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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Daily Discipleship?
Daily Discipleship is an online lectionary Bible study produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Each session is available to be downloaded at no cost and copied for participants. This Bible study is designed for small groups, large groups, personal devotions, and sermon preparation.

If Daily Discipleship is used by a group, there is no official leader who prepares or presents a lesson.  Leadership is shared among the group.  Questions are included in each lesson.  Participants are welcome to prepare for the discussion, but it is assumed most participants will not have read the lesson. The only advance preparation is for someone to download and copy the weekly lesson.  (It is helpful if each participant has a copy.)

What is the format?

Each two-page session includes:

            word of life: biblical background for Sunday’s Gospel text
          word among us: a connection of the biblical theme with daily life
          last word: a suggestion for applying a faith practice in the coming week.

What are the objectives?
The objectives of Daily Discipleship are:
• To discover more about being a disciple of Jesus Christ
• To connect the Word of God with daily life experiences
• To explore ways to deepen faith practices in everyday living

What are Daily Discipleship Groups?
Daily Discipleship Groups of two to seven individuals gather in a variety of places and at diverse times to explore the next Sunday’s Gospel lesson. Or some Daily Discipleship Groups choose to meet after hearing the sermon and ponder the gospel message. There is a fluid nature to Daily Discipleship Groups as some individuals may move from one group to another depending on work and family commitments. Flexibility is the key!

As Daily Discipleship Groups gather in neighborhoods, work places, and homes, the format lends itself to include those outside the church family or new to the faith. Intentional efforts might be made to invite non-church members to participate.

 

What are some examples for use?

• Early risers meet at 6:00 am at a local restaurant before heading to work.
• Parents gather mid-morning, after the children and youth leave for school.
• Co-workers find a quiet place during lunch for an intentional faith conversation.
• Families end their Wednesday supper with a look at Sunday’s Gospel, each member taking turns reading the questions.
• Spouses sit on the patio on Sunday nights exploring the next week’s text and their own expectations of the coming week.
• Young adults at college in different states weekly chat online at 2:00 am on the meaning of the gospel message.
• A “lectionary blog” is hosted for anyone to log on to share comments and insights about the lesson for the week.

What is the time commitment?
Each session is designed for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Initially, Daily Discipleship Groups might decide to covenant to meet weekly for 6 weeks for 1-hour sessions. After that, the group might want to evaluate the covenant and make appropriate adjustments.

Where do we get the Daily Discipleship weekly session plans?
Download lessons plans from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Web site: www.elca.org/evangelizingchurch/dailydiscipleship. It is most helpful if each person has a copy of the session lesson plan. Each Daily Discipleship Group can decide how to provide the session lesson plan to the group. One person can bring multiply copies or each can take responsibility to bring his/her own copy. One option is to have copies at the church for participants to pick up on Sunday.

How can a congregation begin?
The Daily Discipleship Implementation Guide offers suggestions to help congregations launch Daily Discipleship Groups in local setting around the theme of discipleship. Although the term Daily Discipleship Group is used, other descriptive names might be used.  (for example, Faith Formation Groups, Connectors or others).

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