Learning to Make Apprentices of Jesus from the Celtic Way - 4 Important Questions to Ask Yourself

Do you love to engage with people on their spiritual journey, watch others grow in their faith, develop leaders, and catalyze disciple-making movements? Are you growing and learning how to improve as a leader? Do you enjoy examining how different streams of the Christian faith have created disciple-making movements, developed leaders, and planted churches?

If your answer is “yes” to these questions, then you will enjoy studying the historical Celtic movement dating back to the 500s AD and the ministry of Columba.

Columba’s Early Beginnings

Columba was born in 522 AD to parents of royal lineage. One of Columba’s teachers was Finnian of Clonard, best known for making the Bible the foundation for all education. This had a profound effect on Columba, who, after a period, left Clonard to plant churches and set up mission stations wherever God led him. Historians describe him as being incessantly active and perhaps this intensity of energy and a fervent zeal for the truth led him to plant over 300 churches and to found a great number of Bible training schools.

Columba’s Mission Strategy

The Celtic Way was to establish a thriving, self-sustaining mission outpost to develop people of deep faith. Part of the mission outpost was a Bible training school attached to a farm, a bakery, and large gardens. A church was birthed as part of the Iona community.

Columba’s Holistic Approach

The Celtic Way blurred the lines between insiders and outsiders. By virtue of living on the island of Iona, or being on pilgrimage visiting Iona, you became part of the community. Last summer, I traveled to Iona and experienced the ongoing life of the Iona community; a trip that forged a lasting memory. Watch this video if you would like to learn more about Columba and the Celtic Way.

Challenges from the Celtic Way to Modern Missiology:

Christian Community
Discipleship
Distinction between insiders and outsiders
Leadership Development
Church Planting

Dissecting the Problem

Expectations for discipleship, leadership development, and church planting are unrealistically high in our current reality (in my humble opinion).

Fast-pace of life so time is not permitted for the slow work of God.
Visions are more aspirational than real.
Results are more attractive than substantive.
Measure the wrong things
Breadth over depth.

This is one reason why it is helpful to look at historical movements like the Celtic Way.

4 Questions to consider in your methodology to make apprentices of Jesus:

Is your vision too small?

The Celtic Way was focused on the whole of life and community transformation to bring the Kingdom of God – here and now.

What is your starting point?

The Celtic Way began where people were at in their spiritual journeys rather than the approach many use today that invites people to the place the ministry needs them to be before you begin the discipleship process – for example, “into the church”.

What is your process?

The Celtic Way was clear, simple, and reproducible. Think of three concentric circles, mentioned earlier: the community, the church, and the monastery.

Do you have a complete picture of an apprentice of Jesus?

The Celtic Way has a comprehensive view on spiritual formation – to read more about the 6 stages of spiritual formation, see Where Discipleship Intersects with Spiritual Formation.

Much can be learned about the Celtic Way. If you would like to participate in a conversation around these principles, I would invite you to consider participating in our Discipleship Collective. During the FREE Discipleship Webinar, we will identify the principles that have been foundational to disciple-making movements for centuries.

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