Thanks for all the many great responses to the question in my previous post. Really good stuff.

Here is my first pass at it. I’m thinking out loud here so don’t hold me to these in a gunfight.

My thought process here is that ultimately a church’s “programming” should be designed to facilitate these outcomes.

I think followers of Jesus, living in a pluralist culture such as Austin, should “know” the following:

1. Know how to connect with God in a way that suits their personality and temperament. Know how to connect with God in a manner that reflects who God created them to be while at the same time providing others the room and opportunity to do the same.
2. Know the Biblical story well enough to be able to explain how they fit into it, as well as being able to invite others to become a part of it.
3. Know their personal calling/vocation (How their gifts, talents, passions, and experiences intersect with the needs of the world).
4. Know how to connect with their neighbors. (Emotional Intelligence)
5. Know the basics of the major world religions and how they’re similar to and different from Christianity.
6. Know how to make a personal sacrifice for the the good of others.
7. Know themselves well enough to be honest about their strengths, weaknesses, struggles, and brokenness.

What do you think? What makes sense? What doesn’t seem to belong? What have I left out?

In my last post I made it clear that I don’t really care whether our new church will be labeled “missional” or “attractional” as long as we’re making disciples. This begs the question: what does it mean to make disciples?

If we’re going to judge the success or failure of a church based upon the number and quality of the disciples it makes, we had better be clear about what a disciple of Christ looks like. Otherwise, how can we know if we’re effectively making disciples or not? My guess is that more churches talk about making disciples than can actually describe the kind of disciples they’re hoping to make.

So, what are the non-negotiable, necessary characteristics, traits, and  habits of a Christ-follower in today’s culture?

Please include only the top five to seven characteristics in your answer.

This should be good.