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discipleship

Go

“As the Father has sent me so I am sending you.” John 20:21 Currently, the Lord is reminding me to live sent.  The Father sent Jesus to the World.  He sent the Holy Spirit to us.  Jesus sent out the 12 and the 70.  Now he sends us to go and make disciples.  I am amazed at how easily I have strayed from this truth, especially since the heart of Simple Church is this: We all are priests sent into the world to make disciples. “Church” emerges organically when and where disciples are multiplied. I know and understand this, yet… Read More »Go

Obey

One post to share some of the exciting things that the Lord is teaching me related to the Exponential Conference was getting too long!  So, hence the first in a series… ————— “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14:15 The Great Commission calls us to “teach them to obey all that I have commanded you…”  Allow me to pose a question that was recently addressed to me: Do you know all that Jesus commanded?  If you are like me, you can probably come up several commands, but may not have a full grasp on “all”… Read More »Obey

Movement to Monument

This is the video we watched during our Sunday morning network gathering.  Neil raises many of the issues we have addressed over the last 6 months in a clear and concise manor.  I would encourage every simple church to take time to watch and discuss the points addressed in this video.  I have typed out the 10 steps for going from a “movement to a monument” that are identified in the video as they were a little hard to read on the slides.  They are as follows: 1.  From Biblical Priorities to Non-Biblical Priorities – valuing methods and traditions sacred… Read More »Movement to Monument

Men and Simple Church

I would like to make a short observation based on my experiences thus far…Men are excited about Simple Church. I have long felt that the modern church has a tendency to be primarily attractive to women for a host of reasons ( I will not get into these reasons here for the sake of time.  However, I do believe that the book Wild at Heart addresses this point quite well).  Dr. Albert Mohler, whose blog I enjoy reading regularly, once commented that “the Church at large is bereft of men who will lead: take initiative, seek out problems, and do… Read More »Men and Simple Church

What is the Gospel?

Today in the “No More Spectators” class at First Alliance Church, we had a great discussion around the question, “What is the Gospel?”  While open to everyone, this class has been of special importance to those of us going on this “simple church” journey together.  The thing I love most about “simple church” is that the emphasis ends up not being on “church” at all–but on all believers becoming active participants in the Great Commission (as apposed to “spectators”). In our journey from spectator to disciplemaker, perhaps no issue is more crucial than understanding the Gospel. So what is the… Read More »What is the Gospel?

No More Spectators

This Sunday will mark the third week of the No More Spectators class at First Alliance Church.  While not a “book study,” the class name as well as many of the big ideas were taken from a book written by Mark Nysewander with the same title.  Mark spoke several months ago at our church and passed his book along to me.  Like Robert Coleman’s book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Mark issues a challenge to all believers to engage in the Great Commission following the model that Jesus gave us.  I especially like how Mark compares and contrasts “spectator” Christians… Read More »No More Spectators

Discipleship Happens In Small Community

Discipleship Happens in Small Community. This is another “starting point” for me.  For the longest time, I thought that to “go and make disciples” necessitated entering into a teacher/student relationship in which I was primarily educating my  pupil (or being educated) about what it means to follow Jesus via a Bible study or a discipleship curriculum.  While this is a way of fulfilling the Great Commission, I have recently realized that it’s not the only way that God makes us into His disciples.   In fact, I have concluded that small community has been the driving force of discipleship in… Read More »Discipleship Happens In Small Community

Where to Begin?

Do you every look at an enormous building or structure and wonder what the person in charge thought about his or her first day on the job?  I often imagine a funny scenario where the person walks onto the bare job site, takes out his or her tape measure, takes a measurement, and immediately tells someone to, “start digging here!”  Of course the reality is that it’s months and sometimes years before digging begins (I was a civil engineer major for one semester after all!)  Construction begins only after the end result has been planned. As I begin the task… Read More »Where to Begin?