Making Disciples of Jesus

Worship in 2012

2011-12-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

Worship of Jesus/God is by far the highest and most important thing that we do. By that I do not just mean singing songs or attending services. That is really just a small part of it. As a matter of fact "singing" is not mentioned very often in the New Testament. What I mean by worship is orienting all of life towards glorifying Jesus Christ. His fame should be the motivating factor in our lives (family, work, church, leisure etc). Several years ago I wrote this definition of worship:

Valuing God above all things with all that we are by responding to all that He is in all that we do.

We value what what we love. We love what we hold dear. What we hold dear we deeply know and trust. So the question for us as followers of Jesus is what are we doing to make sure we are valuing, holding dear, deeply knowing and trusting Jesus? What I have learned about me is that the more I learn about Jesus the more I realize I don't know much at all about truly worshiping Him. He is so vast. So Big. So beautiful. So glorious. So mysterious. So much more than me.

I always need to grow in loving and worshipping Jesus.

Several years ago I started a new years tradition that helps me in my worship. It is called the 31 Day Journey. I learned this at a conference I was attending in 1997 and have done it every year since then. I have adjusted it a little over the years but the purpose remains, worship. Here it is: Set aside the month of January as a month to grow in your intimacy and worship of God. Here is what I do each day in the month in January.

1. Pray: Father teach me something new about You or remind me of something that You need me to remember.

2. Read and Listen: Begin reading in Psalm 1 and read slowly listening for God to say something about Him that you need to hear. You may read 2 verses or 5 chapters. It doesn't matter. But as soon as something stands out to you about God (ie. that He is strong, faithful, providing etc) stop.

3. Worship: Spend some time in prayer worshipping God for that part of Him. Take your time. Tell Him you love Him for that. Tell Him how you have seen that part of Him or how you need to see that part of Him.

4. Write: I know that not everyone journals but I recommend it. Take a moment to record what you saw in God's Word.

5. Remember: Think about this part of God during your day.

It is that simple. Do this every day for 31 days. It is quite probable that you will not get all the way through Psalms and that is ok. It is about God and knowing Him and worshipping Him.

The important thing to remember is that the worship of God is the most important thing you can do in 2012.

Disciple Making Definition

2011-11-09T19:10:00.001-05:00

Loving others in such way that we are intentionally and relationally, teaching them to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ so that they will have the desire and ability to do the same.

Evaluating Leadership

2011-08-29T07:40:00.000-04:00

Several months ago as I was walking in a somewhat discouraging season as a leader I spent some time trying to discern the right questions to help me evaluate my leadership at BCM. I came up with these 6 basic questions that I keep before me and go back to consistently. I am sure there are a bunch of other great questions out there, but I have found that theses help me evaluate my leadership.

Another thing I am doing with these questions is sharing them with those I am leading. I do that as a way to help them give me feedback. I really want our students to succeed and I know huge part of that flows from my faithful, clear, consistent, moldable, loving leadership.

Remember that for me, these questions all flow out of a simple vision at Clemson, “Cooperate with God in making multiplying disciples of Jesus at Clemson University.” But, whatever your context of leadership may be I hope they are helpful and make sense.

Leadership Questions

1) Is it clear where I am pursuing to lead us? Clear to me? Clear to those I am leading.

2) Are our vision/mission/goals easily understood in practical terms? Do those I am leading know what to do and why they are doing it?

3) Are my expectations clear and realistic as it relates to the leadership ability? Can they do what they need to do? Am I holding them accountable for what they need to do?

4) What are we producing? Is our fruit consistently moving closer to reflecting our long term vision?

5) Am I doing my best at what I do best? Do I know what that is? Am I ok with it?

6) Do I love them for who they are more than for what they do? Do I view them as brothers and sister or workers? How am I guarding against reducing them from people with souls to producers of goods?

Thoughts for Prayer

2011-08-08T08:01:00.000-04:00

10-10-10

On August the 10th at 10 a.m. for 10 minutes, people all over our nation and world will be praying for the college students headed to campus this fall. What is beautiful is that there several time zones represented in our prayers so it is really more than 10 minutes. God loves when His people pray and hope that we will have the heart of Is. 62:1-7 as we pray (check it out! It is beautiful).

I have written a few thoughts below to help give a little guidance to your prayer. Use them if you would like or just pray however you are led. I do encourage you to pray for specific people and campuses.

10 minutes will go by fast….so, keep praying if you have the time.

Pray...

That they would honor and value Jesus Christ above all things.
Everyday students are bombarded with the opportunity to “exchange the glory of God for a lie”. That temptation may come in the form of an unhealthy relationship to believing that pursuing money will be more satisfying than knowing Jesus Christ. Pray that they would be worshippers of Jesus alone.
That they would live a life of sacrificial love.
Jesus told His disciples that the world would know they were His by the quality of their love for one another. Pray that the Christians on campus would be united in love for each other as Jesus prayed, “that they may be one even as We are.” Pray this so that those on campus who do not know Jesus would be able to see that Jesus is real.
That many who do not know Jesus would come to know Him.
Jesus told the disciples to pray, “Your Kingdom come…” This is a prayer for the rule and authority of Jesus to be manifest in people through them believing the gospel. His desire is for more people to know Him, love Him, and follow Him. Pray for the lost to be saved.
That they would persevere in trials.
Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would remain strong when he was tested. College students face every temptation imaginable on the campus. Pray that their faith would remain and that God would grant them victory over trials and temptations.
That they would be used to change the world.
I believe that all Christian college students are “workers for the harvest”. We need to pray that they would see themselves as world changers/disciple makers and be obedient to God’s call to the mission field they are on. Pray that they would be used to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth through their time on campus.

In the end we want to see God move in ways that cannot be explained by man. I pray that God would awaken all of us to His glory and the beauty of following Him with everything we have.

"Father, glorify Your Name" - Jesus, John 12:28

Jer. 33:3
Doug

You will frustrate Those You Disciple When, part 4

2011-03-18T12:16:00.001-04:00

4. You disciple as their boss and not their coach.

“…not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
1 Peter 5:4

This is frustrating because the never know why or see how to do what is expected of them.

