The discovery bible study app

I have written before about the Discovery Bible Study method. It's a simple small group format where you read a passage of Scripture and consider several questions, such as:

• What does this story tell me about God?
• What does this story tell me about people (or myself)?
• If this is God's word for our lives how will I obey it?
• Who am I going to tell?

We did this for years with another couple (though we slightly altered the questions). They say this method works because it's so simple. The structure is easy to teach, easy to remember and easy to replicate. That means anyone can run a DBS with anybody, anywhere.

And now... there is an app for that! You can find it online at  https://discoverapp.org/, or in the app store on your phone.

Personally, I thought the iphone app was a little clunky at first, but maybe that was just me. Once I got the hang of it it works okay.

A friend of mine is going to use this for small groups in his church. I think it would be nice to be in another small group sometime and use it. The hard part is finding a time, since I have to go to bed so early during the week. I'm sure it can be done...

***

Psalm 119:17-18

"Be good to your servant while I live,
    that I may obey your word. 

 Open my eyes that I may see
    wonderful things in your law."

 

The 12 beliefs of jesus

Does Jesus believe like you, or do you believe like Jesus?

I'd venture to guess most of us grew up assuming that the beliefs espoused by our church matched those of Jesus. At some point, though, don't you think we need to question how much our culture and worldview has influenced what we believe? As someone raised in a white evangelical American church, it took me a while to recognize that the Jesus of the Middle East may have thought differently about some things.

This was the gist of my reading yesterday in Carl Madearis's great little book '42 Seconds: The Jesus Model for Everyday Interactions.' "Do I believe what Jesus believed?"

Carl shares what his friend and mentor, Bart Tarman, lists as 'twelve beliefs of Jesus' (and he notes there are more than this shown in scripture, but Bart listed these twelve in a sermon or something):

The Twelve Beliefs of Jesus:

1. Jesus believed that God is like a daddy.
2. Jesus believed that faith is the key to opening every door -- not correct thinking but childlike trust.
3. Jesus believed in love.
4. Jesus believed in humility.
5. Jesus believed that dying is the key to living.
6. Jesus believed that everyone is welcome.
7. Jesus believed that the best life is lived in community.
8. Jesus believed in being generous.
9. Jesus believed that change comes from the inside out.
10. Jesus believed in an upside-down Kingdom. An opposite world. If you're rich, you're poor. Be friends to enemies. Live to die. Be a child to be mature. Become empty to be full. Forgive to be forgiven.
11. Jesus believed in empathy -- treating others the way we want to be treated.
12. Jesus believed in forgiveness, received and given.

While not an exhaustive list, I think it's pretty good. I also wish the link he shared to the sermons was still active, but I couldn't find it (I'm assuming that's where the Scripture references were). Anyway... I would guess there are a number of "Christians" who maybe don't believe all those things, or haven't believed them all their life (like me!). For instance, I haven't always thought of God as "daddy." I used to think he was a stern taskmaster. I haven't always believed in the power of generosity. I used to think I had what I had because I'd earned it, and it was MINE (all mine!). Things like that.

Then, at the end of the chapter, Carl drops this little line in there:

"Thankfully, I'm being reoriented to believe what Jesus believes. We call that healing."

Wowza! Healing. Yes! Isn't that exactly what becoming more "Christ-like" is? I'd always thought of it as maturing - becoming more like the One perfect being. But healing... yes. I like that.

So, here's to immersing ourselves in the beliefs of Jesus with the intention of believing those same things, and expecting our actions to eventually follow (someday). Expecting to become more like Jesus - in love, generosity, welcome, empathy, and so much more.

***

^"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking...That is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:17-24)

Godspeed (vs. fomo and yolo)

We started using new bible study material last night, and I'm kind of excited! Once a week the wife and I meet with another pastor and his wife. We've been doing it for a couple few years off and on. Most of the time we just go through the bible and don't use any other materials. We have always enjoyed it.

Last night we started an 8-week study called "Godspeed: Unearthing Holiness," by Julie & Matt Canlis. It is based on a 37-minute film called "Godspeed,"  which, as the blurb says, "is the story of an American pastor whose desire to change the world grinds to a halt in a Scottish parish... What began as a five minute video ended as a half-hour portrait of the people and places who had taught Matt to repent & rest."

The film, and study, includes footage from the likes of Eugene Peterson, N.T. Wright, Father Giles, and others. The sessions are entitled: place, presence, pace, identity, stability, names, and mission.

I think I am going to like it! I especially liked the introduction in the study guide. Hopefully they don't mind if I share it:

The word 'Godspeed' comes from the old English phrase God Spede - meaning may God flourish you. Many of us wonder: can I live at Godspeed in big cities? Is flourishing only for rural Scotland?

Godspeed is not a call to pack up and move to the country. To live at Godspeed means to be present to where we are, and present to who surrounds us.

So what keeps us from being present?

The Oxford Dictionary has recently added two words that give us some cultural clues: FOMO (fear of missing out, 2015) and YOLO (you only live once, 2016). Both of these reflect the urgency of modern life - the insecure drive to take advantage of every opportunity, wherever it takes us. But what if it takes us away from where we are supposed to be? Is there a word for that? Are FOMO and YOLO dictating our lives more than an attentiveness to the place God has us and the people around us?

Uh... yeah!!!

You know, this kind of reminds me of when we first started pastoring the little country church we were at for so long. Until I lost my way.

Anyway, the study format is solidly set up, and I'm looking forward to it. Each session closes using Lectio Divina (spiritual reading of scripture), and with this prayer:

"Father, thank you for unearthing holiness in us. Help us to join with Jesus in unearthing holiness where we already live [and work, I would add], and with the Holy Spirit's help, to love the people we are with. Amen."

