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Forgiveness

January 25, 2024 / / 0 Comments

A super powerful word in the life of the Christian and a word we all should know very well is where we’ll focus today.

Forgiveness.

To forgive doesn’t mean you have to say it’s ok. As a matter of fact, when you forgive someone, you’re saying it’s not ok but you’re willing to not hold it against the relationship. It means that you’re willing to move past the moment, hurt, wrong so that you can heal. Admittedly, forgiveness requires some form of acknowledgment of wrong. Without any form of acknowledgment, it’s hard to offer forgiveness. In church-world, we call that confession. Confessing or admitting the wrong we did is the first step in this process.

There’s a lesson we’ve taught our children about forgiveness that I believe is important for just about everyone. I’ve taught it to every church I’ve served. Forgiveness must flow freely. When someone apologizes or says they’re sorry, the thing you should work toward immediately is forgiveness. It’s good for the person who apologized but it’s also good for you.

When we forgive someone, we free ourselves of the burden of that pain. When we get to a place of forgiveness we are able to bring healing. But all too often forgiveness is withheld. Maybe it’s withheld accidentally because we don’t think it’s really all that important. Let me assure you, it is very important. When someone apologizes or admits a wrong, the one thing they need is forgiveness. Unfortunately, there are times when withholding forgiveness isn’t unintentional. Sometimes it’s done on purpose.

We hold forgiveness to make sure the other person is really sorry. Or maybe to teach them a lesson. We withhold forgiveness because they really hurt us and it just seems right to make them suffer. We refuse to offer those three simple words I forgive you because we’re still hurt. But forgiveness doesn’t mean we’re not hurt. It means we forgive them. It means we’re willing to work on the relationship, through the struggle, even in the painful moments.

Forgiveness is massively important. And to think anything less is likely a reason why forgiveness isn’t a free flowing concept in our lives today.

I’m sure glad Jesus didn’t handle forgiveness with me the same way we handle it with those around us. I’m sure glad he didn’t wait until I had the right heart or asked the right way, or you fill in the blank, before he offered me forgiveness. The beauty of who Jesus is and who he calls us to be is freely forgiven and forgiving people.

The Bible says that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. This is what makes forgiveness so amazing! It was ours long before we deserved it (not that we even deserve it now). It was earned for us before we asked for it. A plan was set in motion to forgive me and you before we even committed the wrong.

We read that when we come to God and ask for forgiveness, he grants it. Fully. Freely. Forever. Every single time. He removes those wrongs as far as the east is from the west as the Psalmist tells us. There are countless ways we see the Bible tell us about forgiveness, but all of them have the same message. We confess. He forgives. It’s the easiest formula out there.

So from whom do you need to hear those words? And perhaps a better question is who do you need to say them to?

Forgiveness is earned but not by you or me. It was earned by Jesus. And it’s his forgiveness that gives us a model for ours.

You’re a Saint!

June 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

I knew a couple who were a fairly unique pair of individuals. Each one had their own quirks to say the least. But one of them was less unique than the other. Ok so I’ll shoot straight here – one of them was just a bit much and was a hard person to get along with much of the time. This individual would tend to over share information, and life needed to be their way all the time!

I often said that the less hard to get along with spouse was a saint for how they dealt with the other. A saint in this case isn’t someone who died centuries ago and is now remembered for all eternity. Rather a saint in this usage is someone who was willing and able to put up with a lot of baggage out of love for the other person. They were a good person.

In my experience it seems as if we tend to throw the saint word around a little bit too easily in my book. We tend to miss the point of what a saint really is. I don’t think a saint is necessarily a genuinely good person. That diminishes the real value of what a saint truly is. Instead a saint is someone who has experienced the goodness of God.

Do you see the difference? It’s not about my goodness that makes me saintly, rather it’s about knowing I’m not all that good and still experiencing the goodness of God’s great love for me.

There’s something kind of special about being this kind of a saint. When we can acknowledge our “not goodness,” it makes the grace of God that much more powerful and amazing. When I recognize the tremendous amount of grace I’ve required from so many people, the easier it is for me to see the goodness in others.

Being a saint doesn’t mean we have it all together, or even that we’re necessarily all that good of people. It means that we’ve experienced something that not everyone realizes. We’ve experienced the goodness of God in immeasurable ways.

So have you experienced the goodness of God? Then you too my friend are what I call a saint!

What About After Easter?