There is a major difference between being a boss and being a coach. This translates easily into the discipleship relationship. Just as a good coach shows people how to play and win, a good disciple will show others how to live for the Kingdom. Unfortunately, as a discipler, it is much easier but less effective to settle into the role of just telling the other what they should be doing but never take the time to walk with them in it. Ultimately this can be very frustrating because even thought the words may be clear there is no real model to imitate. After a while the one you are discipling will grow weary of hearing you give instruction with never seeing those instructions lived out in your life.

Here are some differences between a boss and a coach

• A boss gives orders. A coach gives an example.
• A boss controls. A coach involves.
• A boss seeks power. A coach gives power.
• A boss just tells “what”. A coach tells “why” and “what”.

Here are some thoughts to ponder:

You can’t expect the disciple to share their faith unless you show them how.
You can’t expect the disciples to sacrifice their time unless they see you sacrifice yours.
You can’t expect the disciple love people unless you are loving them.
You can’t expect them to know how to read the Bible unless you help them.
You can’t expect them to live counter culturally unless they see you living that way.
You can’t expect them to be vulnerable unless you are vulnerable.

Paul said it well to Timothy. “set an example for the believers in speech, life, love, faith, and purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

You Will Frustrate Those You Disciple When, part 3

2011-03-15T10:50:00.002-04:00

3. You disciple them for your gain and not theirs.

1 Peter 5:2 “…not greedy for money, but eager to serve.”

This frustrates them because once they have accomplished what you want them to accomplish they can be left with a sense of abandonment or confusion.

The person who disciples for their own success tends to view the other person as a project who helps them look better to others. This kind of disciple making is in line with what Paul warned us against in Philippians 2:3 when he said, “do nothing from selfish ambition”. This same theme is seen on Paul’s 2nd letter to the church at Corinth. “So death is at work in us, but life in you…For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.”

Paul never served for the sake of his own gain but willingly chose to lay down his pursuit of gain so that God would be glorified in the ones he was discipling.

Biblical discipleship always looks to help the other person grow as a follower of Jesus for the sake of the Kingdom. You help them succeed. You help them discover what God is doing in them and then being committed to His movement in their life.

Here are a few qualities of someone who disciples to help others succeed.

1. Humble – Proud people are about themselves. Humble people are about others.
2. Secure – Secure people can help others succeed because they know that if the one they are discipling surpasses them it does not diminish their own value
3. Listeners – Developing the skill of listening to the one you are discipling rather than always being the one talking opens the door to more clearly hear the voice of the Spirit.
4. Teachable – To help others succeed you must be willing to learn and freely give away information.
5. Committed – Those you are discipling need someone to be committed to the movement of God in their life. They need you to be willing to walk with them as far as you can.

You Will Frustrate Those You Disciple When....

2011-03-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

You Disciple them out of DUTY and NOT LOVE

1 Peter 5:2“…not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you.”

Key: This is frustrating because it builds walls that block intimacy.

I recently heard a girl talk about her relationships with the girl that was discipling her. She had high hopes of being poured into and loved. It did not take long for her to realize that she was essentially not much more than a calendar item. This caused the one being discipled to not open her life fully and gave her a “bad taste” for how she understood “being discipled”.

God’s design for disciple making is love (John 15:12-17), a love that willingly lays down it’s life. Peter says in chpt. 1 verse 22 to “love one another deeply and from the heart.” Even when he was mad, Paul’s mode of operation was love (2 Cor. 2:4).

The reality is that if people do not believe that you genuinely love them then they will not be confident in sharing with you the deep things in their life. Which means they are not opening up the places in their heart where the Holy Spirit needs to move.

Here are a few ways to know that your discipling relationship leans more toward duty than love. If these happen consistently, you may be discipling out of duty
1. You have to squeeze them into your life.
2. You are not “with them” when you are with them.
3. It becomes to easy for you to neglect or cancel times of being together.
4. You do not think about them and pray for them unless you are with them.

To disciple out of love is to joyfully sacrifice your life so that Christ will be formed in them (2 Cor. 4).

Application thoughts:
• We can all only love so many people well. Ask for a loving heart and do not try to
disciple more people than you can love.
• Tell those that you are discipling that you love them.
• Ask those you are discipling how they receive and give love.
(Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages is a great resource in understanding this topic)
• Whenever you read Scripture ask the question,
“How can this lead me to love as Jesus loves?”

I pray that you would love well.

Frustration part 1

2010-12-15T12:05:00.001-05:00

I can frustrate someone I disciple when...

1. I Disciple them as “Mine” and not “God’s”

1 Peter 5:2, “Shepherd the flock of God…”

Those that we disciple belong to God. It is easy over time to lose sight of this and slowly begin to view them as “ours” or “mine”. I have several guys that I am discipling right now but in reality they are much more than “my guys”, they are heirs, children, beloved in the Kingdom. I am just given the honor to walk with them during this season to help them make disciples of Jesus.
When the perspective of “mine” begins to dominate the way we view those we are discipling then we are taking steps towards manipulation and stunting their growth in Christ.

Key: This frustrates those we disciple because it limits their potential. Those we disciple should have the vision of their life shaped by Jesus and His potential for them. When I disciple as “mine” I limit their potential to “us”.
Here are a couple of practical things that have helped me in this.

1. Disciple through the context of community. This makes disciple making a group or “family” effort, allowing everyone to have multiple trusted influences.

2. Regularly pray for humility as a disciple. It is easy for my pride and opinion of self to get so high that I think I am all that the person needs. (Rom. 12:3, Phil 2:3-5)

3. When the person I am discipling is walking through something that I do not know much about or can’t adequately relate to I try to point them towards someone who is more equipped for that situation.

Frustration

2010-08-04T17:51:00.000-04:00

When I say the word "frustration" in relationship to disciple making you may have thoughts like:

"I get so frustrated that he/she won't listen."
"It is taking so long for them to get what I am saying."
"I am so frustrated with the one I am discipling that I wonder if I should just move on."
"They are making me so mad because..."

