Fresh, Practical Training I pray that you have seen lives changed, leaders developed, new people reached, unsaved introduced to Jesus, and new discipling relationships begun through your church this year. As you plan for the start of another year of discipleship, I am sure you recognize the value of training…
Disciples come in all shapes and sizes. Some disciples are brand new Christians. Others have been walking with Jesus for years. Some have grown spiritually very little. Others desire to grow more in a specific area, such as prayer or scripture memorization. Some have had encouragers and disciplers while others…
The majority of Christians and even pastors have never been discipled by anyone. Satan uses that fact to discourage disciple-making. We develop a Moses complex. When we have never been discipled, we believe we cannot speak, lead, or be used to disciple others. Stop believing the lie. Just do it!…
People today are busy: leaders and disciples. Commitments can often be shallow and fleeting. On the other hand, disciple-making is best done through the context of consistent relationships and discipline. Knowing those realities, how can we encourage faithfulness in our disciple-making meetings (even our own)? One of the most important…
I recently read an article by Real Life Ministries entitled 12 Simple Small Group Guidelines You Should Be Using. These guidelines were developed to “give your small group boundaries to operate with” and to “create an environment that is safe for transparency, vulnerability, and growing closer in relationship with each…
Accountability is part of many disciple-making relationships. Too often people dread and avoid accountability. Accountability, however, does not have to be negative. It can be encouraging and postive. Instead of focusing on “if you failed,” the focus can be on “how you took a step forward.” Consider these questions which…
In scanning through a book by Andrew Davis, Revitalize: Biblical Keys to Helping Your Church Come Alive Again, I was reminded of the two journeys of disciple-making: The work of disciple-making is taught in the New Testament in the language of two journeys: the internal journey of growth into full…
In life, humans seem to struggle with the middle of the pendulum swing. What I mean is that we tend to lean toward the left or right extreme of the pendulum swing. Too often balance is delicate and fleeting. Like faith and works (see James), head knowledge and behavior are…
There are many questions being asked by potential disciple-makers. Sadly, the lack of answers to these questions have produced much indecisiveness and immobility. Too often the result is no start and no disciple-making. How do we break through this potential roadblock? Prayerful decisiveness and activity. In the case of the…
Is your discipleship group stuck? Does there seem to be an anchor in leading participants in your group toward greater maturity? The question came to me when reading a blog post by my friend, David Francis, entitled Three Levels of Community in Groups. Is it possible that the level of…
Take a journey with simple but transformational steps and make a revolutionary change in your Sunday School preparation and presentation.