The transformational cycle consists of five parts: knowing and experiencing God, discerning his will, obeying, sharing stories, and learning through reflection. A person can enter this cycle at any point. The place where most of us enter the cycle is not the part about knowing and experiencing Jesus, but rather at the point where we tell someone our own story or hear someone else’s story.
Sharing Stories:
What happened?
In this part of the cycle people tell stories of their current situation and of walking with Jesus. These may be stories of significant life change, times of sensing God’s presence, or moments of obedience and disobedience. Everyone has something to share and every story is unique. Each is tailored by the Holy Spirit to the person, moment, and context. Whether we are introverts and share with only one other person, or extroverts willing to share before the whole community, our stories give witness to God’s work in our lives.
The Bible is a collection of rough-and-tumble stories that God has shared with us, and part of this step in the transformational cycle is listening to God’s story through Scripture. As we listen to the many stories of men and women interacting with God, it becomes easier to recognize the five stages of the transformational cycle. The stories of Scripture provide guidance as we see how others have discerned God’s will, carried it out, and learned to know him better in the process!
When we share our own stories of hearing and obeying God, we “spur one another on to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). Many of the “one another” statements from Scripture occur in this part of the transformational cycle: Teach one another (Colossians 3:16). Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13).
Sharing stories is how disciples come alongside one another. Trust begins to develop between disciples as each recognizes that the other is also walking with Jesus. They learn to trust Jesus in the other.
In sharing, we are witnesses to the glory and work of God in our lives.
In the “traditional church” paradigm, participants are rarely invited to share stories of transformation. Even in groups or Bible studies, the questions are usually “what did you think of the sermon?” or “what are your prayer requests” or “what do you think it means?” Often, the only person who shares a personal story of transformation is the one preaching or teaching. Without the freedom and encouragement to share stories, trust rarely develops, and without trust we remain disconnected individuals.
Reflecting
What have you learned?
As disciples tell their stories, they welcome and celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit, and they identify and internalize lessons through reflection. Patterns and processes emerge which lead to personal transformation as each gradually is “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rm 8:29).
Reflection occurs throughout the journey, so that learning takes place constantly, guided by the Holy Spirit. If I fail to obey, the Holy Spirit convicts me of falling short and encourages me to go back and obey. Every time we discern the will of Jesus and carry it out, we learn to recognize the voice of the Spirit more clearly.
Stories in Scripture provide abundant opportunity for reflection. We study Scripture not just to be theologically astute, but also to learn how to walk with Jesus. Every encounter people had with God in Scripture informs us how they grew to know him better, discern his will, obey him, and tell their stories – demonstrating increased faith, hope and love. As we reflect on these stories, as well as our own, we too grow to know God and his ways better.
The household can be an ideal place for this reflection to take place as members of the household talk over their day. The examen (Holy Spirit guided self-examination) is a way for individuals to reflect on the day and learn from it.
Jesus came alongside the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and the three reflected together on the events of the previous few days, and their actions during that time. He helped them understand Scripture, leading them toward transformation and greater joy. As a household or as a community of friends engages in this kind of storytelling and reflection, they are themselves drawn into the community of the Trinity, increased fellowship with God.
Reflecting helps us become learners of Jesus.
In the “traditional church” paradigm, most of the effort goes into explaining and interpreting the Scripture, with some attention given to how that might apply to daily life and what people are learning or going through. Current events in culture and society are often overlooked, and current events in the daily lives of people in their households, workplace or community are only regarded in generic terms. Little time and attention are devoted to helping one another understand what Jesus has to say about their individual and personal experience, about current events or the prevailing culture.
Knowing and Experiencing Jesus
What has Jesus taught you recently?
To know Jesus or to know God differs significantly from knowing about Jesus or knowing about God. One can know a great deal about the Queen of England or the President of the United States without really knowing them.
On his last evening together with his disciples, Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life, that they [his disciples] might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (Jn 17:3).” 1 Corinthians 13 says, “Now we know in part; then we shall know fully, just as we are fully known.” This “knowing” is not mental assent to facts about God or about Jesus, but knowing Jesus as a person. In Matthew’s gospel he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Mt 11: 28-30).” Jeremiah says, “Let him who boasts, boast about this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord” (Jer 9:24). The Bible is full of stories of people who came to know God resulting in lives which were irrevocably changed and transformed.
Throughout the history of Jesus’ work in the world, the way that disciples learn from him, and come to know him, has been through the practice of the spiritual disciplines that Jesus himself used. These practices are how Jesus learned from his Father and carried out his will, and they are also how we learn from Jesus (Eph 5:20-21) and grow to know him. These core spiritual disciplines include silence, solitude, fasting, prayer, listening, study, meditation, Scripture memorization, and more.
When households or larger groups exercise core spiritual disciplines together, they function as the body of Christ, collectively creating space to know, experience and obey God.
