THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE MODEL
Bringing the Soul to Work
The Discipleship Program is presented in 3 parts and the goal is to integrate faith and work initiatives as we see a gap in the current discipleship program of the church. The Theoretical part which outlined the foundation of the model - The Curriculum The Experiential part on how this integration can be experienced - The Physical Enhancement A Digital Portal where the program are digitalized to ease the accessibility- The Presentation
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Part 1: THE CARRICULUM
There are 5 modules in the Curriculum that centers around the 4-questions which bring out the purpose of the integration - in minding the gap we have in the current discipleship program in building a holistic WholeLife Church. We defined the WholeLife Church as a holistic Church where its work on Monday
are connected to its worship on Sunday. For all our work matters to God and God matters to our work, hence work are valuable, dignified, meaningful and it is part of our vocation as we are empowered by the Spirit to serve His people.
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The 4 questions that frame this program (in a concentric circles) in this order are:
Who-Why-How-What.
We seldom asked the 'Who or the Why questions' when we develop a product or run a project, we usually start with 'what we are bringing to the table', hence we misses the purpose and the intention of the work.
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The question of Who and Why- 'The Being'
The Who-Why will frame the theological and biblical framework of the work. 'The Who' question brings in the concept of the indwelling God in our life or "in Christ" or as Lutheran called it 'the mystical union' in saving us and helping us do our work.
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The main texts we quoted to support the indwelling God in our work are as follows-
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Galatians 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
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​​Ephesians 2:8-10. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
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2 Peter 1:4 ....by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.​
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The indwelling of God anchors on 2 pillars, the doctrine of vocation and charism. The scripture that supports these 2 doctrines are:1 Cor 2: 8-10- as stated above
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1 Cor 7:17. Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is the rules in all the churches.
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Ephesians 4:7-8. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, When he ascended on high he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men.
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​​Hence, work is valuable and dignified when we trace the theme of work in the bible, where work was created good, fallen and became difficult but is redeemed by Christ to give us hope that work can be fulfilling and one day it will be glorified in the days to come as work continues in its perfection in eternity.
We see God as worker, and God uses parables to speak of work, and because in His image, we have the responsibility to steward the work of God. We are saved to serve in fulfilling the cultural mandate [Gen.1:26-27], the great commandment [Matt. 22:35-40] and the great commission [Matt.28:18-20].
Hence the work we do is Kingdom focus and this made up the core purpose of work and faith integration. Hence work is important in shaping the fullness of our work life, in giving meaning to our being, thus making the church robust.
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The Question of How and What-'Doing'
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The methodology of 'How' the whole program was put together- the curriculum and how the physical enhancement part supports it.
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PART 2: THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE INTEGRATION
The new way of enhancing the theoretical part of the program are:
i. The Impact Player Leadership Mindset in the development of an integrated culture of work and faith
In CLC we called it the 2% mindset shift adapted from the 'becoming an impact player a model' of leadership from the Wiseman group are useful in transforming the trajectory of the integration.
ii. The Mask of God- we see our work as a place God hides and work through us to serve others
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iii. The Priestly, Kingl and Prophetic role @ Work
The role of the Priest brings the concept of priesthood of all believers where work is regarded as worship- the audience of "ONE", holiness of work, and work as prayer.
The role of a King which is all about leadership, governing, and caring (soul care) for the work of its members.
The role of a Prophet which brings the voice of hope to our difficult job and addresses certain ethical principles of work.
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iv. The Station of Life @Work
This is the various work/roles that we are called to throughout our life and it changes according to age, season and time. This is how God would serve the people through our vocation
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v. Work-Rest-Play Rhythm @ Work
Work life balanced is a very important concept for effective works to take place
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​​PART 3: PRESENTATION
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The 3rd part of the integration is the digital presentation of the model.
The model is presented through a comprehensive interactive digital portal where all the
information and resources are digitally shared with the participants. This ensure the efficiency and enhancement of the shared information among members.
“All the people at the churches are in a common situation in the world. Wherever he works, wherever he meets the community at large, he finds that Christians are in a minority. His faith comes under fire or is ignored, or even pitied. He is regarded often as a relic of the past. When he goes to church that past comes alive, he hears, speaks and sings its language with sincerity and it becomes for him a vehicle of eternal realities. But he is conscious, acutely or vaguely, that all sorts of ideas about man and the world, hidden in the words, are of the past, belonging to a pastoral or patriarchal society, and to a triple-decker view of the universe. Instead of making sense of the world for him, the Christian’s faith, couched in this language, is often a problem he himself is trying to make sense of. Yet he needs it to guide and sustain him in the world.”
Why Work Matters
Katherine Bliss [We the People], 1963