I was reminded about the value of these six discipleship practice in an article entitled The D-Life Process. I encourage you to read the entire article. Here I want to share the six practices and then comment on each. Fellowship. Community and relationships are essential for discipleship. Even self-discipleship cannot…
I recently met with a church that was having consistent baptisms but not experiencing net growth. They asked me to help them plan some strategies that would keep those they reached. About the same time I read Tom Rainer’s blog on “closing the back door.” How does a church keep…
You may have read this study by Barna, but I think it is worth examining again as we try to reverse the tide of the declining effectiveness of our churches on the culture. We’ve looked at three trends now the fourth. 4. Among Christians, interest in participating in community action…
Eleven Suggestions for 2011: Read the Bible consistently. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” We need to experience God’s love and faithfulness to us every morning. Set aside at…
Recently, Leadership Journal printed again the eight criteria for church health from Natural Church Development. Each of these eight components can serve as an MRI to look underneath the surface of your church and evaluate the true health. Look at these and see if you have balance. Where are you…
Long before churches and corporations were creating vision or mission statements, Jesus gave the church His mission statement in Matthew 28:16-20. We are on mission to make disciples. God called a people out to Himself that he would use to bring lost people to Himself. 1 Peter 2:9, “But you…
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.
