I have been thinking about two questions:
“Is the earlier, the better? Or is the later, the better?”
Similarly, we might ask:
“Does more training produce greater commitment?”
Or,
“Can less training sometimes lead to greater commitment?”
These are interesting questions, and I believe they are meaningful ones. Let us consider the relationship between training and commitment.
The Longer the Training, the Greater the Commitment?
Does longer training automatically produce greater commitment?
My answer is no.
Especially in this busy and information-rich era, we need to reconsider our traditional understanding of training.
Let me share the example of the Korean church.
The history of Christianity in Korea is only a little more than one hundred years old. In the early stages, churches needed revival meetings. Soon afterward, they emphasized Bible study, because many Christians did not know the Bible well.
Later, the emphasis shifted to discipleship training, and in some churches, discipleship-making programs lasted for as long as three years. After that came the emphasis on the missional church, along with many parachurch ministries that were introduced into Korean churches.
This was around the 1990s, when many new ministry paradigms began to emerge. Our ministry, LPM/PACE, also began during this period.
Now, however, many Korean churches seem to be standing at a crossroads. In some ways, we have tried almost everything that we believed was necessary.
Nevertheless, many churches still follow the three-year discipleship-training paradigm. Some pastors continue to believe:
“The more training, the greater the commitment.”
But there is a problem.
The congregation cannot remain in the hangar for three years waiting to take off. They may have already learned a great deal. They may know the Bible and understand what they should do. Yet they are still expected to remain in a long period of preparation.
Sometimes, after completing three years of discipleship training, people do not even remain in the church where they were trained. They leave and look for another church where they can use the knowledge and skills they have acquired.
Of course, people need training. But perhaps what they need today is not simply more basic training.
They urgently need to be equipped to take off and fly.