Harvard did a study of how their students learn most effectively: lectures or experientially. Here’s what they found….

“Deep learning is hard work. The effort involved in active learning can be misinterpreted as a sign of poor learning,” he said. “On the other hand, a superstar lecturer can explain things in such a way as to make students feel like they are learning more than they actually are.”

When the results were tallied, the authors found that students felt as if they learned more from the lectures, but in fact scored higher on tests following the active learning sessions. “Actual learning and feeling of learning were strongly anti-correlated.”

The problem with learning by experience is that it’s vulnerable. But it’s in that opening up that something can get in. Lecture-style learning is not vulnerable, you don’t have to open up, and nothing gets in.

Our church models globally are largely the same: concerts and lectures. They make us feel like we’re being transformed, but don’t require us to open up and risk. If we don’t open up, Sunday services stick to us like Post-it notes. We work so hard on better looking colors (the worship experience) and more profound writing on them (the sermons), yet they blow off in the next wind.

The more effective method of being a disciple (learner in Greek) is to obey what Jesus said and then debrief afterward.

My eldest son has a degree in Biblical Studies, and M.Div. and most of an MBA. He spends a lot of time with me, and his pastor who has two doctorates, written books and travels the world teaching. Last week he said to me, even with all that, the only way he really learns something is if he goes through it himself.

Fruitful disciplers understand this. One of my friends in Asia has trained over a thousand fruitful disciple makers. One of his methods goes like this: “Read a verse. Go do what it says. Come back and we’ll talk about it.” It’s a debrief style of discipleship. In DMM’s, they call it obedience-based discipleship.

Is there any other way?