I would like to memorize that prayer so I can use it often throughout the day as I try to learn to notice, listen to, and (hopefully) love the people I am with. The people in my parish.

Godspeed, my friends...

Connecting questions

I believe it was around 2015 when we started gathering with some friends and using the Discovery Bible Study method (or one variation anyway). This is a method of small group bible study designed to be simple enough for anyone to do and/or lead, as well as reproducible so it can grow with minimal training or expense. It really just boils down to two things: people, and the bible.

The way it works is, you start with a few basic "connecting" questions, then read and discuss a bible passage, and ideally end with prayer and some type of personal response. I like to break it down into three parts:

• CONNECT (with one another)
• DISCOVER (what the passage says about God/people/our relationship with God and people)
• RESPOND (what will I do as a result?)

Lately I've been working through the "Connect" questions. These are designed to get people sharing and as a way to assess for ourselves 'where we're at,' so to speak.

Here are three different sets I came up with the other day (all trying to get at the same thing):

1. What is something positive that happened this week?
2. What questions or concerns do you have?
3. Have you sensed God's activity in your life? 

1. What can we celebrate?
2. What concerns you?
3. What are you thinking/feeling/sensing?

1. What are you grateful for?
2. What concerns do you have?
3. What is God saying to you?

---

Today I was doing some more digging. There are oodles of people and organizations using some iteration of a "Discovery Bible Study." Just a couple I came across had these nice pdf printouts: DBS uses the ABC format (Ask, Bible, Commit), and THIS SIMPLE GUIDE from contagiousdisciplemaking.com.

And... I think I like these "connect" questions:

1. What are you thankful for?
2. What is causing you stress?
3. Anything else??? (I would like to ask for "God sightings," or "How is God working in your life," or something... but maybe that should be part of the discovery process)

That should be a good way to get things started. And that's all we're really looking for anyway...

---

I also read somewhere that you should suggest people offer 'sentence answers' rather than 'paragraph answers.' This makes sense, especially in a larger group. In our small gathering it's not much of an issue. In fact, ANY answer is sometimes hard to come up with. Although, we should probably always stress that "I don't know" is an acceptable answer as well.

 ---

So, I don't know... This is what I was thinking about today. We'll see what happens. If anything...

Why

The other day I wrote about "what" and "how." That post was inspired by something else, but I suppose it's only fitting it preceded today's post on "why."

It all came about because of this great article by Ben Sternke "Why Would Anyone Want To Be A Disciple of Jesus?" He notes Simon Sinek's book 'Start With Why' (though the TED talk is better and shorter). Sinek says where most organizations go wrong is they can tell you WHAT they do, and a few can tell you HOW they do it, but very few can tell you WHY they do what they do. What’s their ultimate purpose? Why do they get out of bed in the morning? What’s the point? His basic argument, then, is that why we do something is far more important and powerful than what we’re doing or how we’re doing it.

In regard to discipleship, Sternke says, a lot of churches do the same thing. They say you should be focusing on discipleship (WHAT), and some church even have a plan for it (HOW), but very few churches can really talk about WHY discipleship to Jesus is such a big deal.

This is important, because, as Sinek says, it's the "why" that motivates people! This is something I've been thinking about for awhile lately. If you run a non-profit, or use a lot of volunteers, or even if you're just a regular old leader in any type of venture... people are not motivated by a paycheck. They want and need to know why they're doing what they're doing!

I wish my boss would do this. Tell me WHY we do what we do! Why does this matter?! I wish my pastor would do this. Tell us WHY the good news of Jesus is good news! What does this mean for my life? In my opinion, THAT is when transformation begins to take place. THAT is what speaks to people's hearts. THAT is what inspires!

So, in the article, Sternke puts discipleship to the "why" test: Why focus on discipleship in the first place? Why be disciples of Jesus? Why make disciples of Jesus?

Of course, the obvious answer is, because Jesus said so! We've all heard the "Go, and make disciples..." and yet, somehow it loses steam (or something) somewhere along the line. And WHY is that? Sternke says this:
The problem is the way we often talk about discipleship makes it feel like it is arbitrary, that it’s less of a vital thing and more of an extra-curricular activity, an add-on to the “main thing,” which is typically “getting saved.”

If this is your good news…

God will forgive your sins and let you into heaven if you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you…

…then there is no reason at all to become a disciple of Jesus. You’re not trusting a person, you’re just assenting to some facts.

But the good news is so much more than forgiveness and heaven-when-you-die!

If this is your gospel…

You can participate NOW in the life of the Trinity, joining with him in what he’s doing right now on earth. Through Jesus Christ, life in God’s kingdom is available to you now. You can start immediately.

…then becoming a disciple makes perfect sense! 

Why? Because how else will I learn to live this new life? If I surrender to this gospel, I realize that I really don’t know how to live in God’s kingdom. I don’t know how to participate in the life of the Trinity. But Jesus does!

So, Sternke asserts...

• Discipleship to Jesus is the natural way to say 'yes' to the gospel of the kingdom.
• If we want to see a discipleship revolution take root in the North American church, we have to intentionally change the way we think and talk about the gospel.
• If we can truly begin to preach and respond to the gospel of the kingdom, the one Jesus and Paul and the whole New Testament preaches, it will naturally lead to discipleship, because the WHY will be obvious.

I say, Amen! Aren't you glad you asked why? :)

Invitation and challenge

I've been thinking about this Invitation & Challenge matrix lately. I first stumbled onto it some years ago - probably through 3dm - but the best description I know of comes from Ben Sternke in his "Making Disciples" series.

