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By Bishop John R. Schol

Nothing adventured, nothing attained.
--Peter McWilliams

While growing up, I was surrounded by numerous experiences that matured my head and my heart. These experiences were nurturing and stretching, forming and deepening.

Some of those experiences included church, school, sports, scouting, family and student council. Church provided opportunities to explore deep and burning questions; school sharpened my understanding; sports allowed me to test my limits; scouting deepened my leadership; family enabled me to explore relationships; and the student council provided an opportunity to test my views.

It was not one particular experience or activity that made the difference but the combination that helped to shape me and help me mature.

Growing and maturing in our faith is not different. It is a continual evolving process that should last a life time. Unfortunately, in the church, we often communicate that discipleship is culminated in becoming a member of a church, rather than membership launching us into a pattern of maturing as disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Discipleship Adventure recognizes that there is no one experience that matures our following Christ but a series of experiences. In Acts, it records five different experiences that grew disciples. They included:

? Celebrating our faith ? worship;

? Connecting through our faith ? fellowship with God and other believers;

? Developing our faith ? study and spiritual disciplines;

? Serving through our faith ? ministering through ministries of justice and compassion;

? Sharing our faith ? witnessing to others of God?s amazing grace.

Disciples mature when they participate in all five of these experiences regularly, particularly when they are given opportunities to explore, learn and experience in an environment that nurtures and tests our faith.

The Discipleship Adventure also recognizes that it is an inward journey and an outward movement. Regrettably, churches tend to emphasize either the inward journey ? worship, fellowship and study - or the outward movements of service and witness.

This weakens disciples. It either moves individuals or congregations to self-centeredness, the inward journey, or toward duty and burnout through the outward movement of service and witness.

God has given us a holistic model that includes building up the spiritual well through worship, fellowship and study so that we have a reservoir to draw upon for the movement outward in service and witness.

Disciples also mature when they do not emphasize one experience of the journey over another. Witness is as important as worship; fellowship is as important as service and study.

In fact, healthy congregations ensure that the five aspects of the Adventure are included in every experience. Worship has witness and learning, fellowship activities have opportunities to praise God, and studies include time for meaningful fellowship.

Every disciple and every congregation is encouraged to evaluate their life and ministry using the Discipleship Adventure. Is there a healthy blend of all five aspects? Are all five experiences given equal attention? Do the different church activities include multiple aspects of the Adventure? Are members taught about what discipleship really is and informed that to follow and grow in Christ Jesus, we participate in all five parts of the Discipleship Adventure?

In the next edition of the UMConnection I will begin to look at each experience of the Adventure in detail. Until then, be adventurous!