I want to challenge your thinking about frustration. One simple challenge is this. Most of the time when we are frustrated with those we discple it is selfish frustration. We get frustrated because they do not do what WE want. The is us centered.

But, that is not really the challenge I want to give here. Over my next few posts (I know it has been a while) I hope to expose ways that we as disciplers frustrate those we disciple. Maybe you have never had that thought. None of us are perfect at disciple making and this can cause those we are investing in to get frustrated with us. But we don't see their frustration and our error because we think too highly of ourselves. We may not say it out loud but it is easy to put all the blame on the ones we are pouring into and not take any of the "credit" ourselves.

So get ready to hear about ways that I have frustrated people...

Worth the Read

2010-04-19T12:13:00.000-04:00

I thought I would share a few of the books that have influenced me as a disciple maker. I don't agree with everything in every book but they have all made me better, I hope.

Master Plan of Evangelism - Coleman (Best book ever written on disciple making. I have read it every year since 1996. Getting ready for the 2010 reading)

Spiritual Mentoring - Anderson & Reese

Transforming Discipleship - Ogden

Sacred Companions - Benner (I loaned to someone and can't find it!)

Paul's Idea of Community - Banks

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, a conversation in spiritual theology - Peterson

Humility - Andrew Murray

I started reading Life Together by Bonhoeffer today (4/19/10). I feel like it is going to be worth the read...

I am probably forgetting something....

The Atmosphere of Empowerment

2010-01-15T15:08:00.001-05:00

Empower (v) – to give someone the authority or power to do something; to enable someone to do; to make someone stronger and more confident.

The Atmosphere of Empowerment: Giving people the opportunity and means to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Key Idea: If you want the people you disciple to experience God the most then you must direct them to a place where they can impact the world.

The relationship has gone all the way from just meeting Him through getting know Him, watching Him, listening to Him, Seeing Him multiply the fish and bread, watching Him walking on water, realizing that He is the Son of God, seeing Him transformed on the mountain, Hearing the Father speak to Him, being told by Jesus He would be betrayed, watching Him in the garden cry out to the Father, experiencing the cross, the miracle of the resurrection, to NOW GO CHANGE THE WORLD.

He had poured everything into them and they now had deeply INTERNALIZED His message. . .now it was time for Him to leave and for the disciples to MULTIPLY.

From Matthew 9 &10 Keys to Empowerment

For 5 chapters Jesus was giving them the TOOLS to be ready. They had followed him, listened to him, watched him, asked him. . . .He equipped them with all they needed. Here Jesus is taking a step in preparing them for the ultimate empowerment that happens when He ascends into Heaven.

Here are 6 key components in empowering people to live for the sake of the gospel.

1. Vision – 9:37-38
(helping them see present reality and a preferred future)
2. Permission – 10:1
(You have been watching, now I want you to go and do)
3. Boundaries – 10:5-6
(Work within these parameters; parameters give the freedom for power)
4. Information - 10:7-15
(Here is everything you need to know to succeed)
5. Honesty - 10:16-25
(I know it is not going to be easy but you can make it through)
6. God-ward focus – 10:26-31
(Remember this is about God and He values you)

As disciplers we need to remember that in the big picture it is about Jesus and His Kingdom and not ourselves. If we do not empower people we are selling them short of the possibilities of God in their life.

I pray that we would all be intentional in relationally walking with people, humbly making disciples of Jesus Christ, being a part of His method of changing the world.

The Atmosphere of Vulnerability

2009-11-24T10:59:00.002-05:00

Exposed. At risk. Vulnerable. No one likes to be that way. But being vulnerable with people you disciple will make you and them more like Jesus.

I remember the first time I experienced being truly vulnerable with someone I was discipling. I don’t know exactly why I chose to approach this situation in my life this way but I knew I needed a trusted friend to enter into a real battle in my life. I was struggling with a real pride issue. I was living in fear that people would not view me to be as good a leader as the man who discipled me. My self-centeredness was affecting my prayers for him, my friendship with him, and my ability to trust him. It was all my own sin and it was eating me up.
So I sat there and told the person I was discipling about this issue. I told him everything. It was HARD! There I was the “stronger, older, wiser, more holy discipler” throwing my real weakness and sin on the table.
I did not know what the person I was discipling would think or how he would react. It was a real risk for me. Would I lose his respect? His trust? Would he tell other people? Would he just turn around and run! The amazing thing was that he embraced my struggle with understanding, respect, deeper friendship, accountability and prayer. That person walked with me all the way through that specific struggle. I, the discipler, became more like Jesus because the one I was discipling walked with me.

Jesus was an amazing model of vulnerability with His disciples. It was much later in His relationship with them that He opened up the deepest things of his personal life to them. It was not day one of their relationship. It was 3 years in. In Matthew 26 He made known to them around the dinner table that He was going to be betrayed and handed over to be crucified. It must have been really hard for the 12 or should I say 11 to hear this truth. Jesus betrayed! By one of them! No way! What was also amazing about this moment was that in the end of that conversation Jesus led them to sing a song of worship (Mat. 26:30). He pointed them to God in His own hard moment. Then Jesus took them further into His soul by allowing them to come into the garden with Him. He did not have to do this.

“Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow – to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake WITH ME.” (Mat. 26:37-38)

It was important for Jesus, the creator and sustainer of the universe, to allow those He was discipling to see the depths of his own pain. Jesus asked them to stay with him in His sorrow. The Son of God exposed. This was truly the atmosphere of vulnerability. Wow.

Jesus’ example has helped me see the great value of this principle:

• Inviting those we disciple to see and walk with us in our deep struggles in life leads us both to become more like Christ.

What I have learned by being vulnerable with people I am discipling:

1. It is hard and scary – You never really know how someone will respond when you reveal deep things about yourself to them.
2. Once I take the step of faith to be vulnerable I find freedom to let go of many of my fears – I find freedom.
3. It is still hard – The enemy does not want me to become like Jesus.
4. It leads me to be more gracious and experience grace on a deeper level.

