In the next few blogs we are going to talk about Jesus’ Style of making disciples. The word disciple is found 267 times in the New Testament. The word Christian is found 3 times in the New Testament. The word disciple (mathetes) is translated literally as a “learner.” My simple…
Survey: Church, Ministers Not the Friendliest in Town Maybe you have seen the survey…Less than 18 percent of Americans say the church is the friendliest place in town. Whoa! Though the church is ranked second behind “my home,” which 35 percent of Americans listed, Group Publishing – which commissioned this…
What is the temperature in your church? Is it warm, cold, indifferent, just right? Do you need to reset the thermostat? 2 Cor. 13:12 says, “Greet one another warmly in the Lord.” Is their warmth in the greeting ministry of your church? Do people really feel welcomed and loved? Who…
Today there are more discipleship materials, books, DVD’s, resources, and strategies available than ever before. Some of these books help us see the state of discipleship in our culture; George Barna’s, Growing True Disciples and The Shape of Faith to Come by Brad Waggoner are two examples. Others are more…
My favorite Christmas gift this year was an iPod shuffle given to me by my son. Tiny in size yet it can store 500 plus songs. It is a great companion as I jog; take a long walk, or just working around the house. I have loaded several CD’s that…
Somewhere back in high school I heard someone say that everyone should claim a “life verse.” That means everyone should find a verse of Scripture that becomes the central theme of your life, a verse that you memorize and think about often as you face life day by day. For…
Christmas and discipleship. I know these two words don’t seem to fit, but just a few thoughts on this Christmas Eve 2009 at 12:07 AM. There are many folks that seem to get a little glimmer of faith during this season. They like the songs and the traditions and they…
Aubrey Malphurs lists ten major barriers that churches are facing as they strive to make disciples. This series of blogs examines these ten components. Here’s the list again: Lack of vision; Lack of outreach and passion; Congregations not willing to change; Lack of leadership-intentional leader training; Lack of prayer; Lack…
Aubrey Malphurs lists ten major barriers that churches are facing as they strive to make disciples. This series of blogs examines these ten components. Here’s the list again: Lack of vision; Lack of outreach and passion; Congregations not willing to change; Lack of leadership-intentional leader training; Lack of prayer; Lack…
Aubrey Malphurs lists ten major barriers that churches are facing as they strive to make disciples. This series of blogs examines these ten components. Here’s the list again: Lack of vision; Lack of outreach and passion; Congregations not willing to change; Lack of leadership-intentional leader training; Lack of prayer; Lack…
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.
In John 13:34-35, three times Jesus said, “Love one another.” Your group is the ideal place to practice and launch the kind of love for one another that shows the world that we are His disciples.