As Ben says in his post, "How I Make Disciples: Invitation & Challenge,"

Invitation refers to an attitude that says, “I’m glad you are here, I’m committed to you and will welcome you no matter what.” Challenge refers to an attitude that says, “I want you to grow, I’m committed to holding you accountable to change for the better.”

It's not a very long article and the series itself is so well put together that I highly recommend it. And, while Ben is speaking specifically to the work of making disciples, I believe it has application far and wide.

What initially reminded me of this was a discussion with my pastor about our church culture. It was then magnified (to me) by the first preaching team meeting we had. I haven't said anything yet, but finally decided to refresh my memory with the above chart.

It somewhat blew my mind, because in our discussion of culture, we both agreed (well, at least he agreed with my take) that there is a pretty "cozy" culture in our group. People tend to feel comfortable coming to our church gatherings, but that's usually all the farther they go. So when I saw the top left quadrant - High Invitation/Low Challenge - I almost laughed out loud. That is EXACTLY how our pastor is!

Then, when we had our first preaching team meeting, I was a little frustrated by the discussion. It was slanted WAYYYYY to the invitation side. To the point that "invitation" was actually used as a synonym for "proclamation (and what our preaching is to be about), and there was no mention of "challenge" whatsoever.

Now, as a "challenge" sort of person, this caused me to think all sorts of things. You know, the stifling of my prophetic voice, an insufficient (false) gospel, quenching the spirit, so on and so forth. I don't really feel it is intentionally any of those things. I think/hope it is just that he leans way to the invitation side, and I to the opposite extreme in challenge.

I suppose it's also possible that we feel differently about preaching in general. His take is that it should be nothing but proclaiming the gospel. I don't disagree, but I think my understanding of it is a little different. I believe proclaiming can/does include teaching, and also includes challenging people to be different and better. In other words, I believe preaching/teaching to be the same, and both should include discipling at the core. You can't merely proclaim the gospel to people in one moment, then disciple them at another time. It's all the same thing to me. At least I think so.

At any rate, I also need to remind myself often of what Sternke points out at the end of his post on invitation/challenge:

"If you want to make disciples, you’ll have to learn to do intentionally that which you’re not good at naturally. Those who are natural “inviters” need to learn to bring challenge. They’ll need to learn to push harder than they’re comfortable with. They’ll need to learn to hold others accountable for taking action in the kingdom. Those who are natural “challengers” need to learn to be inviting and warm. They’ll need to learn to have meetings with no clear agenda, just enjoying the company of others. They’ll need to learn to affirm and encourage those they’re discipling... when you feel like you are leaning into that which you’re not comfortable with way too much, you’re probably almost there. “Challengers” will feel like they are being overly-mushy and sentimental when they’re actually calibrating an almost-appropriate amount of invitation. “Inviters” will feel like they are being harsh task-masters when they’re actually calibrating an almost-appropriate amount of challenge."

 So, just some stuff simmerin' in my brain today. Good stuff, at that!

Books and learning opportunities of 2018

I haven't been very good about keeping tabs on my reading the past few years. I kind of think I read a few more books than this over the last year, but these are the ones I can remember or have notes of.

• X, by Chuck Klosterman
• The Essence of Jesus, by Arthur Rowe
• 30 Days to Understanding the Bible, by Max Anders
• Quotes for Mindfulness, by Carol Kelly-Gangi
• Haiku: the Sacred Art, by Margaret McGee
• Christ-Centered Coaching, by Jane Creswell
• Get Off Your Donkey, by Reggie McNeal
• The Discipleship Difference, by Robert Logan
• Keep Christianity Weird, by Michael Frost
• Cross Vision, by Greg Boyd (still reading)

 In addition to books, I also participated in a couple learning opportunities I can recall:

• A Home Grown Mission discipleship coaching group
• A Coach Approach Ministries e-class on "Asking Powerful Questions"
• I am also still participating in the 'Engaging Young Adults' thing through the Center for Congregations.

Discipleship coaching

I finished my discipleship coaching class last week (through homegrownmission.com). I was sort of a last-minute add to the class because my pastor is the instructor, and since I'm part of the church and he had some open spots, he let me take it for free. I'm glad I did!

I had actually started something very similar to this course before through 3dm. Home Grown actually grew out of that - the leader was a former 3dm coach - so some of the teaching was the same and some was not.

To kind of put it in a nutshell:

• This is 6-month, 24-week course that meets for roughly an hour a week (online) and requires 80% attendance to complete (although we only ended up meeting 21 times, I think). We met on Thursdays at 2:30 pm.
• The main communication tool is "Slack.com" - an audio/video online format (which I liked much better than the old days of just audio).
• The main sources of information were the books "Building A Discipling Culture" from Mike Breen, and "The Discipleship Difference" by Robert Logan.
• The course centered around the ideas of what it means to be a "disciple," and how to do "discipleship." So we worked at developing the right MINDSET, SKILLSET, and TOOLSET. 

What I want to leave here today is a basic run-down of what we covered each week, and some of the specific resources used during the course. This is more for my own recollection as anything, but it is some good and worthwhile stuff. I was honestly not expecting to get much out of this group, but it turned out to be way more helpful than I expected.