Practical Handles

1. Be completely honest with God about yourself
2. Pray for a commitment to genuine humility
3. Identify a person or people in your community that you trust the most.
4. Invite them to look at and listen to what is going on in your life.
5. Allow them to enter into the real battle for your walk with God by telling them the real “struggles” of your life.
6. Keep the focus on the glory of God in your life and not the struggle.

The Atmosphere of Privilege

2009-11-20T11:34:00.001-05:00

I can easily call to mind one of the most significant worship experiences of my life. One of them had to do with the guy that was discipling me, Tim. I was living in Little Rock, Ar. and serving in a ministry with him.

Tim decided to take a personal day to spend in worship at a local retreat center. He did not have to invite me along but he did. I’ll never forget sitting in the little 10 x 10 room pouring over the Bible (Is. 62) and allowing it to lead us in worship. We would read a little. Talk a little. Pray a little. Sing a little. I think we even cried some! There was no “plan” just God and us.

I was blown away at one point when Tim started to sing really LOUD! I think the song was “You Alone”. It made me a little uncomfortable at first but then I just joined in. I followed his lead into the presence of God. I experienced Tim in an intimate moment worshiping his Father in Heaven. It was amazing!

I learned deeper things about Tim.
I learned deeper things about God.

Tim brought me into the atmosphere of privilege.

Matthew 17:1-8 helps me understand this principle in disciple making.

Those I disciple can have life changing encounters with God when I invite them into my personal worship.
Jesus did not have to take Peter, James, and John up on the mountain with Him. But He did. I think He did this so that they would understand on a deeper level WHO HE was. Can you imagine standing there and watching Jesus shining so bright that He “shone like the sun”?

I love Peter’s simple response to Jesus. Peter said, “It’s good for us to be here!”

If that was not enough a “bright cloud covered them and a voice from the cloud said: This is my beloved Son. Take delight in Him. Listen to Him.” God the Father spoke! Out loud! I can understand the disciple’s next response. “. . .they fell face down terrified.” If I were there, Matthew may have had to include, “and Doug had to go change his pants!” (was that inappropriate?)

Here is an important thing to note: The experience was more intense and the revelation into the reality of Jesus was deeper. They saw more of Jesus and they worshipped.

Our challenge is clear. As we disciple people, we should invite them to experience our own deep encounters with God. Bring people into your privileged moments with your Father in Heaven.
Some practical ideas:

• Invite someone into your home just to spend time in prayer and worship.
• Take a day to spend with God and ask someone to join you.

Maybe these ideas will help you think of more that apply to the specifics of your life. Be intentional. Bring someone along.

The Atmosphere of Challenge

2009-10-30T11:00:00.002-04:00

Matthew 14:22-33

Notice that the experience is more intense; the relationship more intimate, the revelation into who Jesus was is deeper.

MAIN POINT: In making disciples we must be watching for opportunities that the Spirit orchestrates and then lead those we disciple to step into experiences where their faith will be stretched, their fears overcome, and their worship of Jesus taken to new depths.

Observations and Applications from the story:

Our job is not to “invent” random experiences that we think are good but listen and watch for where the Holy Spirit is moving in their lives and helping them embrace His movement as much as possible.

1) Jesus was intentional: He MADE the disciples get in the boat. It was not a “whatever happens, happens” attitude to disciple making.
Part of our responsibility in disciple making is helping people see and take steps of faith.
2) Jesus stayed behind to be alone: He did not get in the boat with the disciples. He was alone, they were alone.
Sometimes the best thing for those that you disciple is for you to stay behind.3) The disciples were in the midst of the storm without Jesus, their discipler.
4) Jesus came out to them when the disciples needed Him.
Even though we may stay behind, we should still remain observant.
5) Even though He came to them He used the opportunity to push them further in their faith.
We don’t need to automatically play the role of rescuer but sometimes push people in.
6) Jesus spoke to the reality of their fear that could hinder their faith.
One of the central roles of the discipler is to help those you are disciplng to overcome fear. Fear may be the greatest enemy of faith so we need to be encouragers and challengers in moments of fear.
7) Peter responded to Jesus’ presence by asking him to prove himself.
8) Jesus responded. “come”
Help people hear, recognize and respond to God’s voice in challenging steps of faith.”
9) Jesus saw Peter and heard Peter’s cry for help and didn’t let him drown.
10) The response of Jesus in their small faith caused them to see Him deeper and led them to worship Him.
As people you are discipling step out on faith, point them to see and worship God in that moment.

Here are a couple of questions to help you discern what challenges God may want those you are discipling to walk through.
1. How do sense God moving in your life right now?
2. Is there something that you think God may want you to do but you are afraid to do it?
3. What could stop you from following through and why?
4. What can I do to help you?

The Atmosphere of Vision

2009-10-23T11:23:00.001-04:00

As you begin to disciple someone you must help them see their true identity and potential in the Kingdom.

The atmosphere of vision happens early in the relationship between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus has not revealed much about Himself to them yet but He is grabbing on to the moment and helping the disciples see life beyond themselves. He is telling them something that is almost impossible for them to believe about themselves. Robert Coleman in the book Master Plan of Evangelism describes the disciples this way.

“By any standard of sophisticated culture then and now they would surely be considered as a rather ragged collection of souls. One might wonder how Jesus could ever use them. They were impulsive, temperamental, easily offended and had all the prejudices of their environment…Not the kind of group one would expect to win the world to Christ.”

But imagine the sense of wonder and confidence that must have overcome them when Jesus looked them in the eye and said, “You will be fishers of men”, “You ARE the salt of the earth…YOU ARE the light of the world… …because of who you are people will worship God.

The atmosphere of vision is you helping a person see their life from the reality of who they are in Christ. It is helping them see that they are defined by God’s truth about them not what the world says. It is helping them see the things they don’t see about themselves; helping them see things they see wrong about themselves. Helping them see misperceptions about God and replacing them with Truth’s like Ephesians 1 that says

“God chose you before the foundations of the world to be holy and blameless before Him to praise of his glorious grace.”

