Discipleship Network Forum

group (5)

Lay It Down: The Book

Posted by Carl Simmons on April 12, 2013 at 21:30

This entry's somewhat more personal/self-promotional than past entries, but a year and a half's worth of work will drive a man to push the envelope. And this is the right group to tell about it. So I appreciate your forebearance....

 

Jesus told us in John 15:13-14, “No one has greater love than this — that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends  if you do what I command you.” That’s really the heart of discipleship.

But it often comes in pieces. How do we lay down our past — our old life, sins, compulsions, shame? How do we lay down our present — our burdens, weaknesses, strengths, possessions, reputation? And how do we lay down our future — our fears, goals, expectations, even the good things God’s already given us?

Our lives have to move from being of Christ to being in Christ, and ultimately to where finally each of our lives “is Christ” (Phil. 1:18, et al.). And that’s tough. Lay It Down makes the processing part, at least, a bit easier — and offers you the opportunity to process both on your own and in a small-group environment.

A synopsis of contents follows, but first, the critical purchase info:

• To purchase the physical book (210p.) directly from CreateSpace ($12.99), go here.

• For the Kindle version ($9.99, with free borrowing for Kindle Prime members), go here.

• And while you’re at it, go Like the Lay It Down Facebook page here – then Share it.

Section 1: Lay Down Your Past—We need to allow God to deal with what’s already happened in our lives before we can fully move forward. Even long-time Christians have issues from the past that have a way of cropping back up in our lives in brand-new ways—or even in ways we thought we’d left behind.

• Week 1, Lay Down Your Old Life, addresses the core issues of our old life without Christ, such as sin and our former patterns of thinking

• In Week 2, Lay Down Your Baggage, we address those issues from our past that might still have a hold on us—old hurts, grudges, addictions.

Section 2: Lay Down Your Present—What are your current life issues, and how are you trying to control them on your own rather than lay them down before Christ?

• Week 3, Lay Down Your Kingdom, deals the stuff we hold onto and take pride in apart from Christ—and how to hand over the reins.

• With Week 4, Lay Down Your Triggers, we take a step further toward trusting God fully with our lives and identity right now, so that God can provide something better.

Interlude/Retreat: Lay Down Your Time—Between the Present and the Future I’ve inserted an Interlude. (Where better to put it?) This directed retreat can be done on your own or better yet, with a group. I pretty much guarantee that those following the structure presented here will come back renewed, refreshed, and with a deeper sense of spiritual intimacy and purpose—I’ve seen this work too many times to believe otherwise. And with that, it’s time for…

Section 3: Eternal Life Starts Now—Everything we do here on earth is rehearsal time for that endless day we will spend in eternity with Christ. The remainder of the book explores that.

• Week 5, Lay Down Your Future, addresses our immediate future—how to lay down our anxieties, fears, and even our own expectations about what God has planned for us.

• In Week 6, Lay Down the Law (and Leave It There), we’ll explore what it looks like to walk out our entire lives in the Spirit, and the different ways God has provided so that laying down isn’t just sacrifice, but rest and peace in Him.

• In Week 7, Lay Down Your New Life, we’ll look at what it means to lay down our new lives in Christ. God always has something better in store for us, but in order to receive it we need to lay down our gifts and worship the Giver.

• And finally, with Week 8, we’ll Pick It Up, Put It On, Walk It Out. We are pilgrims together on this journey, and even now we should be able to recognize our new life in Christ in one another as well. We’ll explore what that looks like.

So that’s it. Interested? That’s what I was hoping. Enjoy, be blessed, be changed, and spread the word.

Read more…

A Healthy Small Group Is the Body of Christ

Posted by Michael Mack on February 21, 2012 at 10:23

A small group, at its core, is Christ’s body in action. Stop and think about this for a moment. Your small group is the church. Not a subset of the church. Not a supportive program within the church. Not a tool to close the back door. Unfortunately, in today’s world, our mental image of “church” is usually something much bigger or more institutional than a single small group. We say, “I’m going to church,” meaning a building, a mass meeting, or possibly a structured program of some sort. The New Testament never uses the word church that way. Rather it refers to God’s people, called to carry out his mission. The New Testament uses the word church in three basic ways:

  1. The church that meets in the home (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Philemon 1:2)
  2. The church in a certain geographical area (Acts 13:1; Romans 16:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2)
  3. All of God’s called-out people (ecclesia, Matthew 16:18)

My objective here is not to get into a pointless argument about the definition of words (see 1 Timothy 6:4 and 2 Timothy 2:14). I want to help you see what your group really is, or at least what it has the potential to become.

You are the church. You are the body of Christ,

perfectly arranged by God to carry out his mission for his world.  — 1 Corinthians 12:18

If your group is not healthy, this definition may not fit you today. Perhaps you are not seeing God’s mission accomplished through your group at the present time. But I believe there is hope! I believe that God can transform your group into a robust and healthy expression of Christ’s body.