So, as best as I can recall (and had recorded in my notes) these are the bones of what it looked like week to week:

1. Get acquainted, basics of the group, introduction.
2. The idea of simple, reproducible practices; Journaling based on the Moravian daily texts.
3. "What Is God Saying To You?" and "What Will You Actually Do About It?" from Ben Sternke, and an introduction to 'The Learning Circle.'
4. Practicing 'The Learning Circle.'
5. Definitions of disciple and discipleship.
6. Introduction to "Dimensions of Discipleship" handout (taken from 'The Discipleship Difference').
7. continued...
8. "Engaging in Spiritual Conversations with Those Who Are Not Yet Followers of Jesus" handout, and practice.
9. "What IS Discipleship, Really?" handout from Ben Hardman
10. The 7 Basic Learning Styles discussion
11. continued...
12. (I was absent, but it covered the "rest & work" semicircle from 3dm).
13. Accountability questions/huddle skills & character guides
14. continued...
15. The 'Leadership Square' from 3dm
16. 'Persons of Peace' handout from Ben Sternke
17. continued...
18. Five-Fold ministry survey and handout, plus "The Five Equippers of Churches" videos from JR Woodward (missioalliance.org).
19. 'Pathway to Mission' handout
20. Last class (I think) - Q & A
21. Individual meetings with the leader...

I suppose it's worth noting - in the event someone may happen along here unintentionally - if this is something you're interested in, I would check out homegrownmission.com for coaching. Brian is a great teacher and it's not only packed full of great resources, but practical teaching and useful skill development. Good stuff!

5 fold ministry score (and the 5 equippers of churches)

For my coaching class this week we were supposed to take this five-fold survey, and then watch this set of videos by JR Woodward on 'The Five Equippers of Churches.' I did so earlier today.

I've taken this, and similar, tests before and I score pretty much the same. There is never much variance from my strongest to my least and that was no different this time (19-13). At different times my base (highest number) has alternated between Prophet and Apostle, and Evangelist is usually one of the lower. So it was no surprise that I scored a 19 as a Prophet this time. I feel that's fairly fitting regardless of what's happening in my life. Here is the score sheet from today:

5 Fold Ministry Score Sheet

Prophet - 19
Pastor - 16
Teacher - 16
Apostle - 15
Evangelist - 13


This is how they characterize Prophets from the test site:

Prophets
One who hears and listens to God (prophetes); the prophet foretells and tells forth revelation from God. Often they are able to stand back from circumstances to get a clear picture of what is happening and therefore see creative solutions and develop a vision for situations others don’t see. They understand the times and what people should do.

• Biblical examples—Anna and Simeon in Luke 2 as they prophesy over the infant Jesus. Agabus in Acts 11:28 and 21:10 when he predicts a famine and prophesies about Paul. Philip’s daughters in Acts 21:9 were all known as prophetesses.
• Jesus’ example—Every word spoken from the mouth of Jesus was revelation from God. He often foretold events such as Peter’s denial and the details of his own death. He, himself, is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah such as found in Isaiah 53.
• Mature Prophets enjoy being alone with God, waiting, listening.
• Secular examples—people who speak out their perceptions. They’re often creative types, musicians, and artists.
• Core question Prophets ask: Are the people of God hearing his voice and responding appropriately?
• Characteristics of immature Prophets: While they have a natural gift to "see beyond" what most people can see, immature prophets make two fundamental errors. First, if they sense God is saying something, they provide the interpretation themselves and don't release it to a community of people outside of them. Just as Paul said, the prophet will give their sense, but it's up to the community to weigh and give an interpretation. Their job is to share, release what they've received, back away and then see what other people make of it. The proper path goes like this: Revelation to Interpretation to Application. An immature prophet, having received some sort of revelation, wants to go straight to Application. This is incredibly harmful and not the pattern that scripture gives us. Second, they assume they are always right. The problem is that often times they are right and this builds a false sense of confidence that they get it 100% of the time. Because of this, they can become arrogant, haughty and difficult to deal with. In contrast, a mature prophet is actually quite humble because they know that any revelation they receive isn't their own and they entrust it to the community.

Copyrighted content and excerpted from Building a Discipling Culture

----------------

After completing the survey I then watched the short video's of JR Woodward describing each "equipper" as he calls them. I have seen/read these before, and I do like the description he gives to each one. They are...

Prophet = "heart revealer"
Teacher = "light giver"
Pastor = "soul healer"
Apostle = "dream awakener"
Evangelist = "story teller"

JR says of the Prophet, among other things...
- they reveal the heart of God to people, and the heart of people to God.
- they're concerned with shalom (inner peace) for people.
- they have a passion for social justice, and generally embody it themselves.
- they are concerned with cultivation of a liberating environment - socially and societally.
- they are feel compelled to speak truth to those in power.

So, that's what I did before work today (and after working out). We will discuss them among my coaching class cohorts tomorrow. I think it's always nice to be reminded of who we are and why we do the things we do.

7 types of learning styles - discipleship

In my coaching group last week with Home Grown Mission we discussed what it means to be a learner.

This grew out of our discussion on trying to define "disciple" and "discipleship" - something we've been working through for the past couple months.

The word "discipleship" comes from the greek word, “Mathetes,” which means "learner." The root, “math” indicates “thought accompanied by endeavor”. So...

...discipleship involves learning and doing...

Different people learn in different ways. We tend to demonstrate preferences in learning styles much like we demonstrate personality-type preferences. In the class last week we went through 7 different learning styles and how they connect with our faith and discipleship practices. I found this to be quite good.

Our tendency is likely to involve trying to disciple others in OUR preferred learning style. The challenge, therefore, is to acknowledge how each individual is wired differently. Discipleship doesn't have to look one particular way. The key is to discover what makes it "come to life" for the one(s) we are discipling.

