shepherding | EXPEDITION 44

When you harmonize the gospels, you likely come to the conclusion that Jesus called the disciples 3x. The last time He gets very specific and asks them to leave everything on the beach, don’t look back, stay with Me completely and “walk” completely with Me. In our modern Western world this first century calling to discipleship seems almost impossible. I have spent my whole life challenging myself and other people to this level of discipleship, and I am just about convinced that in modern America people just aren’t willing. I have found one exception… seminary training. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with all seminary experiences but at The King’s Commission (TKC) we believe that this is the closest pathway to what first century discipleship under Jesus would have looked like. Study daily, be mentored, read, listen, discuss, dive deep into a community that is likeminded to experience the full breadth (completeness) of Jesus and the Church.

What a time it must have been, when Jesus shared his words and heart with his disciples (students) for the three years of his earthly ministry! They saw his compassionate healings, marveled at his miraculous power, listened to his word, saw his glory (Matt. 17:1-13), were humbled by his servant-leadership (Matt. 20:25-28, John 13:1-20). We believe you can still experience that same feeling with Jesus through TKC.

Seminary is something similar to those three years with Jesus. In many ways, of course, it is different. Jesus didn’t need to teach his disciples how to read Hebrew and Greek. He didn’t need to teach them post-canonical church history, because at the time there wasn’t any. And although he didn’t give letter grades, he regularly evaluated their progress. TKC has sought to stay as true to this dynamic model as possible.

Discipleship is about commitment, not to a program or a pattern but to the person of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps one of the Western world modern challenges we face is to see seminary throughout the context of discipleship rather than simply education. Seminary is more than academic training; it is a spiritual journey. The Latin “seminarium” or “seedbed”—captures the deeper purpose: cultivating hearts that bear spiritual fruit. Seminary, properly pursued, fosters a “taproot” in believers—vertical depth before horizontal spread—so lives become steadier, more rooted, and more fruit-bearing.

A testimony from one of the students that Dr. Ryan has discipled and now is regularly involved with in local church ministry, Paul Lazzaroni:

My own seminary experience (Paul) shifted my perspective. The draw to a deeper understanding of the scriptures came simply from a hunger to know Christ more. After a previous failed attempt at a well-known Bible College, 7 years later I was invited to apply at seminary. It wasn’t until I handed in some of my first course work that my understanding of seminary began to shift from simply retaining information to spiritual transformation. My advisor challenged me not just to retain facts but to articulate why I believed what I believed. That invitation to integrate intellect and devotion opened a deeper adoration for Christ. Many Western educational systems emphasize information retention; seminary (like Hebraic Torah study) invites transformation, not mere accumulation of facts.

For me, this wasn’t just a different way of seeing education, this was a journey down a path that the early disciples took with Jesus.

Hebraic culture treated study as a spiritual discipline linked to life and covenant faithfulness. Torah study functioned as devotion and formation, shaping how people lived before the LORD. From Eden through Sinai to Jesus, Scripture consistently calls for faithful allegiance expressed in obedience and transformed hearts. The word seminary itself is not nearly as old as the scriptures, but the heart behind the journey through seminary ties directly into the first and greatest commandment of Jesus “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Mat 22:37

The word seminary (seminarium) means “seed bed”. Even our word semen finds its origins here. Semen without an egg to fertilize is a source of life that is seeking a host. Humankind is designed to replicate the source of life that heals, that restores, and that multiplies that which gives life, but the spirit of God needs a seed bed and Jesus himself consistently goes back to talking about the heart of the matter as though this is the seed bed of the human being.

Paul’s example in the New Testament reinforces this same type of spiritual journey. Despite his rigorous education as Saul, his encounter with Christ began a multi-year (14) process of spiritual formation (Acts 9; Galatians 1). Conversion was a beginning that required unlearning, relearning, and sustained growth. Seminary can be that structured season of deepening, where encounter and study mature into faithful living.

Over centuries, what ought to be a life-changing journey of spiritual study has sometimes become a path to prestige, income, or institutional advancement. From the establishment of the early church, there has been a slow evolution away from this type of devotion towards educational advancement. In the 15^th and 16^thcentury, the church experienced a large pivot deeper into the intellectual moving further away from the spiritual journey. This pivot began with a bold, spirit led move by Martin Luther to stand up against the hierarchical system that the Catholic Church had established, however much of what we still experience today is a war of the minds. The downfall of humanity began when we attempted to reason through all the things of life without the spirit of God. In doing so, we give up is the divine journey with Jesus himself as the teacher. When theological training serves personal gain rather than formation, the church loses its capacity to cultivate compassionate, faithful leaders—gardeners rather than dictators. Seminary must resist reducing theology to a résumé item; it should invite humility, compassion, and a lifelong devotion to learning and obedience.

For those of us who have had simply one encounter with Jesus, we know that it was a profound spiritual moment. My prayer would be that there was a flame that was lit. If you have yet to do so, seek out the fan that ignites that flame. Over the centuries, what was meant to be the most incredible journey of our lives by means of study, has transformed into hierarchical astuteness for the advancement of primarily worldly pursuits. This transformation of higher education has led to the creation of many learning systems that operate without spiritual context and in my opinion simultaneously void the presence and power of the spirit of God.

If seminary is understood as a seedbed for spiritual formation, it belongs to any disciple who wants to deepen devotion, understanding, and faithful practice—not only to those who pursue clerical office. It equips Christians to study Scripture faithfully (hermeneutics and exegesis), to integrate head and heart, and to live a long-haul obedience that reflects covenant faithfulness. This is the direct invitation from Jesus, the ancient of days, the word become flesh, the author and perfecter of life. Let us not waste our eternal invitation to follow in the dust of him. I pray the path of Yahweh draws many into this kind of lifelong study and devotion.