In my new book, Small Group Vital Signs, I put on my doctor’s scrubs and got out my diagnostic instruments to help you measure the health of your group. Then, I provided holistic cures to help your group become the healthy body that God designed it to be.  If you are the group’s leader, don’t attempt to do this alone. Your whole group must be involved!

______

9570800474?profile=originalThis blog is an excerpt from my new book, Small Group Vital Signs: Seven Indicators of Health that Make Groups Flourish (TOUCH Publications) to be released late February, 2012.

Read more…

The Most Powerful Word In The Bible

Posted by Doug Morrell on November 28, 2010 at 14:23
If.

Two letters, one word.
Jesus said: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

What is it to be a disciple of Christ?
It is to come after him. A true disciple of Christ is one that follows him in duty and will follow him to glory. A disciple of Christ comes after him like a soldier after his commander. A disciple is one who wants only to see God glorified - one who walks as he walks and is led by his Holy Spirit.

What is required?
If any man will come. Discipleship begins with an option – IF. If any man would come... Discipleship is a deliberate choice, an act of the will. Many fall into discipleship at other’s request or by situation, but Jesus desires that his disciples choose to volunteer themselves as his disciples.

The terms:
1. Let him deny himself. Admission into Christ’s school of discipleship begins with self-denial – it is the first lesson learned and the foundation from which all other lessons are built upon. Those who have learned self-denial are those who deny themselves absolutely and do nothing to seek life on their own terms. They are those who lay down their lives for others and only for their good. They have understood the difference between time and eternity and have chosen to forsake this life for the time to come. They no longer love this life’s rewards such as thinking their time is their own, no longer love leisure, power, authority and financial security for they have discovered how empty these really are. They become free to follow Christ and in so doing, will inherit eternal life and begin immediately to experience abundant life and the benefits of truly following Christ Jesus.

2. Let him take up his cross. The troubles of believers are rightly called crosses – troubles including God’s afflictions, persecution for righteousness’ sake, troubles we encounter whether for doing well or for not doing evil. Isaiah calls this the bread of adversity and the water of affliction - my cross, my troubles are my substance (Is. 30:20). Every disciple has his cross. Every disciple must bear the cross that God has provided. My cross is not your cross. Your cross is not mine. I must not avoid, add to, or take away from that which Father God has made for me. I must take up my cross and not think what I am facing as an accident or evil, but I must rejoice in my afflictions for I know that it is working for my good. I must deny myself the pleasure of sin and the fleeting, deceptive advantages of this present evil age for Christ.

3. Let him follow me. If I have denied myself, have taken up my cross, I now can follow Christ. He then bears my cross for me and bears it from me. I must follow Christ in all instances of holiness and obedience. As a disciple, I must study and imitate Christ, conforming myself to his example, regardless of what the world suggests or what troubles lie ahead. I must do well and I must suffer troubles for this is the way of Christ. A disciple studies to imitate their Master, and conforms themselves in every thing to his example, and continues in well doing, whatever troubles lie in their way. To do well and to suffer ill is to follow Christ. If any man will come after me, let him follow me. Those that come after Christ must follow after him.

If anyone would...
Read more…

Developing A Discipleship Ministry

Posted by Doug Morrell on November 20, 2010 at 12:00
We know that Jesus was the greatest disciple maker who has ever lived, but how did He begin?

Though Jesus had many who followed, He chose only twelve ordinary men with a mixture of backgrounds and personalities to be His disciples. Jesus’ entire ministry depended upon these men who would go on to start the Christian Church. He began His discipleship ministry in prayer:

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles” (Luke 6:12,13).

Jesus then selected the men His Father told Him to choose for He only did what He saw His Father doing – Jesus saw these men in prayer and then hand-selected them from the multitudes: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).

Jesus focused His time in prayer, communion and fellowship with His Father and then He selected His men. This is paramount to fulfilling Jesus’ model for making disciples.

Jesus chose a few in prayer, and prayer was His first priority as He continued to make them into life-long disciples.

Jesus focused on a few and He did nothing without first having prayed.

Though Jesus’ vision was enormous, He focused on just a handful of men. In so doing, He demonstrated the power of small beginnings:

“He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches” (Matthew 13:31,32)

Our Lord Jesus focused on twelve men to change the world and to whom He would give the task of building His church. He spent the majority of His ministry life pouring into an obscure, seemingly insignificant group of twelve very unlikely men. As Lord, He knew the power of small beginnings, the power of seedtime and harvest.

What we learn is that bigger is not always better. In discipleship, it is better to do more with a few than to do little with many. It is better to have a few very committed people than it is to have an army of mediocrity. We are so programmed to believe that the evidence of a successful ministry is how much, or how big, or how many. We turn to programs again and again that create mechanically produced leaders, but who are not prepared to stand, walk, and engage in spiritual battle. They lack much for they are still entangled in past hurts, offenses, bitterness, divisiveness, not firmly established in the Word of God, and have not learned to walk in the Holy Spirit of God. Too often, they are released to work for Him before they understand their position in Him.