April 14, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Wow it’s been a week to say the least. There’s a thing in a pastor’s life called the Easter Hangover. It’s the few days or week after Easter when we go into hibernation mode to just recover. I know it’s odd since we only work one day a week and just because we have an extra service or two over the Easter season shouldn’t make much of a difference. Yeah yeah yeah I hear you.

But the week following Easter is always a week for me to slow things down a lot and refocus on what’s really important. Sure I’ve taken things easy this week and gotten a little more rest than I normally would but I’ve still done the regular functions of my job. One thing that’s really sat on my heart this week is what about after Easter? What are we to do with all the hype?

You’ve probably heard the popular sermon that states It’s Friday but Sunday is coming. It’s the idea that Good Friday was so terrible and so awful and so horrifying, but it wasn’t the end. It had to happen in order for Sunday to have its power. So the message kept repeating that Sunday was just around the corner. But what about after Easter?

I recently heard someone ask what about Easter Monday? What happened the Monday after Jesus rose? What did the disciples do that day? What did Jesus do? What should we be doing?

I think there was a bit of an Easter hangover that happened even for the disciples. I mean look at the emotional toll that this weekend took on them! Their teacher and really good friend was just horribly beaten and died in front of them. They watched as his body was buried and guards were placed so no one could get to him. They mourned and cried and sat in sheer shock and bewilderment. They were terrified about would then happen to them.

But here we are, it’s after Easter. Nothing happened to them. Jesus is no longer in the grave. He’s risen and that’s truly amazing but wow are they exhausted! We don’t have a lot of specific detail on the actions of Jesus after he rose from the dead. We don’t know specifically what he did on Monday after Easter or how he spent his Friday this week.

Maybe they had a fish fry? Or took a trip on the sea with the guys in the boat. We know that he did spend time with them and appeared to them several times. We know that he was in large groups of people who all were shocked to see him alive. If I had to guess this week was spent letting the disciples get used to the idea that the resurrection was real. He didn’t require a lot of them. Or give them any really important information because they probably wouldn’t have remembered it in the first place!

You see the most important thing the disciples did after Easter was tell everyone what they had seen. It’s crazy easy to show up to church on Easter morning and hear the pastor and greet the people. We can sing the songs and get all emotional about the moment, but what do we do with it when we leave the building? What about the rest of the week? What about next Sunday?

This is a week to let it all sink in. Take time to get used to the fact that the resurrection is real! And it’s just as real for you and me today as it was for them that first Easter week. So get used to the idea that Jesus’ resurrection is real. But it’s time we start doing something with the reality of the resurrection.

Don’t Give Me Excuses

November 9, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Ok so that’s a little harsh and not very compassionate I get it. But to be fair, no one has ever accused me of being overly compassionate either. In all honesty many of the reasons we give for not doing something are less legitimate reasons and more excuses. I’m too tired. I’m too busy. I’m too this or that. Just about all of these things are simple excuses for not doing whatever is in front of us.

This post is about the reasons we give for not praying. Or to follow my less compassionate side – the lame excuses we give for not praying. Again the point is not to offend you but to open our collective eyes to the way we’ve tried to dumb down what it means to follow Jesus.

Here are some of the key reasons I hear for people not praying: it’s too personal, doesn’t he already know, I don’t even know what to say, and does it really even work? Ok so let’s look at these one at a time.

It’s too personal. I guess? Maybe? But if you’re talking to God, who knows everything about you anyway, can it really be too personal? Admittedly, this reason is mostly heard in response to someone not being willing to pray in public. For a person who thinks prayer is too personal to pray out loud I really want you to think about that for a minute. If your prayers are that personal, then why wouldn’t you want someone else to experience the closeness of that kind of relationship. So I understand the personal nature of prayer. I really do! I’ve had some prayers that I have prayed that I don’t include other people on. But in general prayer is a conversation with God about things God cares about! It doesn’t have to be overly personal all the time. Make it conversational.

Doesn’t he already know? Yep sure does! But I know much of what happens in my children’s lives and I still talk to them. I know that my wife probably emailed people about vacations and talked to a lot of people on social media through the day but we still find things to talk about regarding how our days went. Just because he knows doesn’t mean he doesn’t want you to tell him. Not praying because God already knows is a pretty weak excuse for not praying. I’m not even going to apologize for that one.

