1. Collaborate
When I came to the college, they offered two alternatives for new students: Christian Discipleship which tended toward the outward disciplines such as service and social justice and Spiritual Formation which tended toward the inward disciplines such as prayer and meditation. Erv Klassen had taught Spiritual Formation for some years and I was given Christian Discipleship that had previously been taught by a sessional instructor. We compared notes and wondered whether by offering these two alternatives we were depriving students of a wholistic view of the Christian life that should rightly include both emphases. The eventual third person in our trinity, Janet Boldt, was on sabbatical immersing herself in the subject matter that year. The academic dean at the time brought the three of us together to dream about how we could offer a wholistic experience of spiritual formation and discipleship to first-year students.
All three of us were present at every lecture. We literally tag-teamed back and forth in the course of a class period and sometimes had three-way conversations in front of the class. We began each semester with a retreat and met weekly for interactive debrief and preparation as a threesome. Janet, Erv, and myself were three very different people who came with unique personalities, strengths, and our own favourite spiritual practices. Students would know by our diverse modeling and pedagogy that there was no one right way to be Christian.
Times change. Erv became the college registrar with a full-time administrative load and was then no longer part of the team. Janet and I became the primary instructors; we expanded to four groups instead of three to make the groups a bit smaller [10-15 instead of 15-20+]; for a few years we invited other staff and faculty to join us as Discipleship Group facilitators; and eventually we invited senior students to join the team so they could gain experience and an internship credit. We made sure we always had gender balance on our team. Then, Janet retired which left me as the sole professor. I then expanded the team to three senior students and encouraged them to offer personal stories and illustrations so that presentations could continue to be conversational and dialogical. Sometimes we had panel discussions where we conversed about a topic. An opening retreat and weekly meetings continued.
2. Innovate
We developed a unique three-way format to deliver the course. For example, on Thursday we would meet as an entire class [this usually ranged from 40 to 75 students] for the presentation of a particular spiritual discipline, e.g. meditation, service, etc. Each lecture included biblical background, historical precedent, and practical guidance. At the end of this class students were given an assignment to read about and practice that discipline, and then write a brief reflection of their experience.
The following Tuesday we would meet in 3 or 4 Discipleship Groups [this usually ranged from 10-20 students] in separate rooms, facilitated by a member of the team. During this time [usually about 45 minutes], students would process and discuss their readings and experiences and we would have opportunity to practice a communal version of the discipline.
During the last part of Tuesday’s class [usually about 30 minutes] students would meet in Spiritual Friendship Groups [3 or 4 in a group] for mutual encouragement and accountability. This gave students the opportunity to learn, discuss, and build relationships with others. Judging by many student testimonials, our objectives were achieved through this three-way format.
3. Find a good text
For most of the history of this course we used Richard Foster’s, Celebration of Discipline. It has become a standard and a classic despite the plethora of books published in the field. The 12 systematic chapters made it ideal as a textbook for a college semester.
About five years ago, I began experimenting with an additional text, eventually adding Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren. I always said I would never drop Foster because it was such a timeless classic, but after reviewing the growing literature during my sabbatical last winter, I decided to develop my own course pack of readings from 12 different sources that were more representative of a wide variety of human difference. After all, Richard Foster was just like me: an aging, white, cisgendered man with a ponytail. Students needed more variety. Now, they don’t have either of us.