Here are the Seven Learning Styles:

• Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
• Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.
• Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing (readers, note-takers, journaling).
• Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch (learn by doing; no instruction manual types).
• Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
• Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
• Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

Personally, I probably learn best through Solitary, Verbal, and Logical styles. I prefer reading something to hearing it. I also need time to think things through. I'm not very good "on-the-spot." I think this is reflected in my use of discipleship habits like daily devotional reading, journaling, and contemplation.

Anyway, I found this quite insightful and worth considering further...

The discipleship difference - following you and me

This will be my final post on the book 'The Discipleship Difference' by the good people at Logan Leadership. It comes from the chapter on "The Tools For Making Disciples" and this post really only deals with one of the many they mentioned: social modeling.

I am not suggesting, and neither are they, that discipleship is about anything other than following Jesus. However, they ask a pertinent question on p. 147 that really has me thinking:

"If someone were to follow you around for a whole week, what would they learn about the life of a disciple based on your behavior?"

That's a darn good question. Not that anyone should be learning to follow me (or you), but more like, how exactly am I living my life as a disciple of Jesus?

So it has me a'wondering... if I take the "Eight Dimensions of Discipleship" from their 'Tree of Life,' how might I stack up?

These are the Eight Dimensions of a Disciple from the book:

1. Experiencing God
2. Spiritual Responsiveness 
3. Sacrificial Service
4. Generous Living
5. Disciplemaking
6. Personal Transformation
7. Authentic Relationships
8. Community Transformation

I suppose some of the things you might see in my life are:

• I like to start my days off by reading from the devotional "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals." [Experiencing God; Personal Transformation]
• I usually try to do some reading/studying when I have down time at work. [Experiencing God; Personal Transformation]
• I am participating in a HomeGrown Coaching Group on discipleship. [Experiencing God; Spiritual Responsiveness; Discipleship; Personal Transformation]
• I attend/participate in community worship gatherings with my church. [Experiencing God; Generous Living]
• I serve as the parking lot caretaker for our church (for Parkview Field events). [Sacrificial Service; Community Transformation]
• I meet for mutual edification and challenge with Tom on a weekly basis. [Disciplemaking; Authentic Relationships]
• My wife and I talk about issues of faith quite often. [Authentic Relationships]
• I try to treat the under-served people I see with respect. [Generous Living; Community Transformation]
• I feel this blog is sometimes a place for me to work out my "stuff." [Spiritual Responsiveness].

NOTE: I started writing this a couple weeks ago, and this is as far as I got. I'm not real sure now where exactly I was headed with it. Still a great question to consider though.

The discipleship difference - facing our fears

Continuing this series of posts from Logan Leadership's book 'The Discipleship Difference,' today I want to look at chapter 8: "Obedience As the Crux of Discipleship."

As the authors say on p. 126, "Facing our fears, stepping outside our comfort zones, doing what feels unnatural to us - all of these are central to discipleship. All the other tools and methods we use to disciple one another are used toward this end."

They touch on several things in regard to obedience in this chapter, but what really struck me, and what I want to point out, deals with facing our fears.

On p. 128 they talk about "fear not" as being the oft-quoted greeting of angels to humans in the bible. Biblical angels are not the cute little cupids we often see depicted, but are actually quite frightening (apparently). So "fear not" is a necessary greeting. But it doesn't mean "don't feel afraid" - the angel expects that you already do feel quite afraid...

"Fear not" doesn't mean "don't feel afraid." It means "don't let your fear get in the way."

This is so crucial (at least to me). As the authors say, "Facing a challenge despite fear creates a sense of crisis - which is also the opportunity for growth."

So how do we go about doing this? They share a bit of research on p. 131, and note this:

"The technical term for the process being discussed in this chapter is 'exposure.' In order to grow, people need exposure to challenging situations in which they initially feel threatened. The human tendency is to avoid because of fear and anxiety. The solution is not to first try and get over your fear, but to face the challenging situation through prolonged and intense exposure...

Although it seems paradoxical, our fear dissipates by facing what we are afraid of rather than avoiding it.

Well, as I said, there was much more in this chapter dealing with obedience. However, perhaps until we can learn to face our fears, nothing else really matters.

Very insightful stuff here. I think.

The discipleship difference - rubber bands and shoelaces

In chapter 7 of the book 'The Discipleship Difference,' the authors at Logan Leadership discuss "The Dynamics of A Discipling Relationship." They suggest four defining features of a discipling relationship:

• Intentional
• Developmental
• Supportive
• Focused

I think these are all good, but it was in the 'developmental' area that I was struck by their use of rubber bands and shoelaces.

They write on p. 116:
"The people we are discipling often need support at the same time as they need to stretch. This concept can be described as 'rubber bands' (stretch) and 'shoelaces' (support). With rubber bands, no stretch equals no growth. But if you stretch people too far they break. And then there are shoelaces: Shoelaces need to be tied together to function well, just as people need to be tied together in relational networks in order to function well."

Other words we could use to describe this are "invitation & challenge," or "safety & challenge," or "affirmation & challenge" (apparently challenge is a constant).

I have witnessed and been a participant in extremes on both sides of these. Sometimes there is too much affirming/encouraging and no stretching/challenging. Other times it's the opposite. I'd say Jesus was pretty good at balancing the two in his dealings with people. Most of us tend to naturally lean one way or the other.

So, again, this is nothing new and certainly not earth-shatteringly deep, but something I believe many of us tend to forget about from time to time. All work and no play makes discipleship difficult for Johnny. The inverse is equally true. Balance may not be best in every area of life, but as it applies to stretching and support in discipling relationships, I think it is vital.

