Preaching is Not Discipling
The sermon is the Swiss Army Knife of ministry. We think it can do anything. It should cast vision, inspire, rebuke, inform, encourage, educate, administrate, highlight upcoming events, challenge, etc etc etc. We believe the sermon can do more than it can actually do. The sermon cannot disciple people. Jesus never preached a sermon and […]
What is one of the BIG things holding back churches from discipling?
Leadership focused on pain avoidance, operating out of fear. What would happen if you found out pain avoidance was a myth? Would that give you freedom to launch out into new arenas? I am not talking about other people. I am talking about myself. Give me five minutes…
Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray By His Example
Jesus is our teacher. We follow his curriculum. We do that by studying the gospels to learn to follow Jesus from Jesus himself. When we do that we see that prayer was an extremely important part of their (and our) walk. As with most things Jesus taught on prayer in two main ways: his example […]
Aslan is on the Move – A Discipleship Movement Has Already Begun in Churches of Christ
Please read this whole post, consider it, and share it if you think that is helpful. I never ask for that but by the end of the post I think you will see why this post is different. People don’t start movements. God starts movements. When it seems people start movements, it is really them […]
Discipleship: Where Do I Even Start? Two Things to Quick Start the Process
We have laid a good foundation in the last few dozen posts. Let’s get absurdly practical. Find someone this week and ask them to coffee. Before you meet, each of you read Matthew 13:1-23 (the parable of the sower). Pray over it on your own and do your best to understand what you think it […]
Explaining The Discipleship Vision and Where We are Headed
As with anything all this discipleship emphasize has vision that is being clarified over time. I want to explain the main building blocks and their purposes as well as the process that has happened to get things where they are right now. It is time to let you know what is going on and offer […]
Discipleship: Paul, Jesus, or Someone Else?
Churches of Christ have been notoriously interested in Paul. I think a lot of this has to do with Paul’s dealing with church matters and we often found ourselves in conversations with other groups on how to do church right. Jesus didn’t really seem as interested in that in his ministry, the church hadn’t been […]
Who Was the Great Commission Given to? The Big Excuse that is Hindering Our Growth
There are so many times people ignore the original context to their detriment. In the case of the Great Commission, some focus in on the original context in order to get out of the instruction. When Jesus said “Go and make disciples” he said that to the 11. Some say that was just for them, […]
The Minister’s Discipleship Dilemma: Four Things Holding Us Back
I have known for years that I needed to emphasize discipleship but a few things held me back. I know I cannot be alone in this. Maybe you can relate. Here are some factors that are keeping us (me at least) from doing more discipling. 1 – We weren’t discipledMost of us didn’t grow up […]
Living Your Life For the Purpose God Created For You
Suppose you buy a boat. You tow it to your house and park it in your driveway. There is sits day after day. It is on its trailer. Gassed up, ready to go. Week after week it sits. From time to time you get up in the boat, sit in in and enjoy the view. […]