“In Christ all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made full.”

Maybe it is just looking them in the eye and saying “I love you. I believe in you. You matter to God.”

When you help people discover their identity in Christ you are casting vision into their lives to do great things for God. It’s the atmosphere of vision.

Here are few questions that I often ask early in the discipleship process to help cultivate the atmosphere of vision.

1) Have you ever thought about how God could use you to change the world?
2) If you had unlimited resources and guaranteed success, what would you do with your life?
3) What do think it means to follow Jesus?
4) What do think could hinder you from being all that God wants you to be?

Atmospheres of Disciple Making: An Intro.

2009-10-20T16:25:00.002-04:00

Over the next several posts I am going to be writing about what I call “Atmospheres of Disciple Making.” What I mean by this is that there are certain climates or conditions that we will see the Holy Spirit initiate for those we are discipling and we need to be ready to walk with them in the moment. It is not about manufacturing or controlling situations but responding to the leading of the Spirit and helping those we disciple see where God is at work in their lives. Then we challenge them to dig into the moment and face what God has put before them.

The end goal is always the same; lead those we disciple to encounter Jesus so that they can become more like Him and bear more fruit for Him.

I am going to walk primarily through the gospel of Matthew to show that over time Jesus built a deeper relationship with the disciples, created progressively more challenging moments for them to encounter Him, and lead them toward the glory of God in some way.

Before I get into the Atmospheres of Disciple making I want restate a couple of important things.

1. The only way to make disciples of Jesus is in the context of relationships based on sacrificial love. The discipler must lay down their life for those they are discipling.

2. Making Disciples takes a long time. There is no shortcut. The discipler must understand this or he will be filled with frustration when things do not happen as fast as they want.

3. The point is the glory of God through the multiplication of more disciples. The point can never be to just get people to do something. It must be about God being glorified as much as possible in them and through them.

Here are the Atmospheres of Disciple Making.
Vision
Challenge
Privilege
Vulnerability
Empowerment

Building Blocks for Making Disciples

2009-09-01T11:49:00.002-04:00

Disciple Making

God’s heart is that people all over the world come to know Him intimately and worship Him (John 4:22-24).

He has designed a way for us to participate with Him in making that happen: The Making of Disciples (Matt. 28:19-20).

Greg Ogden, in Transforming Discipleship, states that Jesus invested in a few at a time for the following reasons.

1) Internalization – of the person and teachings of Christ
2) Multiplication – of more disciples

There is always the internalization of the person of Jesus and the mission of multiplying more disciples of Jesus. Without both of these it is not Biblical disciple making.

Definition:
Disciple (mathetes) = pupil, learner, student. “Always implies the existence of a personal attachment which shapes the whole life of the one being described as “disciple” and which leaves no doubt as to who is deploying the formative power.”

Theological Dictionary of the NT

Disciple Making = Followers of Jesus Christ INTENTIONALLY and RELATIONALLY, TEACHING other people to follow Jesus, who will in turn do the same.

Building Blocks for a Theology of Making Disciples
The following building blocks all flow from the foundation of a community that seeks to Love God, Love the Body of Christ, and Love those outside the Body of Christ

1) Following Jesus - Being a person who has said “yes” to the sacrificial following of the life, teaching, death of Jesus as God in the flesh.

Luke 9:23; 14:23, Matt. 4:18-20; 8:18-23; 16:24

Deny Self  Take up your crossFollow Me (cleave steadfastly to me, conform wholly to my example, in living and if need be in dying also)

2) Inviting others to Follow you as You follow Jesus Christ – In the spirit of Christ, bringing others along on your journey. Do not be afraid to do this.

I Cor. 11:1; I Thess. 1:6; II Thess. 3:7-9, Phil. 3:17

3) Intentionally Teaching the whole Gospel – Teaching the Truth does not happen accidentally. Jesus or Paul never give indication that if you just spend time with someone Truth will be taught. They do the opposite.

Matt. 28:19-20; John 8:31; Acts 11: 26; Acts 20:20&27; 2 Timothy 2:2

4) Relationally Investing beyond friendship (time) – Friendship is not all there is to the discipleship process. Just because two Christians are friends does not necessarily mean they are discipling each other.

The Four Gospels, I Thess. 2:8 – The imparting/giving/sharing of our souls (life)

Where disciples are made, people share/impart their souls. “Life” is too weak of a word because it does not communicate the depth of the imparting. When you share your soul you are dipping in to the depths of your HOPE in Christ in the real places of your life.

Hebrews 6:19 - We have this [hope] -- like a sure and firm anchor of the soul -- that enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

5) Humble Earned Authority – There is a place for people to submit to authority in our spiritual lives; it is earned.

I Thess. 2:7&11-12; 1 timothy 1:2 ; 2 Timothy 1:2; 2:2 (All of 1 & 2 Timothy has the language of Paul’s authority in Timothy’s life). It is important to note that Paul and Timothy had probably been together 15 years. The relationship is characterized with words like “father”, “son” and “child”. These indicate a relationship of authority based on LOVE, not control. Humble earned authority is always in a relationship of the discipler loving the one being discipled.

6) The Power of the Holy Spirit – It is clear from Jesus and Paul that strength does not come from our own effort in discipleship but from the promised Holy Spirit.

I Thess. 1:5-7; John 14:12-17; 15:26-27 The Spirit of truth

There will be almost no greater joy in your life than seeing that person become more like Jesus – to see the light bulb of a love for God’s word – the defeat of a sin – watching them pass you in their influence for the kingdom.

“I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly remembering your sincere faith. . .” – 2 timothy 1:3-5

To the Thessalonians:

“We greatly desired and made every effort to return and see you face to face. . . For who is our hope , or joy, or crown of boasting in the presence of our lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy!”

Love One Another Part 2

2009-07-22T15:22:00.002-04:00

What is Biblical Love?

1 John 4:10-11 describes love like this:

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Here are a couple of observations that will help us understand what kind of love we should pursue in our communities.