The discipleship difference - in the context of community

In this continuing series of posts from my reading of the book 'The Discipleship Difference' from Logan Leadership, today I delve into one of my favorite passages of the bible, and what discipleship looks like in the context of community.

Hebrews 10:24-25...
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

I have always considered this foundational to what the body of Christ (the church) should look like. I appreciated the "unpacking" the authors did on p. 94, and am going to just share what they shared, word for word:

• "let us consider..." The word consider implies intentional thought about how to help another individual. We are to take our time, sit down and consider the best way to spur one another on, recognizing that it may look differently for different people.
• "how we may spur on another on..." This phrase speaks to the very nature of community. Community is designed so that we might spur one another on toward growth. The word spur implies both challenge and encouragement. Our growth happens in the context of community. We help one another on toward that growth.
• "toward love and good deeds..." And toward what end are we spurring one another on? Toward love and good deeds. Not just love, not just good deeds - both. Here we see the highlighting of both the internal and external, the being and the doing. That's holistic discipleship.
• "not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing..." Consistent meeting together speaks to the intentionality of the relationships. In any community of people, relationships can fade out if we're not careful. We need to be intentional about maintaining our discipleship community.

 So what does all this mean in regard to discipleship? As the book says, "It means that as we meet together, we come alongside one another to listen, to ask questions, to encourage, to challenge."

That seems so simple and straightforward... but let me ask you, are you doing that?? Like, actually? Maybe YOU are, but I'm not so sure I am. I know I have tried to at times over the years - whether in small groups, Bible studies, Life Transformation Groups, Renovare groups, or even Sunday School classes. I miss those things. I miss the intentionality, the comaraderie, the community... But even beyond those things (or included within them) I wonder if that isn't the discipleship difference for me right now?

Anyway, good stuff to think about. I think.

The discipleship difference - the mosaic process

I've already written a couple posts from my reading of 'The Discipleship Difference' from the good people at Logan Leadership. Today I want to share from their chapter (5) on "The Mosaic Process of Discipleship."

As the authors say, "Mosaic is an artistic term referring to a design made up of smaller, disparate elements that come together to form something greater than the sum of its parts."

They go on... "Life is like that. So is discipleship. Different little pieces come into play and we often aren't really sure what they mean when we run across them. But we place one, then God places another, then we start to place new pieces based on how the earlier pieces were arranged. Eventually we see a bigger pattern taking shape."

I think there are three things they point out here that we would do good to keep in mind:

1. Discipleship is often more "mosaic" than linear.
2. The goal is to individualize our approach to discipleship without losing its intentionality.
3. We need to get used to working with the "mess." 

So, as we disciple others using the mosaic process, they suggest we first and foremost need to keep in mind that we are not the ones in charge of the process -- the Holy Spirit is. He will take things in directions we cannot imagine or plan for. Our role is to ask authentic questions, listen to his voice, and follow his leading. So we need to be intentional - not about following our plan, but about listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit.


This is a possible scenario that might take place (pp. 81-82):

You're part of a group pf believers gathering together. You're talking about what you're hearing from God. You're sensing his hand of correction in how you've not been consistent in keeping your commitments. You say, "Yes, I'll do that," and then you forget about it. You're now sensing tension around this pattern. Others speak into your life. They have seen this dynamic play out too, and they confirm that it does make for difficulties for the people around you.

"What about your inward life?" someone asks. Lately, you have been struck by Jesus' heart of compassion for those around him, how he allows himself to really feel it as he sees people struggling. You would like to develop a similar heart of compassion.

"What steps could you take in that direction?" Talking with those around you, you decide on some specific windows of exposure to people who are hurting: spending some time in the part of town where the newly arrived refugees are trying to settle into a life that is completely different from all they have known.

"What about steps for honoring your commitments?" You have no idea, and ask for input. One comment that strikes home is that you could write down your commitments onto your calendar when you make them. That way you won't forget. That seems to be a good first step.

You receive prayer. Then you provide a listening ear and a sounding board for the others in your gathering as they process through what they are hearing from God and what next steps he might be asking them to take in their growth. You listen, provide input, and pray. You then continue to provide ongoing encouragement for one another along your very different paths of discipleship, according to what each of you are hearing from God.

This is an example of how God can be at work in a mosaic pattern. No one in the group had an agenda for anyone else. They simply listened, asked questions, encouraged one another to follow God's leading, and prayed. As the authors say, "this is an example of discerning and cooperating with what God is doing - and learning how to listen to the Spirit."

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On a personal note, I think it's interesting how often this sort of thing keeps coming to the surface in my life. Whether it is leadership coaching, discipleship coaching, things I've learned at work at the YMCA... there is a definite theme developing: LISTEN, ASK QUESTIONS, ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER, and PRAY. Hmmm... it's almost like someone is trying to tell me something...

The discipleship difference - pt. 1

I recently finished reading 'The Discipleship Difference' from the good people at Logan Leadership. I have already shared a few nuggets from its pages, but I think I will share a few more here and there in the coming days/weeks.

Today I want to highlight a few overarching truths they use to define discipleship that form the basis for the book.

Perhaps their most foundational concept is...

"We make disciples at the same time we are growing as disciples... and we never finish."

As they say on p. 124, "Discipleship isn't simply about reading a book together or going through a course of study. It's not an add-on to the rest of life. It IS the rest of life -- and how we can live it in obedience to God."

Along with that, a second main point is...

"Discipleship is doing life with Jesus among other people."

Jesus told us to love God, love others, and make disciples. We can't be two-thirds of a disciple. Holistic discipleship involves all three. I like how the authors also point out, on p. 27, "We never travel alone on the journey of allowing God to work in our lives." That's important to remember.

