How to pass on a way of life

Recently I had a short discussion with a friend about my fixation with systems for Christian Disciple-making (this idea of making disciples can be found in Matthew 28:19 - the Great Commission - in the Bible)

In this context, I am enamoured with systems because they can be passed on. And really, this is part of the purpose of making disciples; we want to pass Disciple-making on to the next person, and to the next generation.

I think this desire exists for anything that constitutes a way of life. In this case, Christian Discipleship (and within it, Disciple-making) is a way of life.

It also strikes me that a way of life is both easier and harder to pass on than one might imagine.

On the one hand, entire cultures persisted for centuries (if not millennia) following the same way of life. Even today, in a generation which has experienced much more change than a thousand years of history combined, we still see examples of children living the same way their parents did.

On the other hand, in one generation we have seen individuals change their way of life, spanning every part of life from food to sexual preferences.

But what if we - being the intelligent and sentient beings that we are, and presumably having all good intention - want to pass on a particular way of life?

In other words, what if I want to pass on Christian Disciple-making to another person?

Here is my attempt at a thesis; a way of life is passed on through the combination of lived experience, and replicable systems.

Let me explain.

Lived experience is active participation in the activities and rituals of the way of life.

These are moments lived with such repetition that they become ingrained in the psyche. These are the things that shape a person’s sense of identity.

Replicable systems are the methods and practices which are passed on from one to another.

These are the traditions and theory of the way of life. These are the things which shape a person’s perspective.

Experience and systems are two sides of the same coin. It is insufficient to have experience without understanding, and it is useless to have theory without practice.

It can be argued that experience is the more important of the two. I do not contest this; from experience we can derive some understanding and appreciation of the system, whereas no amount of knowledge will replace lived experience.

However, in the pursuit of propagating a way of life through generations, they are equally important. A way of life is passed on only when its systems are replicated in another person, and they are able to pass it on to another person. Lived experience is merely the vehicle for replication.

In the end, this is the test: will the disciple continue in the way of life even after the master is gone?