INFLUENCES
Streams we draw from.
GoodLion School of Discipleship is not trying to copy one model.
We are our own local work in Yukon / OKC, shaped by our students, our churches, our questions, and the doors God has opened. But we are also grateful for beautiful works of Christian formation that help us name what we are trying to build.
01
SECOND CENTURY · ROME
Justin Martyr’s School of Philosophers
Justin Martyr gathered seekers and students around Christian truth in a world crowded with competing philosophies.
From Justin, we borrow the conviction that Christian faith can be explored with intellectual seriousness, pastoral warmth, and public courage. Young adults today are also surrounded by rival visions of reality. They need a place where the gospel can be considered deeply, not reduced to slogans.
02
1935 · POMERANIA
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Finkenwalde Seminary
Bonhoeffer’s Finkenwalde seminary was a community of Scripture, prayer, shared life, and costly discipleship.
From Finkenwalde, we borrow the conviction that discipleship is embodied. Christian formation does not happen through lectures alone. It happens through life together under the lordship of Jesus.
03
1955 · SWITZERLAND
Francis Schaeffer’s L’Abri
L’Abri created space for hospitality, honest questions, meals, conversation, apologetics, and Christian community.
From L’Abri, we borrow the conviction that questions deserve patience. Many young adults need a room where they can bring their real questions without shame, while being invited toward Jesus with both truth and love.
04
also shaping us
Other streams.
- 01The teaching of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount
- 02The biblical story as a unified narrative that leads to Jesus
- 03The early Christian vision of discipleship as a whole way of life
- 04The rabbinical image of apprentice and teacher
- 05The local church as the normal home of Christian formation
- 06Pastoral ministry among young adults navigating a post-Christian world
- 07Visual biblical theology and accessible teaching resources
- 08Spiritual formation practices that help disciples become doers of the word
the simplest way to say it
GoodLion is shaped by Scripture, the historic Christian faith, the way of Jesus, and the conviction that young adults need deep formation in real community.