Written by Dr. Will Ryan and Paul Lazzaroni

How the church creates a treadmill that exhausts disciples instead of shepherding in peace

There’s a certain kind of Christian exhaustion that doesn’t come from the world, It comes from the church. Maybe you have experienced this. I have been a part of several church plants. The first one was in a local HS and was “church out of a truck.” It took 3 hours to setup and a couple hours to break down. It stole our best energy that should have been used for shepherding. I vowed to never do that again. Or maybe you started attending a church and wondered “what is next?” or tasked the staff “how do I get to know people deeper here?” and were answered with something to the shape of, “start serving!” At times the kingdom does require tribulation, toil, and simply work; but it shouldn’t send mixed messages with the primary pursuit of the church to shepherd.

I call it the church hustle.

It’s what happens when discipleship becomes a to-do list. When spiritual growth gets measured by the offering plate, perfect attendance, your service record, or how many books you’ve read or podcasts you have listened to and reported back to your pastor this year. Barna says this is the number one reason people don’t trust churches.¹

It’s the creeping pressure that says: If I just try harder, God will finally be pleased with me.

have you experienced this feeling? A subtle uncertainty that your church wants more of your assets when you are just hoping to be shepherded? We rarely say it that plainly. But we’ve felt it.
The unspoken message: You’re not quite there yet… but maybe if you pray more, serve more, repent better, or climb the next ladder, you’ll get there. Is that the message the church is sending?

Spiritual Capitalism in Disguise

Richard Rohr (you might remember him from our liminal spaces post) recently named this dynamic with piercing clarity. He calls it “spiritual capitalism”, the belief that we can somehow earn our way to spiritual success.² Spiritual Capitalism has shaped American churches, political movements, and personal financial strategies. It views free-market capitalism as divinely sanctioned and tells people that if they work hard, give enough, and believe enough, wealth and deeper spiritual alignment will follow.³

This kind of thinking is far from the texture of shepherding in the Bible. It creates a theology of pressure. A treadmill masked as discipleship and will burn out our body dynamics with things that have very little kingdom methodology.

How the Hustle Gets Into Us

We’ve spiritualized the very mindset Jesus came to free us from.⁴ We say we believe in grace, but we measure ourselves by performance. We don’t view grace as a reciprocal unending gift to be accepted and returned in the way we live out the love of Jesus. We talk about love, but we form people through fear.
We preach mercy, but we disciple for control.

Have you experienced this, pressure confused with passion, and metrics confused with maturity. I’ve seen people carry deep shame for not living up to standards God never asked them to meet and it is devastating to people’s spiritual identity and the mission of the church.

And even now, in a much healthier rhythm, I still catch myself slipping into hustle-mode, believing that if I don’t produce enough, lead well enough, or fix everything around me, I’m somehow less worthy.

This isn’t the way of Jesus.

NOTE: There is of course a need to live out Jesus in your gifts and that includes serving in a church context. We need that and we need it in a better context for shepherding and discipleship.

Jesus Didn’t Hustle

The life of Christ was many things, urgent at times, disruptive often. but never frenzied.⁵ He lived in a sacred sense of shalom. Never performative. Jesus didn’t hustle His way to holiness.⁶ He moved at the speed of Love.

When He invites us to “take my yoke upon you… and you will find rest for your souls,” He isn’t calling us to a hustle. He’s offering us a different kind of shepherding, one marked by humility, mercy, and presence. Follow this link for more on that kind of leading.

But so many churches, while preaching grace, disciple people in fear.

We build cultures where burnout is seen as faithfulness.
We equate spiritual growth with spiritual productivity.
We tell people God loves them… and then hand them a list to prove it.

No wonder people are walking away.

The Myth of Perfection

Rohr also names the damage done by misreading Matthew 5:48: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” We turned that into a mandate for moral flawlessness instead of what it really is: a call to boundless love.⁷

Perfection, in Jesus’ language, isn’t about never messing up.
It’s about expanding love beyond what seems reasonable, even to enemies.
It’s about letting God’s perfection flow through us, not manufacturing it ourselves.⁸

But we turned it into a weight. And people carried it until they broke.

I don’t preach alot but here is a sermon on a better view of perfection.

Grace is the Exit Ramp

If you’ve been hustling, hear me clearly:
You can stop.

You don’t have to climb your way into God’s love.
You don’t have to earn your way into grace.
You don’t have to be perfect to be held.

The church doesn’t need more hustlers.
It needs more people who are learning to rest in grace and be formed by love.

You can step off the treadmill.
You can fall into mercy.
You can breathe again.⁹

What Formation Could Be

Spiritual formation isn’t about spiritual accomplishment. It’s not about reaching a higher rung. It’s about becoming more open, more surrendered, more grounded in your belovedness. More transparent before God and those you are in covenant with.¹⁰

It looks like…

Slowing down enough to hear the voice of Love again.
Releasing shame-based religion for grace-centered transformation.
Letting prayer become presence, not performance.
Trusting that you are loved, not because you got it right, but because you belong to a God who is endlessly merciful.

Reflection Questions

Where have you felt pressure to perform spiritually?
How has the church hustle shaped your view of God, or yourself?
What would it look like to embrace a formation rooted in grace, not effort?
Where might Jesus be saying, “You can stop striving… and come rest”?

If you’ve been caught in the hustle, you’re not alone. And you’re not a failure. You’re tired. And grace is calling. Come down from the ladder. There’s nothing to prove. There’s only Love, waiting to catch you.

This Article was written by Dr. Will Ryan and Paul Dazet.