Transformational Discipleship

Research Study
Presentation to
Southern Baptist Research Fellowship
September 21, 2012
Research-Driven Process
1. Discovery -- Expert interviews
2. Question revision and development
3. Survey of Protestant pastors
4. Survey Testing among Protestant laity
5. Scales
6. Assessment Tool Development
Expert Interviews
• Jerry Acosta—evangelism coordinator with the
Venezuelan National Baptist Convention
• Francisco Aular—pastor in Canada and
founder of the Latin American Baptist
Discipleship Movement
• Henry Blackaby—president of Blackaby
Ministries and author of Experiencing God
• Luis “Gary” Cesar—senior pastor of First
Baptist Church Satelite Mexico
Expert Interviews
• Marigene Chamberlain—professor at Samford
University and former member of General
Board of Discipleship, The United Methodist
Church
• Neil Cole—founder and director of Church
Multiplication Associates
• Robert Coleman—author of Master Plan of
Discipleship
• Hector Hugo Arias Contreras—leader at the
Chilean Baptist Convention
Expert Interviews
• Earl Creps—professor of leadership and
spiritual renewal at Assemblies of God
Theological Seminary and author of Off-Road
Disciplines
• Edgard Castano Diaz—senior pastor of Central
Baptist Church, Bogota, Columbia, and former
president of the Colombian Evangelical
Council
• Jon Ferguson—teaching pastor, Community
Christian Church
Expert Interviews
• Angel Mena Garcia—pastor and
denominational leader with the Assemblies of
God in Panama
• Alton Garrision—assistant general
superintendent, Assemblies of God
• Billie Hanks—founder of Operation
Multiplication
• Alan Hirsch—founder of Forge
• T. W. Hunt—author of The Mind of Christ and
The Doctrine of Prayer
Expert Interviews
• Mary Kassian—professor at The Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary and author of In
My Father’s House
• Larry Lee—executive secretary of Youth and
Leadership Development of National
Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia
• Aubrey Malphurs—founder of The Malphurs
Group, professor at Dallas Theological
Seminary, and author of Advanced Strategic
Planning and Strategic Disciple Making
Expert Interviews
• Robertson McQuilkin—president emirtus of
Columbia International University
• Jaime Riquelme Miranda—pastor and leader
of the Chilean Ministers Alliance
• Alexander Montero—director of Venezuelan
National Baptist Convention
• Steve Murrell—founding pastor of Victory
Fellowship, Manila
• Waldemar Morales Roca—director of
Guatemala Baptist Seminary
Expert Interviews
• Leonard Sweet—professor at Drew University,
author of The Gospel According to Starbucks
• Natan Velazquez—pastor of Emmanuel Baptist
Church, Caracas, Venezuela
• Victor Villanueva—leader at the Mexico National
Baptist Convention and professor at Yucatan
Autonomous University
• Don Whitney—professor of biblical spirituality at
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
author: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
Expert Interviews
Interview objectives:
• Identify critical descriptors of spiritual
maturity
• Identify new discipleship trends
• Identify best practices and effective methods
in discipleship
• Identify challenges to discipleship
• Identify missing elements in the Spiritual
Formation Inventory
History of Instrument
Brad Waggoner Dissertation
MasterLife
2007 national study 2,500 U.S. Laity
• Shape of Faith to Come
• Spiritual Formation Inventory

2011 study 4,000 North American Laity

• Transformational Discipleship
Assessment
Protestant Pastor Survey

1. Random sample of Protestant churches in the

U.S.
2. Telephone survey of 1000 senior pastors
3. Evaluation and description of discipleship at
their church
 9 out of 10 pastors
believe their congregation is making significant
progress in spiritual development

"The danger is that church leaders may assume

progress based on what they want to happen
rather than what is actually taking place.”
~Scott McConnell
Protestant Pastor Survey
 Stages of Research

Survey
Discovery Questions
Testing

Scales TDA Tool

Laity Survey
• A representative sample of American adults
who attend a Protestant church once a month
or more was surveyed
• Quotas and slight weights used for:
– Gender
– Race
– Age
– Region
– Income
– Denominational Category
Laity Survey
• A demographically balanced online panel was
used for the interviewing
• Respondents could respond in English,
Spanish, or French
• The U.S. sample of 2,930 provides 95 percent
confidence that the sampling error does not
exceed +1.8 percent . Margins of error are
higher in sub-groups
 Stages of Research

