Discipleship

, ,

Scythes, Harvest, and the Bare Arms of Laborers

, ,
Scythes, Harvest, and the Bare Arms of Laborers

Let me tell you what a tragedy is.  Every day, millions of Christians spend all of their waking ours giving no thought to spiritual death their neighbors live.  Every week, those same Christians show up to a building where they have an experience and do nothing of significance to advance the Kingdom.  Every year, millions of dollars are spent on making that experience as comfortable and as entertaining as possible for those very same Christians who are doing nothing to fulfill the Great Commission.

Prayer as a Catalyst for Disciple-Making

Disciple-making, especially as it relates to evangelism causes anxiety for some Christians.  They think that it involves awkward conversations with strangers.  However, disciple-making becomes freeing when we realize that God is the one doing it all.  In this video, I talk about prayer as a catalyst for God's work in disciple-making.  Look for some practical direction on what to pray for and how to go about making it a part of your life.  

,

Foolish But Effective

,
Foolish But Effective

There are days when I think about how foolish this must seem to mega-church pastors.  We don't have much money (We remain about two low giving months away from not being able to pay me).  We don't have many people (35 on a good Sunday).  Our organization structures are lacking in the absence of multiple staff (Volunteers are stepping up, though!).  We have no building to mark our presence (And no payment!).  

However, if we are comparing stats:

  • 3,000 people spend 3 million dollars to make 15 disciples in a year in a large church context. That is 1 disciple for every 200 people (0.5% disciple-making rate) and $200,000 per new disciple.  
  • 8 people (plus a whole lot of other people praying, giving, encouraging, and supporting) spend about $40k to make 9 disciples in a year in a house church context.   That is 1.125 disciples for every 1 person (112.5% disciple-making rate) and $4,444 per new disciple.  

Steps to Make Disciples

Steps to Make Disciples

Consistently, I come across church people that have never made a disciple.  Spiritual self-centeredness is antithetical to the Christian life.  To experience the gift of God's grace and keep it to yourself is one of the most selfish and least Christ-like thing a Christian can do.  

Be it for apathy or ignorance, too many of us have ignored Jesus' greatest call to action (Matthew 28:19-20).  Have we forgotten that we were once dead and now alive?  Do we neglect so easily the gumption of the Holy Spirit?  Or, do we simply not know where to begin.