1. Biblical love always starts with God. He is the definer of love so if we need a clear picture of what love really is then look at what the Father did. We cannot look to the world.

2. Biblical love always involves the sacrifice of self. God gave something (His Son Jesus, God in skin, Jn. 3:16) so that we might experience something (mercy or protection from His wrath).

3. Biblical love is expressed through us by imitating what He did.

Jesus tells us that the way the community of believers is to act towards one another is by actively pursuing to lay down our lives for one another. “Greater love has no one than that’s that He lay down his life for friends” (John 15:13). So the role of the disciple or Life Community leader is to help the community see ways to sacrifice themselves for each other and by setting the example themselves so that the love of Jesus might be seen.

One way to do that is by following Paul’s teaching in Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ”. The law of Christ is to love one another (see 5:14). The context is Paul challenging us to help each other in our struggle with sin. So instead of judging we are to extend grace and carry each other towards repentance and holiness. This is not always easy. It requires the sacrifice of prayer, time, friendship, and accountability even when there is no guarantee of reward.

Another way we love is by intentionally learning about those in our communities through time spent together. Jesus did this. He stepped out of Heaven as an act of love and spent time with His creation. What an amazing and powerful thing to do. Our Life Communities will grow in love when they just spend time together learning about each other.

We can also display love by entering into the real issues of life with each other. Let’s say someone in your group is walking through the experience of their parents divorcing (happened to me in college). The Life Community should be asking that person “how can we as a group help you?” “What do you need from us?” There should be a conscious effort by the group to take hold of these moments as potential for God to move rather than move past them too quickly.

There are many more ways to show love. So our responsibility is to look for them and respond. 1 John says “Little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but in deed and truth.”

1 Corinthians 13 is always read at weddings. It is actually meant to be read as a community (the Church Corinth). Go back and read it but put in your mind that it is being written to your Life Community. Ask God to start showing you how all of those attributes of love can be evident in your group.

Let us become great at loving in the way Jesus loved us.

Love One Another Part 1

2009-06-30T15:36:00.003-04:00

The Centrality of Love in Discipling Communities

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” --John--

Disciples of Jesus are made within the context of relationships characterized by love. Therefore, true Christian community is characterized by love. Unfortunately it is much easier to go through the motions of leading or attending Bible study and never really experience receiving or giving the kind of love that we are told is THE mark of the Family of God.

Our Life Communities will be successful only if we are pursuing to cultivate Jesus centered love relationships with each other.

Honestly, as I sit and write about this I am overwhelmed. It is mostly because to think that I can communicate the depth of what it means to love one another as the Bible defines it through writing is pretty ridiculous. Another reason I am overwhelmed is because I have been loved in this way and it is truly humbling.

Over and over the News Testament tells us that love for one another is a huge deal. It is not an add-on or an elective. Love is what identifies our communities as communities of faith in Jesus Christ. Anybody can dispense information but it takes men and women of God to truly love in the way Jesus told us to.

Here are a few examples from scripture that show the importance of love for one another.

“Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” – John 13:1

“A new command I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By THIS all men will know that you are my disciples, IF you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35

“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father had loved me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” – John 15:8-9

“This is my commandment, that you love one another, JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.” – John 15:12

“This I command you, that you love one another.” – John 15:17

“I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” – John 17:26

“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOUR SELF.” – Gal. 5:14

“Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” – Col. 3:14

“This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” – 1 John 3:23

“Beloved let us love one another for love is form God….the one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” – 1 John 4:7-8

The list could go on and on. I have barely scratched the surface. What amazes me is how much of Jesus’ teachings to His disciples in those last hours was about love. He could have said and done a lot of things but He loved them and challenged them to love.

My fear is that we are so accustomed to reading the word “love” in the Bible and hearing it said in the world with no real meaning, that we have become desensitized to the power and depth that Biblical love for one another holds.

The point is that for us to be (as communities of believers) who God wants us to be then we must pursue to love in the way that He loves. We have to understand that when we gather in our Life Communities and walk along side of each other (and just live life as disciples of Jesus) we need to be praying and asking God to help us love. If we do not do that, we miss the point.

Part 2 will be “What is Biblical Love For One Another”

Praying for Your Life Community

2009-06-24T13:54:00.003-04:00

Prayer is a non-negotiable in the Kingdom of God and in the nurturing of an environment of life transformation. Not praying would be like me telling you to fly to the moon, then giving you a space shuttle, providing all the training you need, all the equipment you need, all of the instructions, a place to launch from, and then you saying “no thank you I will just walk outside and start flapping my arms”. Unfortunately we do that too often in the Christian life. God has said over and over in His Word that if we will pray He will do great things. But we choose not to pray and expect great things anyway. When we don’t pray we miss out on what God wants to do.

Here are 5 things that I believe you should pray for your Life Community.

That God would bring the people He desires into your Life Community
As Jesus was in the process of choosing His 12 he went away to pray (Luke 6:12). It is important to remember that Jesus was always motivated but what the Father wanted and He didn’t do anything without the Father’s initiative. We should not take lightly the call to ask God to create the community that He wants.

That they would value what Jesus values, the glory of God.
The glory of God was what motivated Jesus. He always sought to do what pleased the Father because He knew that was the greatest source of joy in life. Everyday students are bombarded with the opportunity to “exchange the glory of God for a lie”. That temptation may come in the form of an unhealthy relationship to believing that pursuing money will be more satisfying than knowing Jesus Christ. Pray that they would be worshippers of Jesus alone.

That they would live a life of sacrificial love for one another.
Jesus told His disciples that the world would know they were His by the quality of their love for one another (John 13:34-35). Pray that those in your community would be united in love for each other as Jesus prayed, “that they may be one even as We are.” Pray this so that those around them who do not know Jesus would be able to see that Jesus is real.

That they would persevere in trials.
Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would remain strong when he was tested (Luke 22:31-32). As you know, your fellow students face every temptation imaginable on the campus. As brothers and sisters in Christ it is our responsibility and privilege to fight with them and for them in prayer. Pray that their faith would remain and that God would grant them victory over trials and temptations.

