus example: with-ness (Krallmann 2002, 19-74 and 148-210) and

consociation (Krallmann 2002, 50-59). These terms are similar, if not synonymous, to our

spiritual discipline and ministry phrase of walking along. The idea of with-ness is

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simple you are with someone. You are with someone because you are learning from

him or her. You are with someone because you teaching/training him or her. According to

Krallmann, Jesus experienced both (Krallmann 2002, 19-74 and 148-210). With regard

consociation, he related this to fellowship, alliance, companionship, association and

togetherness using the two root elements from Websters dictionary together and joined

with expressing intimate union of persons (Krallmann 2002, 53). Coleman may have this

idea when he chose the chapter titles of his book selection, association, consecration,

impartation, demonstration, delegation, supervision and reproduction (Coleman 1993, 7).

All of these words relates to another person. You select another person. You associate

with another person. You consecrate another person and so on and so forth.

The quote we mentioned in the beginning of this chapter relates to all these. We

need another person. The other person is one of the important sources of Gods grace in

our life (Wilhoit 2008, 177). We need another person to nurture our spirituality and vice

versa we can be used by God to nurture the spirituality of another person.

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 CHAPTER III

REFLECTION

We need to have a balance in our Christian life. What are those things we need to

balance? Dr. Charles Ringma (Ringma 2016) stated the importance of paying equal

attention to three things that belong together the cave, the canteen and the contours of

the road.

The cave is a representation of Gods invitation to spirituality of withdrawal that

includes, but not limited to: listening to God, reading Scripture, praying and

contemplating. This is a way where a person can cultivate his or her inner life by

establishing patterns.

The canteen is a representation of the interconnectedness of the family of God

the church, through group practices that include, but not limited to: worship, hearing

Scripture, partaking of the Lords supper, prayer and fellowship. This is a way where a

person can practice community. The church will show the world what it means to live the

Christian life.

The contours of the road is a representation of the life of the scattered church

with their families, neighbors, work (business and/or ministry), etc. This is a way where

God can use a person to extend His kingdom to the world and redeem His creation to

Himself.

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 This idea connects closely to the holistic nature of our personhood. The cave

relates to the spirit that connects us to God. The canteen relates to the soul that connects

us to others. The contours of the road relates to the body that connects us to creation. One

should not be tempted to make the relationship and connections strict and exclusive. The

cave experiences do not and should not just nourish the spirit but the soul and body as

well. This is also true with the canteen and contours of the road experiences.

In seeking this balance we see time alone and time with community. When we

think of community, we tend to think of a big group like a church or even a family but

community can have two members. Depending on how accountable each person is to

another, this dyadic mean to form ones spirit can be a powerful tool that God will use.

Gods creation of man started with two. If we are true to our quest to be formed

spiritually, we are not thinking that we are just two. The passage in Luke 24 said that

Jesus joined them. This dyadic mean of spiritual formation from human perspective is

actually three from Gods perspective. He is there. He is part of the dyad.

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 CHAPTER IV

PACKAGES

Package 1 on Prayer

Using ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication) and your name as

an acronym, write words or phrases reflecting the section. You may choose one of the

subsections:

a. ADORATION

i. Who is God in your life?

ii. What are the good things He has done in your life?

b. CONFESSION

i. What are the things that you have done that you need to confess before God?

ii. What are the things society have done that you identify with that you need to

confess before God on behalf of society?

iii. What are the generational sins that you see in your family?

c. THANKSGIVING.

i. What are the blessings you have received from God?

ii. Who are the persons that you are thankful for?

iii. Where are the places where you received Gods blessings?

d. SUPPLICATION

i. What are the needs you see around you that you need to lift up before God?

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 ii. Who are the people you need to lift up before God?

iii. What are your needs you need to lift up before God?

Package 2 on Bible Reading

Here are some of the instructions we can ask the person we are helping to do as they read

their Bible:

1. Encircle all the words that refer to God

2. Underline all the words that relate to you

3. Identify all the words that requires an action

4. Diagram the passage. Connect the words in succeeding statement that refers to the

words of the preceding statement.

5. List down the characters in this passage. How are these characters related to you and

your life?

6. List down the places mentioned in this passage. What is the significance of this

passage as it relates to you?

