Apprenticeship

November 27, 2012

“He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you..”  (Matthew 4:19)

In the seventies I attended a meeting where the business executives of a large city asked the vice president of a large shipyard to explain why his shipyard was continuously given the contracts to build large aircraft carriers.  They had just been awarded a contract to build a large carrier and the next highest bidder was $38 million above them.

He said that he could answer their question with one word: apprenticeship.  He explained that a student in a university absorbs information for many weeks and then is asked to show that they remember and understand that information.  After doing that for four years they are given a degree and we declare them educated.  But unless they specialize in something that equips them for a specific job they are often educated people who can’t do anything.  In the shipyard, however, they put a person in the classroom for two weeks and in the shipyard for two weeks and after doing that for five years they build aircraft carriers.

I believe it is helpful to define what we mean when we call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ. A synonym for the word disciple is “apprentice.” A disciple is an apprentice who is learning what they are doing and doing what they are learning.  Apprenticeship and discipleship are essentially the same concept.

To paraphrase and summarize, Jesus offers a covenant contract to those who profess to believe in Him.  That contract has two parts.  He promised, “You follow Me.  That is your part.  I will make you.  That is My part.  You follow Me.  That is your responsibility.  And I will make you.  That is My responsibility.”

3 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward

Apprenticeship

February 3, 2012

“If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (John 7:17)

The Apostle John records the claim of Jesus that His teaching is not merely the teaching of another Rabbi coming down the pike.  His teaching is the teaching of God.  If we want to prove that, we must choose to do what He is teaching.  When we do it we will know it. The doing leads to the knowing according to Jesus.  The intellectually sophisticated person usually claims: “When I know it I will do it.”  Jesus told us when we do it we will know it.

That profiles what we call “discipleship” and “apprenticeship.”  These two words are actually synonymous.  A disciple is literally “a learner who is doing what they’re learning and learning what they’re doing.”

I once heard the vice president of a large shipyard explain to the business community of Norfolk, Virginia how they had just been given another contract to build yet another large aircraft carrier.  He said he could answer their question in one word: “apprenticeship.”

He explained that a college student takes in huge amounts of information and then regurgitates that information periodically.  After doing that for four years they are given a piece of paper that says they’re an educated person.  But often they cannot actually do anything.  He explained that at the shipyard they put a person in the classroom for two weeks and in the shipyard for two weeks.  After five years the graduates of their apprenticeship school build large aircraft carriers.

Have you been apprenticed in your journey of faith?  Are you apprenticing others in their faith journey?

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward