If you have read my books or posts or listened to my sermons, there should be no doubt in your mind that I believe discipleship begins with and is sustained by relationship. However, disciple makers also must be ready to give an answer, defend the faith, and teach their disciples the truth of the Bible…
I find that people who often have the hardest time becoming relational are those who have been in church a long time. If you ask personal questions, they don’t want to talk. They will often point to the Bible and say, “This is all we need for spiritual growth. Read it. Study it. Learn it.”…
With the rise of technology and social media platforms in the past few years, people now have a 24/7 window to look into the lives of those around us or in our world at any given time. Because of this, the temptation to compare our lives to others is one that is hard to avoid.…
Why is it, that when many young adults leave home, they also choose to leave the faith they grew up in and never go back? What is happening to cause this? We’ve all seen good parents who do their best to raise their children to love Jesus, then end up having to watch their children…
Some good friends just left our small group. And they aren’t coming back. It’s been a little over six months since we invited them. Over that time we have had them in our home, barbecued together, and vacationed together. We celebrated together and walked through difficult situations together — taking our turns at both…
Jesus choose twelve men, and then built a relational environment in which to teach and care for them. By the time he left them, they were equipped to do the same thing for the people they would go on to disciple. He spent time with them, modeling the characteristics they should aim for, and teaching…
Fifty-four inches of rain fell on the Houston area in 48 hours. Our little church plant put aside business as usual and assembled “mud out” teams to go help families in our community. At the first house my team was sent to, I met Greg, Laura and their three daughters. They were sorting through the…
When we talk about the 5 different stages of spiritual growth in a disciple as found in the Discipleship Wheel, we use terms that correlate with basic physical stages of growth. The 5 stages are Dead – Infant – Child – Young Adult – Parent. When we are looking at spiritual growth, the difference between…
Mileposts on a pathway may not be the ultimate destination, but they are very important. Mileposts remind us we are on the right path. They also help us stay on the path and headed in the right direction. They serve to help us determine the location of the people we are discipling. When we hear…
The word accountability has been subtly stolen from us by our enemy. He’s happy to distort accountability by either of two errors. Many call their small groups “accountability groups”, but all they do is share their struggles. They don’t do anything to help one another change, usually because they don’t know how and they don’t…