A third and final point I want to highlight in this post is something they just touch on, but *I* want to highlight, and that's the idea...

"Everybody has weaknesses and everybody fails sometimes. That doesn't mean they're not disciples."

After three years of following Jesus, Peter denied he even knew him. The apostles were afraid at times. Discipleship is difficult for perfectionists, and it requires boatloads of grace. So we shouldn't ever feel like we've "blown it."

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Well, that's about all I wanted to say today. I find those three concepts pretty deep and worthy of contemplation for a good long while. I think that's what I will do...

Dimensions of discipleship: disciplemaking & personal transformation

I've probably mentioned the weekly coaching group I am part of. One of the recommended books is Robert Logan's, 'The Discipleship Difference.' I have finished it, and hope to someday post a review.

In our coaching group we are using the '8 Dimensions of Discipleship' from the book. We have been tackling two dimensions each week, writing out a short summary of what our life as a disciple looks like through this lens (dimension), and highlighting what has our attention the most from the reflection (kairos). We then take turns working through (leading or being led) a discovery process using the 'learning circle' (I intend to write more about the learning circle someday too).

Logan says the 8 dimensions of discipleship are (as illustrated in the tree above):

1. Experiencing God
2. Spiritual Responsiveness
3. Sacrificial Service
4. Generous Living
5. Disciplemaking
6. Personal Transformation
7. Authentic Relationships
8. Community Transformation

This week we are to cover numbers 5 & 6 (Disciplemaking & Personal Transformation), and I thought I might as well just blog my process as write it down in my notebook.

DISCIPLEMAKING
Logan defines disciplemaking as: Living in obedience to the great commission given by Jesus, which entails making more and better followers of Christ (he defines a disciple of Jesus as "a reflection of God in the world.").

The supporting Scripture is Matthew 28:19-20: "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The listed "Behavioral Expressions" are:

• Engaging in spiritual conversations with those who are not yet followers of Jesus.
• Explaining the good news and the way of Jesus.
• Establishing new believers in a discipleship process.
• Connecting people with a faith community.
• Helping new followers make more followers.

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
This is defined as: Changing your attitudes and behaviors in positive ways as a result of your relationship with God and others.

The supporting Scripture is Romans 12:2: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

Behavioral Expressions:

• Actively engaging with God in the examination of your heart.
• Cooperating with God's healing work in your life.
• Processing feedback and input from others.
• Living out new priorities and changed behavior.
• Increasingly bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

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The assignment is: Write down a short summary of what your life as a disciple looks like through this lens, highlighting what has your attention the most from your reflection.

MY REFLECTION:
These are both areas where I have been better in the past than I currently am - even aside from my former "professional" role. Within the past year even I used to love conversations with atheist friends about the Good News and the ways of Jesus. Somewhere along the line I guess I lost my desire, and now I actually will shy AWAY from such conversation.

I suppose a case could be made for a connection between this 'shying away' and my own personal transformation (or lack of). Although, the optimist in me might say I've been in more of a resting/abiding state lately.

Even if I am not actively engaged in disciple-making expressions, I still see value in them, and do not consider myself opposed to or never again living them out. The thing that catches my attention is the area of personal transformation regarding "Cooperating with God's healing work in my life," and "Processing feedback and input from others."

I'm not entirely sure why this is. I do feel like God has been at work in my life lately. However, I also have to admit that I maybe haven't been overly cooperative with him in that regard. Sometimes I will sense I know God wants me to do something, and I honestly just don't want to do it. Whether it is fear, or a lack of trust, I don't know. It is definitely something though, and something I should probably be processing with others.

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So, there ya have it. That's my reflection today; written out while sitting at the front desk at the YMCA. Now I will need to cut and paste it into 'Slack' - the format our coaching group uses to share info with each other - and then hope that I don't get selected to have to work through my kairos at the next meeting. :)

This is where I am

I've been taking a little stock of my life lately. Quite frankly, because I'm feeling a tad thin. Not in weight, but endurance. I/we seem to have had a lot going on for awhile, and we are both somewhat worn down a little.

In analyzing why, I thought it might be helpful to simply assess where I am... what I am currently involved with. There are really only four main areas:

WORK
I have been fortunate to be getting full-time hours at the Y. They haven't exactly been 'stable' in that I've had to do some switching of shifts and covering for the boss while he was on vacation, but at least it's getting better.

My "normal" (if there is such a thing) routine is to open three days a week (5am-1pm), work noon-5pm on Wednesday, and 9am-5pm Friday. That leaves me a little wiggle room in case I need to cover for someone else. Although... last week I opened every day at 5 am.

THE PARKING LOT
I am happy to note that baseball season is over halfway done! Hurray! There are still twenty-some home games left, but I can at least imagine a light at the end of this tunnel.

About every other week/weekend there is a 6-game home-stand where I have to oversee the parking lot beside our church. I've shared before how it doesn't really belong to the church, but whoever owns it allows us to run it and then donates the money to the church youth group (apparently we have one). For some silly reason I volunteered to oversee the 70-game home schedule and take care of set-up/tear-down, scheduling volunteers, counting and dispensing the money collected, as well as any other special circumstances (like when we have to share the lot or allow for other events to take place simultaneously).

It hasn't been 'terrible,' but it is starting to wear on me. The worst part is when I have to stay late at the lot - and out in the hot sun - and then get up at 4 the next morning for work. I probably average 2-4 hours per game, and it doesn't really make any difference if someone else is taking the tickets or not. Set-up and handling the money are the two biggest chores.

