Leadership
Holistic Leadership Development
You want to develop leaders who will do what Jesus called us to do, leaders who can take the church forward into the 21st century. You look to the fields and see them, as Jesus does, ready for harvest — and you know that’s where your ministry needs to concentrate.
What’s needed is holistic leadership development — the kind of leadership development that comes from the harvest and leads people back into the harvest, resulting in subsequent generations of new believers and new leaders living as Jesus called us to live.
We can help you develop leaders the kind of leaders you need in a way that is both relational and intentional… and ultimately effective in helping your church accomplish its mission.
Perseverance and implementation
Don’t wait on making disciples… start now. So something. Seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus, raising up others. In tandem with our own development, becoming like Jesus, we also reach out and become part of the mandate of Jesus. Who can you start influencing? Who...
Disciples who seize the mission of Jesus
As we become disciples, we make disciples. This is the crux of making disciples: when we make disciples who seize the mission of Jesus so that they go on making more disciples, who make more disciples, who make more disciples. What is the proof of discipleship? If we...
The importance of discipleship relationships
Once we have a clear sense of where we need to grow, now we need a relational context for that growth. There is no substitute for intentional discipleship relationships. During some seasons those are one-on-one relationships. During some seasons they are peer or group...
Listening to the Holy Spirit together with others
If we are to practice a kind of discipleship that is truly tailored to the individual, we absolutely need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Where God is calling one person to focus their growth is not necessarily where he’s calling another to focus. We can...
The role of community in growth
Community is essential in helping us process our journey of discipleship. The Apostle Paul gives us some direction in how we are to function as Christian community for one another in this particularly rich passage: And let us consider how we may spur one another on...
The result of a holistic disciple? More disciples
When we have integrated disciples-- those who incorporate head, heart, and hands-- we see they are vastly more likely to pass along that discipleship to others. The end result of holistic disciples modeled on the pattern of Jesus is the multiplication of more...
Discipleship pitfall #3: All heart
In the last two blog entries, we’ve looked at the pitfall of “all head” and “all hands.” The third discipleship pitfall is “all heart”-- focusing on just internal character and heart… the contemplative, emotional retreat– just me and God… drifting. Or, in more social...
Discipleship pitfall #2: All hands
In my last blog entry, we looked at the pitfall of the “all head” approach-- trying to educate our way to making disciples. One common alternative to the “all head” approach is the “all hands” approach. Instead of just learning stuff, let’s get out there and do stuff!...
Discipleship pitfall #1: All head
When we over-emphasize knowledge in our approach to discipleship, we end up with a classroom approach. Discipleship is a checklist of things to read and know. It’s curriculum-based and doesn’t take into account where God is currently working in the life of an...
What doesn’t work: a one-size fits all approach
Every person is different and we all reflect God in different ways. So why is our approach to discipleship the same across the board? Look at church discipleship programs: Everyone reads this same book. Everyone takes this same class. Everyone participates in this...
The vision and the need
When we really take the time to sit down and think about it, we can see an amazing vision of what making and multiplying disciples could look like: Churches turning outward and serving the communities around them. Christians building authentic relationships with those...
Community transformation
Community transformation is the outwardly visible result of how we live in the world corporately as followers of Jesus. To be engaged in community transformation means that we, as followers of Jesus, are actively contributing to positive change in the broader...