If there is one thing that every good teacher knows, it is that a lecture is one of the worst ways to teach. The first problem is that the students are passive. They are not engaging with the material, but are mostly downloading information, little of which will be retained. The second is that because the process is mostly passive, it means that there is a small chance of actually transforming students so they apply and use the information. Studies back this up - lecture just isn’t a very good way to teach.
Now, let us translate this knowledge to evangelization and discipleship. Would a process that provides little useful or transformative information (and in a way were little is retained) be a good way to make disciples or raise up mature disciples of Jesus?
No.
So, we can easily see that lecture-based formations is one of the worst ways to form and mature disciples. Yet, so much of the activities that we do at the parish level is centered around passive downloading of information. Listen to a homily. Go to a class that is lecture-based. Go to a conference and watch speakers talk. Watch a video online. Listen to a podcast. Etc.
Now, with that being said, the lecture still has a place in our Church. We can’t just toss the homily (or ditch every good video). There are too many times we gather large numbers of people and so we can’t just get rid of all lectures. Still, we certainly need to make sure we are helping others actively engage with the content of what we are talking about by using varying methodologies.
Remember the model our Lord taught us. While he certainly taught the crowds, he didn’t stop there. When he really wanted to dive deep with someone and make sure that they were learning, growing, and having a chance to be transformed, what did he do? He took them aside and had a conversation with them. He asked tough questions. He had them wrestle with a challenge that he laid before them. He modeled what a holy life looked like. He showed them how to live, love, and be agents of grace for others. Jesus never settled for just passivity. We shouldn’t either.
Jesus also had a plan. He knew that he would suffer, die, rise again, and ascend into Heaven, leaving the Apostles to fulfill his missions. So, he made sure they were equipped spiritually, intellectually, and for mission. He knew them all intimately and personalized his formation for each of them. This kind of formation is life-on-life and was not done in a classroom. Rather, it was done in spending time with others.
This is the model that moves us beyond passive downloading of information (little of which transforms or is retained) and into a model that actively changes lives. Why would we think we could be great disciples of Jesus (or great disciple-makers) and not follow his model? For more on the model of Jesus, click here and here.