That they would be used to change the world.
I believe that all Christians on campus are “workers for the harvest”. You need to pray that they would see themselves as world changers and be obedient to God’s call to the mission field they are on. Pray that they would be used to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth through their time on campus.

I love these two passages. They challenge me deeply in regards to prayer. They are amazing promises.

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

John 16:12-14 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

Creating an Environment for Life Transformation - Part 2

2009-06-15T11:25:00.004-04:00

A couple of Ingredients that help foster Intimacy

1) Transparency – Another way to put this is to say that the leader must take risks with himself. Others in the Life Community will see that it is safe to be open and honest only as the leader models that himself. This is very risky but when done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit it can open the door for others to be honest about themselves.

Have you ever thought about Jesus as being transparent? Scripture indicates that as time went by He revealed more and more of who He was. At the start of His ministry with the disciples He simply said “come follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mat. 4:19). He did not tell them everything about Himself or about what was going to happen. It was just the first invitation to follow. By the end of His investment in them He said, “I no longer call you servants but I call you friends, for all things I have heard from my father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Then in a huge act of transparency He says to His disciples, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with me” (Matt. 26:37).

The One who is the “Head over every authority” said to His creation “My soul is sorrowful, stay with me.” That blows my mind. But, I see this as a model because the disciples were able to see how Jesus related to the Father in his most sorrowful moment so far in His life. It was a moment of great intimacy.

Those we disciple need to see how we walk with God in our hardest moments. We need to be open to having those we disciple sit with us while we hurt.

Some insights I have learned about this.
1) We miss out on the power of God in the Body when we are not transparent.
2) It is hard…but when done by the leading of the Holy Spirit it is life transforming.
3) It takes wisdom and discernment. You don’t want to throw all your trash on the table on day one.
4) It is still hard…there will be times when you are transparent and people will turn their back on you…but we still need to model it in faith.
5) Moments of true transparency are moments orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to teach us how to love one another.

2. Time and Patience – All I really want to say about this is that we do not need to be frustrated if intimacy does not happen fast. True intimacy takes time. The relationship I have with Brent, Josh, and Brett took time. We can not force it but we can be faithful to one another through caring and encouraging one another in the Lord so that the stage is set for the Holy Spirit to move when He wants to move. Paul says they were gentle and caring like a mother and encouraging like a father…laboring night and day (1 Thess 2:7-12). Be patient. Be faithful. Pray for intimacy to come.

Creating an Environment for Life Transformation

2009-06-10T15:08:00.003-04:00

Creating an Environment for Life Transformation – Part 1
Doug Hunt

It is important to remember that a Biblical community is evidenced by life change. We should never multiply groups just to multiply groups. Multiplication is the natural overflow of lives being changed by Jesus Christ. So the questions before us are, “What are the ingredients of life transforming community?” and “What can a leader do to foster this type of environment?”

I was recently reminded of what it feels like to be among a group of followers of Jesus where it is completely safe to be completely “me”. I was sitting with Brent, Josh, and Brett and I knew that I could reveal the deepest and darkest things about my life to them and their response would be love. I knew that they could do the same and my response would have been love. We have truly shared our some of our greatest and some of our hardest moments in life and walked with each other no matter what. We rallied around each other. We celebrated victory over sin together. We celebrated life change together. We rebuked each other and carried each other’s burdens.

It is what I call an environment of TRUST AND INTAMACY. I define trust in this context as “having the confidence to be who you really are without the fear of judgment or retaliation.” I recently read this definition of intimacy; it is a familiar and very close affective connection with another as a result of entering deeply or closely into relationship through knowledge and experience of the other.

I believe that many times we enter in to small groups that never reach this deep of a level of trust and intimacy. When that happens we are never really sharing our souls that need to encounter the Holy Spirit among us. When we do reach that depth, the Holy Spirit has the space to change us in profound ways.

Here are a couple of ingredients that help foster TRUST.

Humility – My favorite passage that shows this is Matthew 11:28-30 when Jesus says “Come to me all who are weary…learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart.” This is the only passage where Jesus describes His own heart and He chooses two unimpressive words, gentleness and humility. What I also love is that He uses them in the context of teaching for the soul.

Another passage that helps us is 1 Thess. 2:5-6. Paul says that he, Silvanus, and Timothy “did not come with flattering speech…nor with a pretext for greed-God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men”

These passages tell me that in order to create an environment of where life change can happen we must not be doing it for our gain or to prove something or to boost our pride. The point is to create a place where those who participate know that they are valued and it takes a leader who is pursuing a humble and selfless heart for that to happen. No one likes a prideful leader.

One Way that Humility Shows itself in community– Listening. Too often we view leading a small group as our chance to have the platform with the expectation that everyone should listen to us. We do need to teach the Word because it is the power, but we also need to listen to the stories and struggles of those in our midst. People who come into our Life Communities will bring all types of issues both good and bad. We need to always be aware of these things and the way we do that is by asking and truly listening. Power comes when we are able to ask the questions like “How are you” and “what is on your heart” and then just listen to understand the other person. When we are truly listening we can have a better sense of how the Word can help transform them.

Have you ever been truly listened to when the person you were talking to was not just trying to “fix” you? Or when they did not act like they had all the answers?

I know from my own experience that when I have been listened to I feel valued and my trust level for the other person goes up tremendously.

Integrity – The leader must be leading the community towards words matching actions. There is a great deal of skepticism in our world that is due in large part to hypocrisy or saying one thing and acting another way. Paul says in 1 Thess. 1:5 that their “gospel did not come in word only but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” Paul also said in 1 Thess. 2:10, “You are witnesses and so is God how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved towards you.”

The power of God was seen among them as they lived out their convictions, proving that Jesus was worth following.

We as leaders make some of our biggest mistakes right here. We can’t say that we love people then make derogatory jokes about certain groups of people. We can’t tell people to sacrifice for others if we do not do it ourselves. We can’t preach holiness and then live in sin. We lose the trust of those we are trying to disciple when our faith and our lives to not match up.

