James 5:14–15 asks, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Have you ever had a moment in time when you realized you were doing or thinking about something that you had never intended on doing or thinking about? As a highly hypothetical example, imagine that I was on a diet. A diet where I ate things that were good for me, or at least healthier…
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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…
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Jesus modeled relationship by being with His disciples. Being an intentional and relational leader means making time to spend with those you are discipling. Disciple Makers are more likely to accurately evaluate their disciples growth stages and aptitude if they spend time together. If Jesus had interacted with His disciples only once a week for…
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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…
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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…
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Jesus modeled the importance of relationship in the way He taught His disciples: He followed the Deuteronomy 6:7 exhortation. God’s commands were on His heart and He talked about them as He spent time with the disciples. He talked about the truth when they ate and when they went to bed. Jesus was with His…
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