THE MAKING OF SAINTS: DISCIPLESHIP FORMATION IN THE EARLY CHURCH AS A WAY FORWARD FOR THE MODERN AGE
Date of Award
Spring 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS)
College
Barnett College of Ministry & Theology
Department
Department of Christian Ministries and Religion
Primary Advisor
Dr. Mike Cuckler
Second Advisor
Dr. Kenneth J. Archer
Abstract
As the modern Western Church continues to move forward through its history, an effective theology of discipleship will be vital to maintain the Church’s witness to the surrounding world and culture. Looking to the Patristic Period as a way forward can give current practitioners practical solutions and insights to replicate the effectiveness of Christianity’s first beginnings. The Early Church’s Catechumenate involved robust discipleship formation where the pagans who went through the process would leave behind their Roman habitus and embody a Christian lifestyle. By returning to the early church writers, practices, and disciplines that early Christians would have lived out on a daily basis the author provides various frameworks and models to be implemented in the modern age. This paper suggests a model that is informed by the early church’s approach called Contra-Worldly Discipleship which entails various elements of the early Christian’s lifestyle. The author also points out four primary marks of the early church, to which it’s suggested that the modern Western Church should reimplement in a practice-based approach to discipleship formation.
Recommended Citation
Wray, Ian, "THE MAKING OF SAINTS: DISCIPLESHIP FORMATION IN THE EARLY CHURCH AS A WAY FORWARD FOR THE MODERN AGE" (2024). Masters of Theological Studies. 23.
https://firescholars.seu.edu/mats/23