These first two steps are important in developing a discipleship ministry that produces disciples into the third and fourth generation.

May God grant that we become disciple-making churches.


Doug Morrell

CoreDiscipleship.com

Read more…

Discipleship 101: If Your Brother Sins Against You

Posted by Doug Morrell on December 4, 2010 at 15:38
How different we would be if we were to follow Jesus' plan for Biblical reconciliation.

Disciples must confront each other about their sins privately,
and never engage in or be a party to gossip and tale-bearing. This article provides a step-by-step process "If a brother sins against you."

This should be one of the first lessons taught and lived out by those discipling others. Disciples must confront each other about their sins privately, and never engage in or be a party to gossip and tale-bearing.

Read and do what Jesus said without addition or excuse:
Jesus said, “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother” (Matthew 18:15).

First, Christ is speaking about a brother. This passage applies only to believers.

Secondly, Jesus is talking about sin. “If a brother sins….” The Greek word used is hamartano which means to miss the mark and not share in the prize. The mark is God’s holy law. It means that we should not take offense over personality differences, cultural differences, socioeconomic differences, etc. Because we are sinners, we do not need fairness – we need mercy.

Thirdly, the sin committed is personal - it is against you and not someone else. Christ is discussing private offenses and not public sins. If the sin is committed against you alone, or if you observe a brother commit a sin in private, then you are required to keep the matter private and go to your brother. Public sins are handled in a different manner. A sin that is public and known by the whole church requires a public rebuke and repentance.

If a disciple overhears a conversation between two believers in which he thinks something offensive was said by one believer to another, it is the person’s responsibility to whom the statement was directed to either overlook the matter in love or confront the person who made the statement. The person who overheard the conversation has absolutely no business taking offense and spreading the matter around the church when the person to whom the statement was made has not taken offense and would like to drop the matter altogether. If you believe that a brother is covering a sin that is so serious that you think it needs to be dealt with, then go to him privately and discuss it. But Christians who go about the church and meddle in affairs that should not concern them are gossips and busybodies and unnecessarily disturb the peace of Christ’s church. Gossip is sin.

Lastly, the offended brother is to go and confront the brother who sinned in private and alone. “You, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” This is the first command in the text. This is a divine imperative from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ. This procedure for dealing with a brother who has committed sin is not optional for disciples. These are not suggestions. These are not just words of advice.

Often when accusations are leveled against a brother behind his back and spread throughout the church and the accuser and accused disagree, factions or camps develop within the church. People have a tendency to take sides in a dispute. When those on opposite sides become heated and obstinate, often the result is a serious schism among the brethren. How many churches have a split because someone did not obey Christ’s simple command to go to a brother privately and keep the matter private? Such divisions often take years to heal. It is a great sin to bring dissension and strife into the body of Christ. Elders have a solemn responsibility to ensure that Christ’s instructions are followed. Those who disobey Christ and bring strife and bitterness into the church must be rebuked publicly before all. When church leaders know that Christ’s command has been violated and yet do nothing, they are partly to blame for the resulting chaos this brings to God’s Church.

Why are you to go to your brother?
You are there to bring about biblical reconciliation. The passage says: “If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” Which means that the erring brother has agreed with you, admitted his sin and that you are now reconciled with your brother. But what is biblical reconciliation?

Apologies are fine when you accidentally bump into someone at the shopping mall but they should never be used as a substitute for biblical reconciliation. Whenever sin is involved it is simply not enough to say “I’m sorry” or “I apologize.” Jay Adams explains why: “An apology is an inadequate humanistic substitute for the real thing. Nowhere do the Scriptures require, or even encourage, apologizing. To say ‘I’m sorry’ is a human dodge for doing what God has commanded.” The biblical response is to say: “Yes, I am guilty. I have sinned against you. Will you forgive me?” The reason that an apology is inadequate when actual sin has occurred is because it does not elicit a proper biblical response. When a believer admits his guilt and then says: “Will you forgive me?”, the Christian who has come to confront him regarding his sin must say: “Yes, I forgive you.” This places the ball in his court. He must either explicitly forgive or openly rebel against God. When the brother says, “I forgive you,” he promises never to bring the matter up against you; never to bring the matter up again to others (even his spouse); and never to bring the matter up to himself by dwelling on it and dredging up bitterness, etc. This is biblical reconciliation.

Are you offended or angry with someone right now? What are you doing to resolve your differences? Don't let this day end before you begin to work on mending your relationship. Be a doer, not just a hearer of God’s Word.

Let us purpose to grow in grace and in truth.

Doug Morrell
Read more…