I don’t know what to say. Well, that’s a bunch of crap too! You can talk to the barista about the kind of coffee you like, your buddy about the score of the game, your friend about your favorite show you just binge watched. You can find something to talk to God about. Likely, you’re making it a bit too formal. Just have a conversation. Tell him what’s going on. What are you excited about? Afraid of? Looking forward to? Anxious about? All the things you would tell a friend or coworker, he wants to hear these things from you!

Does it even work? Well this is where things get fun. I love to have this conversation with people about prayer. Does prayer work? Well give it a try and find out. You won’t believe me regardless of what I tell you anyway! 😉 So try this little exercise. When you get up in the morning try to pray. A friend of mine introduced me to a way of praying that’s a lot like ordering at the drive-thru. You tell the little speaker thing what you want. Then you drive around and expect it to be there. Well, pray this way. Tell God what you need that day. Then get up and go on with your day just expecting it to be there. Caveat – don’t pray for anything you can touch. So no praying for a new car or a million dollars!

Just pray this simple prayer. Lord, today I need…

That’s it. It’s that simple. Lord acknowledges you’re not in control. Today sets the time frame on when you need this answered. I is what makes it personal. And need expresses the thing going on in your life that needs addressed. Then what you ask for is the thing you actually would benefit most from that day. Remember nothing tangible! So pray for peace, focus, productivity, joy filled heart, compassion, etc. These are the things you’ll benefit from most so pray for them. Then sit back and watch to see what God does in your life as a result of this kind of prayer. Then you can tell me if prayer works.

If you pray for things like this and watch as your day unfolds, I’m pretty sure you’ll quickly see how well prayer actually does work. Go ahead. Give it a try. I dare you.

Importance of Prayer

November 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

In the last post, we discussed the idea of prayer. We looked at what it is and why some people who call themselves Jesus’ followers, don’t do the whole prayer thing. I’m not sure if any of the reasons I gave in that post resonate with you or if you have your own reason for not praying, but I think prayer is the most vital part of our lives as Christians that we can’t go without it.

So why is prayer so important? I mean I believe in Jesus and I read my Bible. Is prayer really necessary? Short answer is yes, without a doubt, for sure, unequivocally yes!

Prayer is the ongoing conversation we have with God. It happens at the dinner table or the bed side. It happens when we’re driving and when we’re struggling. We pray when we need something or when we have an unexpected celebration and don’t know where else to turn. Prayer is everywhere.

The wide receiver who scores the touchdown involuntarily points to the sky almost like he’s saying thank you. Sounds like a bit of a prayer to me. The young mom can’t get her child to stop crying so she just quietly whispers what am I supposed to do? Sure sounds like you’re talking to someone. Or the man who stumbles to the bathroom in the middle of the night only to have his little toe make contact with the bed post. His reply…well you know what that is and it sure sounds like he believes in a being that is able to send his bed post to hell. Like it or not that’s kind of a prayer.

Now I didn’t say that any of these are good, right or proper prayers – whatever that really means. I’m not saying that these prayers convey any level of saving faith. They’re just the basic format for communicating with someone outside yourself who you believe is able to address the situation you’re in at that very moment.

But if God already knows what’s on my heart and that I stubbed my toe or my child won’t stop crying, then why do I need to tell him? Am I going to change the outcome? Yes and no.

You’re not going to change God’s mind by wearing him down or anything. Prayer isn’t nagging God til he gives in. But it actually will change the scenario for you. Prayer will at a minimum change your perspective of the situation and allow you to see other options. Prayer is so very important. It’s found all over the place in the Bible. All of the key players in the Bible spend time in prayer, even Jesus does it! And if Jesus feels it important to pray, then it’s probably a good idea, right?

One of my favorite reasons to show why prayer is so important is to use the passage from Ephesians where Paul talks about the armor of God. You have the belt, breastplate, shield, sword, helmet and all the parts of the armor. Each of them correlate to an aspect of the life of the follower of Jesus from the Bible to faith to righteousness. But prayer is embedded in that almost as a throw away phrase that is easily missed. It’s right near the end of the section where Paul says to include prayer. I like to view prayer in this illustration like the chain mail that holds the whole armor set on the body. The breastplate has to have a place to hang as does the belt and sword. It’s like prayer is the webbing onto which all of our other spiritual practices have to fasten. If we don’t have prayer, then the rest of our spiritual lives are in danger of falling apart.

