Discipleship Archives - Page 9 of 28 - Replicate

Don’t Waste Your Time With 1-On-1 Discipleship

Don’t Waste Your Time with 1-on-1 Discipleship. Start a D-Group to Maximize your Investment Now that I have your attention, let me say that one-on-one discipleship is not a waste of time. However, there is a better way to invest your chronological clout. Anyone in business will tell you that the secret to success is working smarter, not just harder – because investing your time and resources in the right areas will yield the biggest returns. Solomon, King David’s son, was a financial genius: the Warren Buffett of his day. Twenty-five hundred years before Wall Street ever existed, he advocated the diversification of assets (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2). Wise people do not invest all of their funds in one stock for fear of losing their entire life savings, should the company collapse. Instead, good stewards invest in a variety of stocks, bonds, and commodities. The same can be said of your time. It’s precious. You only have so many hours each week to devote to discipleship, so invest in the right areas. After a decade of discipling, critiquing, evaluating, and implementing discipleship groups in various contexts and churches, I have identified 8 convincing reasons to start a D-group of 3 to 5 instead of one-on-one. Read More

A Discipleship Secret of the Magi That May Change Your Life

“We Three Kings of Orient Are bearing gifts we traverse afar. Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.” We’ve all sung this song hundreds of times at Christmas, but unfortunately it’s probably very inaccurate. For instance, we do know of wise men visiting Jesus as a child, but there were likely more than three of them. All that Matthew 2:1 tells us is that they were simply “wise men” [plural]. As for our placing them in our myriad manger scenes, that is probably highly unlikely as well. According to Matthew 2:11, upon arrival they “entered the house”, not a manger, and verse 16 details that Messiah may have been as old as two when they arrived. Read More

Our Top 5 Discipleship Posts of 2014

As we look to another great year of making disciples in 2015, we took a look back at 2014 and picked out our most popular posts. Did you miss any of them? I Thought I Had Developed Good Habits until I Found Out About This One… If you came up to me and said that you wanted to lose 50 pounds in 2015 because you found an advertisement for a “skinny pill” that would take it off in a week, I’d tell you that you should reconsider the time frame and the method by which you’ll use the weight. If you want to shave 50 pounds in 2015, you must start with modifications to your diet, workout, and sleep patterns, not simply look for the quick fix. If you desire better grades in school, you must devote time for study at night instead of wasting it on video games and Netflix. In fact, your future doesn’t change by dramatic turns later; it begins with incremental changes today. Minor adjustments today yield long-term dividends. The exact same is true with your spiritual life. You will not wake up tomorrow and be a perpetually-happy 4am riser. Read More

I Bet You Wouldn’t Be a Good Samaritan Either

One of the most well-known parables in the Bible is the account of the Good Samaritan. Jesus, in a response to the question “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” describes a situation in which a man has been robbed and left for dead on the side of the road. Two religious leaders of Israel - a Priest and a Levite - disregard the man on their journey to the Temple, but a Samaritan stopped, wrapped up his wounds, paid for a room, and nursed him back to health. Some have defended the religious leaders by suggesting their minds were simply attuned to the religious duties or spiritual matters of the temple, making it difficult to be distracted by someone in need. In the 1970’s, Darley and Batson attempted to recreate the Good Samaritan parable to determine if people would stop and help or walk by an injured man. The researchers had three hypotheses they tested for: Read More

You Shouldn't Download This if You Have the Discipleship Process Figured Out. If Not, Read On...

As we think back over this year of ministry at Brainerd Baptist Church, we see discipleship at the catalyst for growth, both spiritually and numerically. It has been the difference that has made the difference. Discipleship isn't A ministry of our church, it is THE ministry of our church. Read More

Starting a Group: Keeping in Touch

Read more posts in this series. A discipleship group… Read More

Important Replicate Ministries Update

The last few months have been a whirlwind. I have been busy finishing up two discipleship book projects. Firmly Planted All of the files for Firmly Planted: How to Cultivate a Faith Rooted in Christ have been submitted to Crossbooks. I am thankful for everyone who gave input on the back cover content. I decided to take ideas from both and combine it into one. I have attached the new back cover for you to look over before anyone else does. We will select the launch team this week, so be on the lookout for an email. Rediscovering Discipleship Also, I am waiting on Zondervan to return my manuscript of Rediscovering Discipleship after the first round of editing. The tentative launch date is September 2015. I cannot wait for this book to come out! The first half of the book chronicles discipleship through an Eastern, Jewish lens as opposed to a Western, Greek lens beginning in the First Century. I explain what “making disciples” meant to a First Century Jew (Jesus and the 12 Disciples were First Century Jews). Next, I examine the disciple-making ministries of Augustine, Thomas Cranmer, Richard Baxter, and John Wesley. The second half of the book addresses theological issues concerning disciple-making before providing a framework for gauging success in disciple-making groups— the M.A.R.C.S. of a D-group. I hope you can sense my excitement. I’ll keep you updated on the progress. Read More

Starting a Group: What Does The First Meeting Look Like?

Begin and end with prayer. Pass out and explain the Spiritual Journey Inventory: My first recollection of being in church was ___________. The closest I have felt to God in my life was ___________. The farthest I felt from God was ___________. If I could change one incident in my life it would be ________. Why? If I could thank God for one person in my life, it would be _________. Why? The turning point in my relationship with God was ________. Why? Have each group member share their testimony with the group. Next ask: Why Did you Choose to be in the Group? What do you expect to get out of the Group? Read More

Help! I Don't Know Where to Begin: What Material Should I Use?

A common question people ask before starting a discipleship group… Read More

Starting a D-Group: How to Get a Group Together

This is the next post in as series about starting… Read More

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