If I do this again next year there are some changes I'd like to make. One is to maybe have some other people involved. If, say, three different people each took a couple months at a time, that would help. We will see.

RUNNING
Another time-consuming aspect of my life has been training for this marathon. It just takes time to run. I am currently at 4/7/4 during the week (4 miles Tuesday/7 Wednesday/4 Thursday), and a long run on Saturday. This coming Saturday I am scheduled to do 14 miles. Those numbers will increase as the weeks pass (sometimes taking a brief step back before going up further).

My legs/knees/feet actually feel pretty good. I just feel a little run-down though (no pun intended). I don't know if it's lack of sleep, too much vodka, or a combination of things. At any rate, this is an area of my life I don't want to let slide. I've had a full marathon on my wish-list for too long, and this is the furthest I've gotten so far. So, again, we will see. It feels good to have something I am working at/towards.

COACHING GROUP
The only other thing taking up time in my life is my Thursday coaching group. I am a participant in this group, and I suppose it could be called a "discipleship coaching group." My pastor leads it, and it's with people from all over the country. There are probably a half dozen of us. I believe he started doing this as a part of 3dm, but has since left that organization (for the same reasons I soured on it).

It really only requires an hour a week for the actual internet gathering, but there is outside reading and homework. I am somewhat enjoying it, actually. It's just one of those things I need to schedule.

OTHERWISE
Beyond that... I do still meet with Tom once a week for breakfast. Hopefully this will be a lifelong thing. We've been doing it... I don't know... since 1999. It is still good for my soul, and probably helps me in ways I don't even think about.

I've been trying to read at least several days per week. I can't recall the name of the book right now - something about 'The Discipleship Difference' by Robert Logan. It's not bad, for a church book.

Otherwise... I try to sleep or nap, and keep my commitments to a minimum. I'm trying to make this the marathon summer. It is occasionally interrupted with visits to the parents and others, and I don't really consider them interruptions. Eventually the parking lot will end, the marathon will be done, and then I hope to enjoy some boring evenings on the couch with the love of my life again.

So, there ya go.

Beer study and bible tasting

I finally got around to starting up the 'Beer Study & Bible Tasting' I've been tossing around in my head for the past, oh, ten years or so (thanks to Carrie & Jane).

We have met twice now - once on a Friday night and the second on Sunday afternoon. Besides Jane, myself, and Drew Carrie, there is another young couple and a friend/co-worker of Drew's who happens to consider himself an atheist. I think it's a good group.

WHAT IS IT?
It is, of course, a play on words. We don't actually study beer or taste the bible. The idea is not so much that anyone NEEDS to drink beer, or even believe the bible for that matter, but it is simply an informal way to get together and discuss the bible, and maybe have a couple beverages as we do. So far I think we have had some really great discussion.

FORMAT
There isn't really a set format we follow. So far I've just googled a couple 'basic beer facts' and introduced them to the group, then we've watched a video from THE BIBLE PROJECT and discussed it. We watched 'What Is the Bible' in week one, and 'Literary Styles in the Bible' in week two. It appears we watched the first and third video in the series - because I'm an idiot - so I guess we will watch the second one the next time.

We haven't done a lot 'in' the Bible yet, but we discussed the need/desire to last week. So we will likely watch a couple more in the 'How To Read the Bible' series and then concentrate on a book, or maybe we will just add some book study to the video. We will play it by ear.

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Personally, I've hedged against this for too long probably. I haven't felt like much of a leader and I've feared setting myself up for yet another letdown, so my heels have admittedly been dragging. I'm trying to be very laid back and not get overly excited or uptight about anything. At the same time, though, I do feel it necessary to be mindful of the integrity of the original intent. I don't want there to be any shaming, pressuring, or bashing of anyone. So, we will see how it goes. I have no pre-conceived expectation of how things will develop, nor do I feel any particular 'ownership' of the thing. I hope I can stay that way. I also hope some might find it worthwhile as well though.

Disciple as partner

I was in the Sunday morning Bible Study today (or whatever we call it) and James-the-intern-from-England was leading it. I really like James. He also preached today. He's a very humble chap who's quick with a laugh but he oozes sincerity. I wish they weren't leaving next week. I didn't spend a lot of time with him, but enjoyed his preaching, teaching, and the few chats we did have.

Anyway, he was talking about something this morning, and I don't think it was even anything he said - it was likely something I've read somewhere recently and it just kind of 'clicked' in my head this morning. A thought popped into my head regarding "going and making disciples." It seems we often think of a disciple as a "follower of Jesus." My thought was - what if we thought of discples more as 'PARTNERS WITH JESUS'?

I think most people are probably a little put off by the idea of "following" anyone. It's not a real inviting term. Especially when people see how so many Christians behave today! But, really, isn't what Jesus wants of us as "followers" (disciples) is to be participants in bringing about the reality of his kingdom?? (Maybe "reality" isn't a very good word, but the only other word I can think of is "manifesting" and I'm not sure how that would come across).

So, in essence, I guess what I'm trying to say is:

What if we presented discipleship more as 'Inviting people to partner with Jesus (and other disciples) in bringing about his kingdom way of life'... rather than merely asking them to follow someone or something?

I suppose my definition of a disciple, then, would be: "Someone who partners with Jesus in bringing about His kingdom way of life in their sphere of the world." 

And what is his kingdom way of life? Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the poor; giving hope to the hopeless; bring the Good News of peace, love, forgiveness, and all that sort of thing to a world that needs it.

Well, like I said, I'm sure I heard or read this somewhere else. I am going to tinker around with this in my brain for a bit though. It SOUNDS so much better to me than inviting people to be mere "followers."