Some key resources for knowing Jesus include J.I. Packer’s book, Knowing God; Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline; Dallas Willard, Spirit of the Disciplines; and Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms.
Knowing God leads towards becoming friends with Jesus and with fellow travelers.
In the “traditional church” paradigm, usually only two or three of these disciplines are emphasized: corporate worship, singing, and preaching. Rarely are participants invited to join in times of silence, listening, praying Psalms or other Scripture, praying for one another, meditation, memorization, or other spiritual disciplines. Some are taught to answer the question, “What is Jesus saying to me?”, but rarely do church leaders ask themselves the question: “What is Jesus teaching us?”
Discerning His Will
What has Jesus asked you to do?
To simply know Jesus, however, is not enough. Knowing him leads to understanding and discerning his will (what he wants us to do or to be) including the invitation to not do anything, but simply to rest and listen.
Paul reminds us in Ephesians not to be “foolish, but to understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph 5:17).” He prays for the Colossians that God would “fill you [them] with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives (Col 1:9).” Jesus prayed, “not my will, but thine be done,” when he was in the garden the night before he died. He taught his disciples to pray that the Father’s “will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
The Bible is full of stories of people who did what God told them to do, as well as many who did not do what they were told and the consequences. The “hall of faith” in Chapter 11 of Hebrews is about people whose faith grew because they listened and acted on what they were told. The book of Acts tells story after story of acts of obedience to the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7).
Discernment involves quieting ourselves and listening so we can submit our will to his, just as Jesus submitted his will to the Father. When we do that, we take the first step towards hearing what he wants us to do. We may think of the word “desolation” as our emotional response to the voice of the Spirit telling us not to do something, or “convicting” us when we have done something we ought not to have done. The same Spirit can speak to us about what we should do, giving us a sense of “consolation” when we obey.
The will of God includes the “general” will of God, such as loving one’s neighbor, keeping the moral law, etc., and also includes the “specific” will of God, which can be described as the specific nudges of the Holy Spirit to do something unique. The general will of God tells me to love my neighbor; the specific will of God might be, “Call up Mary,” “Forgive Jim who offended you last week,” “Join a political party, “Seek a senior post at work,” or “Adopt a child.” Specific obedience is uniquely designed for each person or group.
When households and the community of faith intentionally create space to listen in order to discern the will of God together, then the body begins to function as the powerful entity that God created to carry out his will in a broken and dying world.
The book, Pursuing God’s Will Together, by Ruth Haley Barton, is a resource for any group to learn to discern God’s will in order to accomplish his work together in the world.
In the process of discernment, we become better listeners to Jesus.
In the “traditional church” paradigm, decisions are made by majority vote in which 51% or more of votes is assumed to be the will of God, or by consensus in which often the most aggressive voices prevail. During leadership team meetings or board meetings, the only reference to Jesus is often with prayers to bookend the meeting, rarely stopping to ask Jesus what he thinks about anything. Similarly, scant attention is given to teaching households how to discern the will of God together. Fortunately, more leadership teams are learning how to discern God’s will together listening to the Holy Spirit and letting Jesus lead.
Obeying Jesus
Have you done what you were told?
To know what Jesus wants us to do does not lead to transformation unless we do what he says. Obedience is required; action is necessary to demonstrate our willingness to follow him as his disciples. As Dallas Willard says, through our obedience, God extends his Kingdom into the spheres of influence he has given us.
When we first say “yes” to Jesus’ invitation to follow him, we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Repenting of our known sins and turning towards willing obedience characterize these initial steps.
Luke 12 records the story of Jesus’ mother and brothers who traveled from Nazareth to Capernaum to try and stop Jesus from carrying out his ministry. They thought he had lost his mind. When someone told him they were outside, wanting to talk to him, he pointed to his disciples and said, “Everyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my mother and brother and sister.” Without obedience to the will of Jesus we are not disciples, and we do not experience spiritual transformation.
Earlier in Luke 6 Jesus challenges those listening to him and says, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?” Or a similar teaching in Matthew 7, “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
In Matthew 13, the disciples ask Jesus why he is using parables, and he responds by referring six times to sight, hearing, and heart understanding. The key verse appears to be, “Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.” Without obedience, we grow blind, deaf, and hard of heart. With obedience, we gain clearer vision, better hearing, and softness of heart. We move toward one or the other, on a daily basis.
When a household or the community of faith exercises obedience together, they experience the power of God flowing through them to carry out his will in the world (Eph 1 & 2). The body of Christ carries out the will of the Father under the headship of Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit—extending the Kingdom of God.
When we obey what we are told, we grow as followers of Jesus.
In the “traditional church” paradigm, people are rarely held accountable for obeying. Obedience is effectively reduced to one rule: attend a Sunday morning program and listen to the sermon. Even if a sermon has a great application at the end, rarely does anyone ask the following week if anyone has done what was recommended. Emphasis is often on affirming the correct doctrine rather than on obedience.
