Discipleship journey versus discipleship program

Having lived all my life in the culture of Southern Baptists, I am more than adequately acquainted with discipleship programs. As a child, we called it BTU(Baptist Training Union). Then it became simply Training Union, then Church Training and more recently Discipleship Training. The framework for all of these was a "program" with an organized structure (i.e. organization). One of my seminary professors even went so far as to say we needed to kill "Church Training" as an organization but retain it as a ministry. The old approach was focused primarily on content over relationship, though there was an effort to build good habits like daily Bible reading into the student's life. We studied our "part" on the program and were to learn how to make a content presentation through that effort. I had my first "part" on the program when I was nine or ten years old. It was about "giving" and I memorized it, though my parents encouraged me to tell it.
When I got to college, our church group would study books like A Taste of New Wine by Keith Miller, Elizabeth O'Connor's Journey Inward, Journey Outward, or Elton Trueblood's Company of the Committed instead of a "quarterly." These groups obviously became more relational, but the effort lacked the personal accountabililty necessary for a genuine discipleship journey.
I was involved early on in the introduction of MasterLife. This effort built strong accountability into the process but was too rigid in the expectations for leaders and participants, that it seemed to lack flexibility. All of these efforts seemed to establish in the minds of the participants and desire to "get through" or "finish." The same mindset is prevalent in current study groups who move from one book to the newer latest book by a popular author.

What seems to be lacking in these approaches is the failure to see a lifelong discipleship journey that can be developed to meets the needs and desires of the current Christ-follower. While doing collegiate ministry, students were frequently asked by their peers in a particularly ministry, "Have you been discipled?" The concept was good, but the question implied that if you answered yes, you were where you needed to be. Also underlying this concept was a lack of appreciation of the above mentioned Christian education model of discipleship. And, it implied that is you hadn't been "discipled" in their process, you hadn't been "discipled." I know they all had a very good intention, but this is how they came across.

We seemed to then move to mentoring, coaching, and accountability groups. These approaches are much more fluid and allow for genuine contextualization of the process and the content. They also allow for the unique individuality of each person.

What I would really like to see is a process developed, first with people who are already engaged in ministry outside the walls of the church, to explore through study, prayer, and encouragement, the ways God is using their ministry experience to shape their lives into His image. Too often volunteers get "burned out" because they lack the nurture, the biblical foundations, and the encouragement they need to see their work as crucial Kingdom work. It won't come in the latest new book or study guide, although content is certainly needed. It will be relational and be like a support group, and it will provide a deepening journey for those involved.