Have you ever read a book and thought–everyone needs to read this?
Have you ever read a book and thought–I wish I had put it that way?
Have you ever read a book and realized you were underlining about a full third of the text?
That’s the experience I had reading Jim Jansen’s A Clear Path: How to Make Missionary Disciples in Your Parish.
Jansen is the Director of the Parish Support Team for the Archdiocese of Omaha, and offers consulting services through Anchor Consulting. But what is clear in this book (clear beyond the path in the title!) is that he understands what makes parishes work as evangelizing outposts of the Great Commission.
I have often said that a widely understood lifelong discipleship path is “the missing link” of most parish renewal processes. It’s not that it doesn’t get mentioned. FOCUS has worked with a discipleship path for years in helping young people self-assess where they are on their journey. The Alpha course has an image that they use as a (very clever) discipleship measurement tool. Many parish leaders have read and absorbed Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus. Not to mention the evangelization and discipleship movements included in the Vatican’s Directory for Catechesis. Oh, did I mention Living as Missionary Disciples by the USCCB? Yes, there has been a lot of talk, and good talk at that.
But it has been a lot of talk, less action. Most Catholic parishes in the USA are not using any of those pathways. Most parishes operate like so: teach the kids. Do sacramental prep for them. Bolster it a bit when they get married or make vocational discernment. Give them a few interest-based options for the adult life. If they are really interested, maybe they’ll find a third order to spiritually support. Provide crisis support as needed.
In short: deliberate lifespan discipleship formation in most parishes is scattershot, and heavily oriented toward youth and education. Adults do not deliberately grow in their discipleship. And evangelization in particular is missing in action.
What happens when we add evangelization to a parish without a discipleship path?
Because evangelization is missing in action, it is very tempting to address its lack by adding it on to parish. We see a problem: not doing evangelization. We offer a solution: do it!
If only it were that simple. You see, introducing evangelization actually illuminates how much damage not having a clear discipleship path has done. For example, I have heard for years that we need to get better at inviting people to come and see. (We do!) And if we could just invite someone back–”each one invite one”–we’d double our numbers! (Math is great!) So, now that you’re convinced it’s worth it, go do it. (Nope, not a chance.) Wait, what?
Only missionary disciples invite people to come and see. And most parishioners simply aren’t there yet. The path points the steps toward spiritual health. If there isn’t a path, you have people who are unsure how to follow him beyond going to Mass. While participating in Mass is a necessary and beautiful foundation…it isn’t the totality of the full life of discipleship.
How does a clear path help?
The presumption of this book is that parishes exist to make missionary disciples. And we are, as human souls, designed to spiritually grow. But parishes give that growth its necessary food (sacramental life) and direction (discipleship angled toward the Lord’s mission). Jansen argues that a parish needs to think and promote four primary steps before it promotes any programs. And he suggests some very accessible language:
- Relational outreach (or CONNECT). We extend friendship for friendship’s sake before anything else. This is, in Directory of Catechesis terms, pre-evangelization.
- Conversion moment (or KNOW). This is where a person is led to encounter Jesus Christ and is invited to say yes to Jesus as Lord. The Directory would call this evangelization.
- Faith formation (or GROW). How do we grow in relationship with the Lord once we give our yes to him? We learn how to be a disciple, and who our God is, at deepening levels that increase our faith. The Directory would call this Catechesis and Discipleship.
- Evangelization formation (or GO). This is sending on the great commission in your world, in your state of life. Training, support, and encouragement to be the outreach and share the good news with family, friends, work partners, and beyond. The Directory would call this the apostolic mission.
As much as I like the underappreciated work in the Directory of Catechesis, there is no doubt that Jansen’s terms are more user-friendly—and terms that actually get understood and used make a difference. Connect/Know/Grow/Go is especially inspired, because the goal is make is CLEAR to everyone in the parish church which direction disciples move, and how to connect to the next natural step.
There is much more in this very practical book, including how to assess, discern, communicate, and implement, and then align and expand. Finally, the book ends with a friendly “Pat Lencioni style” fable of how Saint Mary’s Church (fictional) created a clear path of discipleship that bore fruit. It’s a story that applies all the ideas and serves as a great review–and it’s honest, inspiring, messy, and eventually…you see how it can work.
Although my own work has made similar moves in linking the parish steps of missionary discipleship with the spiritual development of the human person, I will be quite candid that I like Jansen’s presentation better than my own. It’s forthright and understandable by most parishioners and parish staff, and every bit of crystal clarity that can be mustered is necessary here. Creating a clear path requires wiping away everything that obscures the path. And unfamiliar language can muddy the path. The path must be visible. Otherwise, people will not walk in it–or even know there is a path.
I strongly recommend this book. I will be sharing insights from it widely and with enthusiasm.
