Welcome back to a new series of posts focused on discipleship in four areas based on Jesus’ discipleship pattern. Jesus was directly involved in a relationship to the Father (1), to Peter, James and John as his intimate friends (3), to the disciples (12), and finally to a group he sent out on mission (70). In so doing, Jesus set the model (Discipleship by the Numbers: 1/3/12/70) for us to follow. Therefore, intentionality around these four aspects of relationships is vital to growing deeper in our walk with Christ.
The key is to assess where we are in terms of our involvement in these areas and resolve to making steps (baby steps or giant leaps). My guess is that one or several of the areas you are solid in but one or more may also need some work. I’ll leave that assessment up to you and the Holy Spirit and be standing by if you’d like to discuss!
1 – PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL LIFE
eg. Prayer, Scripture, Meditation, Fasting
The skillful management of attention is the sine qua non of the good life and the key to improving virtually every aspect of your experience.
Rapt by Winifred Gallaher
Skillful management of attention is also known in Christian circles as prayer. Finding time regularly to focus on his presence and promises fills our souls with hope. The key is to be intentional to set our attention on God. How? Put reminders on your frig or bathroom mirror. Wear a piece of jewelry as a reminder. Set an alarm on your iPhone! These are all easy and very helpful ways to intentionally bringing your awareness back to God and as a result prayer. Give it a try and let me know. I love to get new ideas about how I can be mindful.
3 – REFLECTION/ACCOUNTABILITY/TRANSPARENCY
eg. Very Small Group (bands/covenant groups), Spiritual Direction, Counseling
When it comes to spiritual growth, human beings are much like these plants. We need structure and support.
Soul Feast by Marjorie J. Thompson
Intentionality is important for spiritual growth. Getting support, which includes asking for feedback and help, is not a sign of weakness but of wisdom. Who do you regularly talk to about your faith journey? Who knows what you are struggling with right now? Who knows what is going really well?
12 – LEARNING AND CARING GROUP
eg. Sunday School/Book Studies/Other Small Groups
I want to counter this widespread practice of taking personal experience instead of the Bible as the authority for living. I want to pull the Christian Scriptures back from the margins of the contemporary imagination where they have been so rudely elbowed by their glamorous competitors and reestablish them at the center as the text for living the Christian life deeply and well. I want to confront and expose this replacement of the authoritative Bible by the authoritative self. I want to place personal experience under the authority of the Bible and not over it.
Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading by Eugene Peterson.
One of the most recognized and quoted verses from the Bible is “God helps those who help themselves.” Houston, we have a problem. That quote doesn’t exist in Scripture. But it has made it ways into our culture and is taken as truth by many people within the church. There is a desperate need (yes, I know that is hyperbole) for Scripture to once again be the center of our lives instead on the margins as Peterson states.
70 – MISSION
eg. Worship/Serving/Justice and Mercy Ministry
In such a community, individuals are not leveraging the network for their own good, but rather have devoted themselves to the well-being of one another and the betterment of the community in which they live.
A Creative Minority: Influencing Culture Through Redemptive by Jon Tyson.
Is church a place for you to get filled up or for you to pour out?
Yes!
It is a both/and.
It is a place for you to be equipped and supported and a place for you to do those same things for others. It was trendy a few years ago to ask the question, “If your church disappeared from the city, what would be the impact of the loss?” As helpful as it may be to ask that question about the church, I think it is also helpful to ask that question about our presence within the church. If we were to go missing for a few months, what would be the impact on the community of faith in which we belong?
todd nelson 