Thursday is for Discipleship “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” (Hebrews 12:3, ESV) Meditation on the life of Christ, specifically on the suffering of Christ seems to be a key ingredient to the writer of Hebrews’ disciple-growing strategy. Do you know what … More Is Meditation a Key to Spiritual Formation?
Thursday is for Discipleship How quickly did Jesus expect those who believed in him or those whom he touched to begin to tell others about him to others? One of my former students (Matt) put it this way: “’Follow me’ – that’s discipleship. ‘and I will make you fishers of men’ – that’s the … More How Quickly Should Those Who Follow Learn to Fish?
Thursday is for Discipleship “Lower the bar on what it means to be a church. Raise the bar on what it means to be a disciple.” –Neil Cole Whatever you think of the overall approach of Neil Cole [That’s Neil pictured on the right.] and the Organic Church movement, this mantra is hard to argue … More What Does it Mean to “Raise the Bar on What it Means to be a Disciple”?
Wednesday is for Prayer The words of Bonhoeffer, because we tend to forget what is most basic to the Christian life of humility and service. We tend to forget to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33) “The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must … More A Christian Never Lays Down His Cross.
Parables Still Teach Very Well. Francis Chan and the Big Red Tractor.
Monday Discussion Peter K Nelson is a friend and now the pastor of a wonderful church in Goshen, Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia (my favorite and hometown city!). In 2010 he published a book on Spiritual Formation that I have found helpful and which breathes a great spirit of pastoral care. I asked Peter if he would … More Spiritual Formation: When Am I Going to be Holy?
Needing and Wanting Passion: Avoiding the Process that Produces It. Two things we need if we want to be like Nehemiah.
Thursday is for Discipleship When you find something good, share it with others. Here’s a great video from Neil Cole to challenge your thinking on making disciples. This video will go by so fast, you will want to watch it twice and both times it will be a challenge to go out and make disciples. … More Sowing Seed or Seed Substitutes? The Problem We Haven’t Understood
Monday is for Discussion Can the word “salvation” be substituted for “conversion?” Is conversion an event or a process? Does conversion happen at a point in time or is it a process over time? Put your finger on the text of God’s word and start the discussion.
Thursday is for Discipleship “A conversion is an experience of deep continuity and discontinuity. Although through conversion we are certainly not called to abandon the world or escape from it–Jesus insists on this in his prayer of John 17 (see v. 15)–we nevertheless recognize that there is a profound discontinuity between the values and mores … More Is a Person Converted if Their Life Does Not Change?