7. Rewrite this passage to reflect the current time and culture.

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 CHAPTER V

GIFTEDNESS SET

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 CHAPTER VI

PERSONAL APPLICATION PLAN

Here is a plan on how I will practice the spiritual discipline and ministry of

walking along at least for the next three month:

1. Continue on meeting with a spiritual director via Skype once every month.

2. Continue on meeting with a spiritual director in person once every month.

3. Look for a mentor who will help me become accountable on ministry action plans I

have in mind. Meet with him/her at least twice before the end of the next three months.

4. Pray, seek and act on finding mentee/s and/or directee/s in church.

5. Use the packages in Chapter IV to the mentee/s or to the whole church through Sunday

school or bible study. Included in this is a structure on how each will be accountable to

someone else.

6. Prepare preaching and/or teaching about the spiritual discipline and ministry of

walking along and executing the prepared materials at least twice before the end of the

next three months.

7. Pray to God to be given opportunities to share the gospel. If those opportunities are

presented that I will take advantage of said opportunities. If the person agrees, I will lead

him to a process of discipleship.

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 CONCLUSION

After this presentation, some may not be convinced still that walking along can

be considered as a spiritual discipline. The definition of Mulholland gives me the

assurance that walking along can be considered as a spiritual discipline. Mulhollands

definition states: Holistic spiritual disciplines are acts of loving obedience that we offer

to God steadily and consistently, to be used for whatever work God purposes to do in and

through our lives (Mulholland 1993, 103). Walking along (including other words we

consider as spiritual disciplines) will be a spiritual discipline if this is an act of loving

obedience to God, offered to Him with consistency and steadiness, knowing that He will

use it for His own purposes, in and through our lives.

Let us allow God to teach us through others. Let us allow God to use us to help

others.

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 APPENDIX A

SUMMARY OF DISCIPLESHIP SECTION

(Boa 2001, Chapters 30 and 31)

Four Phases Conversion to Maturity

1. Evangelizing Converts

2. Establishing Disciples

3. Equipping Workers

4. Empowering Leaders

A Biblical Philosophy of Discipleship

1. We must be disciples to make disciples

2. Discipleship is a dependent process

3. Concentration is crucial to Multiplication

4. People are not our disciples

5. Reproduction is a mark of discipleship

6. There is no maturity without ministry

7. We cannot measure our ministries

8. Discipleship is more than a program

9. Discipleship requires a servant attitude

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10. Spiritual friendship is a component of discipleship

11. Effective discipleship requires more than our method

Process of Discipleship

1. Exposing

2. Equipping

a. Teaching

b. Training

3. Encouraging & Exhorting

Context of Discipleship

1. Marriage, parenting, friendships, work and society

2. Small group and one-on-one discipleship

3. Team ministry

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 APPENDIX B

A POSSIBLE OVERLAP OF TERMS

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boa, Kenneth. 2001. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to
Spiritual Formation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1995. The Cost of Discipleship. New York, NY: Simon and
Schuster.

Coleman, Robert E. 1993. The Master Plan of Evangelism. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell.

Kemp, Charles F. 1947. Physicians of the Soul: A History of Pastoral Counseling. New
York, NY: The Macmillan Company.

Krallmann, Gunter. 2002. Mentoring for Mission: A Handbook on Leadership Principles

Exemplified by Jesus Christ. Waynesboro, GA: Gabriel Publishing.

Lewis, Rick. 2009. Mentoring Matters: Building Strong Christian leaders, Avoiding
burnout, Reaching the finishing line. Oxford, UK: Lion Hudson.

Merriam-Webster. 2017. Definition of Accountability. Dictionary. Accessed March 28,

2017. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accountability.

Michael, Chester P. 2004. An Introduction to Spiritual Direction: A Psychological

Approach for Directors and Directees. New York, NY: Paulist Press.

Mulholland, M. Robert, Jr. 1993. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual
Formation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Ringma, Charles. 2016. Asian Theological Seminary. Mixcloud. Accessed November

11, 2016. https://www.mixcloud.com/atsph/2016-10-19-dr-charles- ringma/.

Wilhoit, James C. 2008. Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in

Christ through Community. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

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