Focus

I think there is a tendency within the church to focus on "go and make disciples" in the last part of Matthew 28, as if we needed to know and teach, more than anything, what we are commanded to do. But that is foolish. The "go and make disciples" command is sandwiched between something very, very important: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" and "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." We are commanded and able to make disciples only through the power of God, who is indeed with us!

Unique

I recently attended a "StrengthsFinder" conference, led by the Gallup organization and held on the campus of NNU. The premise is that people engage in ministry and find greater meaning in their lives when they are able to serve in ways that use their strengths. Gallup defines 34 areas of strength, and an assessment is available to indicate a person's Top Five. One of the things that caught my attention is that only about 1 in 275,000 people has the same Top Five as mine, and only 1 in 33,000,000 has them in the same order.

This is biblical! Take a fresh look at Psalm 139:14...
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
God has made each of us unique, each of us with a purpose. Each and every person has something to contribute, and nobody else can fulfill that purpose quite the same.

Pastor Tim

Following Together

"Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch... telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.... The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch."

-- found in Acts 11:19-21, 26

How would you define "Christian"? Better yet, can you define it using only words commonly heard beyond church walls? Many theology words hold tremendous meaning, but may hinder rather than help communication when used in conversation with those who are not familiar with such language.

What about "discipleship"? This page is devoted to discipleship, and our denomination's mission is "to make Christlike disciples in the nations." This truly is an incredible mission! But what does it mean?

A "disciple" is one who trusts and follows the teachings of another. This word is more commonly used in Christian circles, where it refers most specifically to people who trust Jesus and devote themselves to discovering and following him. This happens best in community.

Discipleship -- that is, a lifestyle of following Jesus -- has many faces. Sara and two of her friends represent some of those faces. Sara met regularly for a time with these women friends in one of their homes, focusing first on foundational beliefs. In addition to reading and discussing the Bible together, they got to know each other better, prayed for each other, and gave support in difficult times. She wrote, "We are all on separate life journeys, but having people to walk alongside is helpful to all of us."

Sara is pretty excited about their discipleship adventure, and challenges others to do something similar. Here is Sara's account of one who chose to pursue this kind of relationship:

"I challenged a friend to pray about who she could disciple, and she committed it to prayer. Then at our church's Ladies' Retreat one of the ladies got saved (hallelujah!) and God made it clear that she was the one! They have been meeting weekly to study about spiritual disciplines, and they have been walking through difficult issues, such as forgiveness. They are forming a strong bond, and it is really exciting. Isn't that how it should be? They both learn from each other."

Interested? This kind of relationship does not happen on accident. Pray for God's guidance, and create a list of 3-5 people you'd like to invite to join you. Then make a list of two or three books that you might like to study together, so you can talk about those as options as you invite the others. Finally, once the group members and reading plan have been established, work together to arrange a regular time when all can meet. Commit to each other that you'll all do the agreed reading each week, and that you'll make the meeting a high priority.

Remember: Following Jesus is a journey; don't walk it alone!

Intentional discipleship like this is a powerful way to help new believers develop strong foundations in faith. If you're looking for some good books for this purpose, here are a few you might want to check out:

• The Discipleship Series (Zondervan)
• Basic Bible Studies for New and Growing Christians (NPH)
• Basic Bible Studies for the Spirit-Filled and Sanctified Life (NPH)
• The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People (Zondervan)