Works For Me

I tend to be a very relational guy. For me discipling is all about the journey, the relationship. It is not about having the right curriculum, God already gave us that, nor it is about having all the right answers, I don't. As Jesus walked with his disciples he often assessed their understanding of himself, of the Father, of the mission. One of those times, out of his time of communion with the Father, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" This opened the door to a new revelation that the disciples may not have been able to articulate had he not asked. Good questions help those we are discipling to think through what they think, believe and know in the depths of their hearts. Good disciplers practice forming questions until they have developed a habit of asking the right question at the right time to help those they are discipling come to a greater understanding, and a deeper commitment to following Christ.

Filling Cracks in the Heart

We're touring the District this week for the annual SDMI training event. This year, we have been enjoying the company and teaching of Pastor Hal and Debbi Perkins. They are passionate about and committed to making Christlike disciples who, in turn, also make disciples. This is the life to which we are called.

Hal and Debbi are parents of four grown children. Their parenting years started with a set of triplets and grew again with the birth of the fourth several years later. I love Debbi's account of the significant role Hal played in the life of their son David during a particularly difficult time. The video below tells that story, including the impact years later.

Finding Simplicity

A week or so ago I spent Saturday attending the annual district women's event hosted by Nampa 1st church. The theme was "Breakaway to the Simple Life." I came away with an increased longing in my soul to find ways to "keep it simple." I even made a plaque in one of the workshops to remind me! The simple word "Simplify" gently challenges me to let go of burdens not meant for me to carry; it helps me say NO to the empty promises the world offers; it calls me to a place of quietness where I can hear the Voice that matters most. As I listened to the speaker and overheard conversations among other women at the event, I am struck by how full and busy and complicated and noisy we insist on making our lives because we think we need to have it ALL, when ALL we really need is standing at our heart's door gently knocking.

Learning the Lay of the Land

I'm taking a class these days on holiness and we're starting, not surprisingly, by reading a number of passages from throughout the Bible, including both Old Testament and New Testament. I found myself thinking of Bible drills, a.k.a. "sword drills," in children's Sunday School and VBS.

Carol told me awhile back about some of her time teaching young children, probably around kindergarten age, maybe even pre-school. She gave them a great start by introducing them to the Bible and helping them begin to know their way around it even before they could read. She taught them about the Old Testament and the New Testament. They learned that Genesis was first, and Revelation was at the end, and Psalms was around the middle that starts with "Ps," which is really weird in English. They knew about the gospels, too, and could find those. Pretty good for pre-readers, eh?

The Bible is a big book, and much larger than any of the others children usually read before late elementary school or beyond. That can be pretty intimidating, but Carol gave them tools to navigate it and began to develop in them a love for scripture from a very young age. What an incredible gift!