Challenge: Ask someone you know to tell you their story. Listen for the ways that God has shaped them. Ask them question to learn more.

Challenge: Ask someone that you trust if they see any things in your life where your words have the potential to not match up with your actions? Ask them to pray with you about those things.

LIFE COMMUNITY PHILOSOPHY part 2

2009-06-01T10:55:00.000-04:00

Loving Each Other (The Body)
The second pursuit is to learn to sacrificially lay down your life for one another. After Jesus had physically lowered Himself to wash the disciple’s feet He said, “A new command I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Jesus told us that it will be our love for one another that will give evidence that we are truly His followers. It is important to understand how He defines love for us. In John 15:13, Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” So when read that in light of John 13:34-35, we can conclude that the proof that we are disciples of Jesus is when we are willingly pursuing to lay down our lives for each other. It is a when one follower of Jesus is sacrificing himself for the sake of another. The beautiful thing is that Jesus tells us that when we keep this command of love then we will have His joy in us and our joy will be made full (John 15:11).

As a leader then your role in relationship to those in your Life Community is to love them. The way that you do that is by being a friend to them. It is being a person who is available to their lives, not just leading an hour long Bible study once a week. It is being a person who is sensitive to the needs of those in your community and is looking for a way to sacrifice yourself so that you help meet that need.

As a leader it is also your role to help the others in your community seize opportunities to love each other. For example, lets say that someone in your group breaks his leg playing flag football for the Holy Smokes (he did score the winning touchdown in the process). He is now on crutches but still has to get all the way across campus every morning for class. He can’t drive. It would take him forever to hobble across campus. As leader, you need to help your community see that love would be someone going out of his way to drive your broke-leg friend to class…everyday.

Look for real ways to sacrifice yourself for those in your community. Love them.

Loving the Lost
The third pursuit of the Life Community is to love the lost. More specifically, to love the lost who are within the immediate context of the Life Community. This is a direct overflow of loving one another. The point of John 13:34-35 is not to end with being “inward”, but to be a visible representative of the love of God. Put another way, we love the lost when we truly love each other.

Jesus also said in Matthew 5:44, “But I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Paul said, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of every opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace…” Jesus and Paul are telling us that as followers of Jesus, it is no longer an “us against them” attitude. Instead, it is an “us for them”, looking for ways to love them, extending the grace (undeserved favor) of God to them attitude.

As a leader it is your calling to pray to have a heart of love towards the lost around your Life Community. It is also your calling to open your eyes to the opportunities to practically show that love. Let’s just say the guy who broke his leg earlier does not know Jesus. Think of the opportunity that you would have to verbally communicate the gospel as he receives the simple love of being driven to class.

As a leader it is also your calling to help those in your Life Community see the same kind of opportunities around them. Maybe it is helping someone discover how to love their roommate that is in a fraternity by offering him rides home after parties? Maybe it is helping someone see how just taking the time to befriend the “outcast” in their psychology class that no one else will get to know? It is helping those in your community see and make the most of the opportunities around them.

Life Communities are to be characterized by love. Love of God, Love for each other, and love for the lost.

We all need to pray that God would constantly overwhelm us with the reality of His love for us. We need to see the cross again and again and humble ourselves to him saying “thank you” for the greatest display of love ever. Then, the overflow of our lives will be genuine love that cannot be contained. Then, the overflow will be more and more people following and multiplying followers of Jesus.

LIFE COMMUNITY PHILOSOPHY part 1

2009-06-01T10:39:00.001-04:00

The Vision and Philosophy of BCM Life Communities
Doug Hunt

Put as simple as I know how, our Life Communities are for the purpose of making multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that we would build a culture where the desire and ability to make disciples will become “normal”…that it would be who we are and reflected in what we naturally do.

When looking at the gospels we see that the strategy of Jesus for changing the world was calling a small group of people to follow Him. He poured His LIFE into their LIVES. He spent His time with them. He hung out with them. He taught them Truth. He challenged their thinking. He let them observe His life. He equipped them to change the world. He loved them completely. They were not just a “Bible Study Group”. They were not a project or assignment. They became His friends, a COMMUNITY that truly SHARED LIFE, so that the world could be changed with the gospel. There is no better strategy.

This is also reflected in the life and ministry of Paul. In 1 Thess. 2:8, Paul said, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our own lives as well.” Paul says “WE”…or Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy…or our COMMUNITY shared LIFE with them to give proof of the reality of the gospel (1 Thess. 2:7-12). At least 32 times in 1 Thess. 1-2, Paul uses words like “we”, “us”, and “our” to describe their investment. It is CHRIST-CENTERED COMMUNITY LIVED OUT that gives weight to the message of the gospel. The result for Paul was, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord…the Word of Lord has sounded forth from you” (1 Thess. 1:6-8).

Our desire is to create multiplying Christ-centered communities all over the Clemson campus and the surrounding area where Truth can be explored and life can be shared so that more and more people will grow as disciples of Jesus.

I believe that these communities should be characterized by three priorities in this order: Loving God, Loving the Body, and Loving the Lost.

Loving God
The first pursuit is always the centering of everything on Jesus Christ and His glory. Jesus called this the first and greatest command. Paul said it like this, “We speak not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.” The first thing Jesus prayed in John 17 was, “glorify the Son, that the Son may glorify you.”

As a leader you should always be asking yourself, “Am I doing this to please people or feed my ego? Or am I really doing this out of love for God and His glory?” We should ALL stop right here often and let the Holy Spirit examine us and purify us from self-centered motives and actions.

As a leader of a LIFE COMMUNITY the most effective way to keep everything focused on Loving God is by always being guided by His Word. The Bible is His perfect revelation of Himself. If we begin to let things other than His Word define God then we will not be able to see Him clearly. The Bible is the definer of life and reality and it always bring us back to the Glory of God. So, as you lead, always end up with “How does this point us towards God?” or “In what way does this story enlarge our thinking about Jesus?” or “Why should we love God more because of this?” You get the idea, point people to Jesus Christ.