Survey
Discovery Questions
Testing

Scales TDA Tool

Scales

• How do we know we found what we are

looking for?
• Scales: groups of questions with the same
underlying pattern of responses
– Correlation analysis – cannot use if too highly
correlated
– Factor analysis groups questions based on the
pattern of responses
– Cronbach Alpha test for reliability
Scales

• Reliability – consistently tests over and over

again
• Validity – it tests what we say it is testing
• Previous instrument had 7 Scales plus
doctrine
• The Transformational Discipleship
Assessment has 8 Scales
Scales

• Easier to interpret than a bunch of individual

questions
• The grouping of questions is not subjective – it
is a real pattern of responses
• Scale is made up of 3 or more questions – the
TDA scales have 6 or more questions
8
Attributes of Discipleship
1. Bible Engagement
2. Obeying God and Denying Self
3. Serving God and Others
4. Sharing Christ
5. Exercising Faith
6. Seeking God
7. Building Relationships
8. Unashamed (Transparency)

Plus doctrinal beliefs

• 67 questions that in 9 scales plus additional
descriptors
• Questions for each attribute of discipleship
address and individual’s:
– Beliefs
– Desires
– Actions
Bible Engagement
Measures individuals’ growth and maturity in
engaging the Bible...
allowing God, through His Word, to lead and change
an individual’s life

This includes individuals’ beliefs, desires, and actions in this area.

 Bible Engagement
•“While the majority of churchgoers desire to honor
Christ with their lives and even profess to think on
biblical truths, a recent study found few actually
engage in personal reading and study of the
Scriptures.”

Study: Bible Engagement in Churchgoers' Hearts, Not Always Practiced, September 6, 2012
 “Bible engagement…
has an impact in just about every area of spiritual
growth.

You can follow Christ and see Christianity as your

source of truth, but if that truth does not permeate
your thoughts, aspirations and actions, you are not
fully engaging the truth.

Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research.

6 positive impacts on Bible Engagement
Regression Analysis revealed predictors of higher Bible
Engagement scores:
1.Confessing wrongdoings to God and asking
forgiveness.
2.Believing in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven
and the number of years one has believed this.
3.Making a decision to obey or follow God with an
awareness that choosing to do so might be costly.
4.Praying for the spiritual status of people they know
are not professing Christians.
5.Reading a book about increasing their spiritual
growth.
6.Having been discipled or mentored one-on-one by a
http://tda.lifeway.com/marketing/page/19
Sharing Christ
• Measures individuals’ growth and maturity in
Telling others about Jesus
Praying for the lost

This includes individuals’ beliefs, desires, and actions in this area.

 Stages of Research

Survey
Discovery Questions
Testing

Scales CPCA Tool

Sometimes spiritual maturity is easy to spot
But effective discipleship requires a more
thorough assessment

Transformational Discipleship Assessment

• Helps determine the spiritual maturity of your
group or congregation
• Reveals personal strengths and weaknesses to
each individual
 8 Attributes of Discipleship
1. Bible Engagement
2. Obeying God and Denying Self
3. Serving God and Others
4. Sharing Christ
5. Exercising Faith
6. Seeking God
7. Building Relationships
8. Unashamed (Transparency)
 Research Based
• Statistically validated – you can trust the
results
• Measures specific attributes of discipleship
• Immediate feedback with results
• Provides next steps for individuals and groups
• Addresses the big picture for the group but
helps individual see immediate needs
Helps leaders know where to focus in…

• Sermon preparation
• Curriculum selection
• Directional focus for the church
• One-on-one discipleship
• Planning church-wide events to mobilize
service, outreach, or ministry
Reports – Overview of scores
Reports – Explanation of attribute
Reports – Suggested next steps
Group Detailed Report -- Sample
Assessment Tools
Transformational Discipleship
Research Study
Presentation to
Southern Baptist Research Fellowship
September 21, 2012