Reverence Journal

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Encountering God

For a long time the goal of much Christian Education ("discipleship") was focused more on establishing a Christian worldview than on leading people into an encounter with God.

After a few generations of that approach we ended up with churches full of vaguely Christian people that had not been transformed by first-hand encounters with God, carrying out rituals for which they had no reason.

Like it or not, worldview is shaped by experience. A worldview that has no undergirding experience eventually crumbles when it is challenged by other worldviews.

Christian Education/Discipleship/Spiritual Formation has to return to the foundation of leading people into an encounter with God, and build a worldview alongside those encounters. The purpose of a worldview is to interpret experiences, not replace them.