“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Col. 2:6-7 (NIV) As believers, our ultimate goal is to become like Christ. He is the bullseye.…
What is the most important spiritual discipline? What is the one thing that is paramount when it comes to maturing as a follower of Christ? I believe the Bible is the key. As a follower of Christ, I have discovered that my intimacy with Christ rises and falls in connection…
Is a person who teaches a Bible study class on Sunday morning a Sunday School Teacher or a Disciple Maker? I believe they are both! I commend men and women who faithfully teach the Bible every week in our churches. After preparation during the busy week, they share information from…
Dr. Chuck Lawless, Dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth as well as Director of Professional Doctoral Studies is a person I highly respect. He is thorough, consistent, relevant, and approachable. I have been privileged to have him speak in one of the churches where…
As a young pastor, I read several books that impacted my life and gave focus to my ministry. One particular book that impacted me the most was The Disciple-Making Pastor by Bill Hull. In his book, Hull challenges and encourages the pastor to adopt disciple making as his primary assignment…
Through the years, LifeWay Christian Resources has been on the leading edge in producing great discipleship materials. In addition to helpful materials, LifeWay developed several planning and assessment tools that provide help to discipleship programs of any size. I have copies of each of these tools and will provide them…
In my post, Top 5 Reasons to Disciple 1-2-1, I talked about several merits of 1-2-1 Discipleship. Here are 5 things to consider as you get started: Pray that God will lead you to the person He wants you to disciple. I cannot overemphasize the importance of prayer in this whole process,…
Many effective discipleship approaches exist, but one of the simplest, most rewarding methods is 1-2-1 Discipleship. This method is also called life-on-life or mentoring. Since my college days, I have personally utilized this method as one of the ways I have sought to obey Matthew 28:19. Here are five reasons everyone…
Jesus commissioned His followers to concentrate on making disciples, but what is a disciple? What does a disciple look like? Gary Tangeman defined a disciple as “one who has come to Jesus for eternal life, has claimed Jesus as Savior and God, and has embarked upon the life of following…
A few years back we had some good friends over for supper and we watched professional wrestling on TV. I am not a wrestling fan, but I am intrigued by one particular question, is it real or is it fake? At times it looks fairly real and at times it…
Two encounters are critical. First, the leader encounters God in His Word and is changed. Second, the leader guides the group to have a life-changing encounter.