We don’t pray to change God’s mind but to shift our thinking. We don’t pray because God needs to know what’s going on, but because he wants us to know we can come to him. We don’t pray just for the big things or the key events that need special attention. We pray for the little things and for the seemingly insignificant moments in our lives because he’s in those as well.

Next week we’ll address the reasons we don’t pray and poke a few holes in them. Not in a mean or derogatory way but in a way that shows they don’t hold water. And hopefully get us to a place where we feel more comfortable praying and realize its necessity!

For now try seeing prayer as an ongoing conversation you have with God. Start before your feet hit the floor in the morning with something simple – Hey God, thanks for a good night sleep! Then go about your day popping little one liners back at God throughout your day. End with a quick Good night God. And you’ve done it. Pretty simple! Then watch how your perspective shifts throughout the day as you give little and big things back to God realizing how much he cares for you.

A New World Order

October 5, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Wow that sounds like a Star Wars image or something a bit sci-fi doesn’t it? The idea of a new world order is kind of strange to say the least. It’s scary to some and exciting to others. For most it’s future oriented although in some people’s minds it’s sooner than we might want. But rarely do we consider a new world order a present reality or even an old world reality, but that’s kind of my perspective.

Ok so let’s be a tad less cryptic here. I think the life of the follower of Jesus should be, although often isn’t, an example of a new world order. Jesus peppers the New Testament with references to this new world order. They’re everywhere in the gospel accounts. Admittedly, Jesus doesn’t call it the new world order but that’s what it is. Jesus uses the phrase Kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven. This in many people’s minds is a new world order that one day will be a reality.

Unfortunately this is a short sighted view of what Jesus is actually talking about when he references the Kingdom of God. Jesus doesn’t use the phrase Kingdom of God in the future tense. He doesn’t say that it one day will be here. Instead when Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God, he does so in the present tense, as if it’s already here? How can this be? How can this Kingdom of God thing be here when life looks the way it does? Can this new world order be a present day reality?

It seems that’s the way Jesus was teaching. He was trying to get the people of his day to see the potential to have a different kind of life than they were living. The Jewish nation knew hardship, but Jesus wanted them to see beyond the hardship to the life God desired for them. From captivity to exile to enslavement to living under the thumb of oppressive rulers these people knew what it meant to have a bad day! They wanted out of this way of life pretty much at all costs.

Enter Jesus saying The kingdom of God is at hand. That didn’t mean it was around the corner or coming tomorrow. It meant that it was within reach. And to be honest it still is within reach. The Kingdom of God is ours today just as much as it was theirs when Jesus first uttered the words. But they, and we, have a problem. We don’t believe it, or at best don’t live like it.

The people of Jesus’ day complained more about the bad than they claimed the kingdom realities in their lives. Jesus was telling the Jews of his day that a new kingdom, new world order, had made its way into their lives already. That new world order was far more than a religious approach to life. As a matter of fact, and we’ll address this in a future post, Jesus didn’t enter the scene as a religious leader necessarily. He was addressing far more than mere church membership and attendance. He was driving at the heart of humanity from a political, economic, health care, environmental, friendship, family, society level.

The new world order is here. The kingdom is here. The kingdom was just as present in World War II Germany as it was Jesus’ day. This kingdom was there when the towers fell and when covid rampaged the world. It was there when your political party won or lost. It was there when the hurricane flooded much of Florida. It was there when your loved one fought through their final moments with cancer. It was there when your spouse chose someone/something else over you. It was there when your child rebelled. It was there when your church had to close. It was there when you lost your job.

The kingdom of God, aka new world order, isn’t about getting the good things right now. It’s about living a different way regardless of how things go right now. Jesus was far more concerned about how we treat the poor and disenfranchise than how much is in our bank accounts. He cared more about the orphan and the widow than preserving the freedoms of the Israelites. The kingdom of God is less about you and me and more about the people with whom we interact daily.

You see the long and short is the Kingdom of God is already here. It is a new world order. Not one built with power and prestige and centralized rulers, but with service, love and humility. It’s time that we start living the realities of this New World Order, and there’s no better time to start than today.

What’s Your Story?

September 9, 2022 / / 0 Comments

There’s nothing like a good story! If you get the right story, it can suck you in and almost pull you through it. All good stories have a few things in common. They have relatable characters, a good plot, generally there’s some good tension that needs to be worked out, and in most cases good stories have some form of a happy ending or at least a good resolution.

So what’s your favorite story? Why is it your favorite? Do these common ideas for good stories apply to your favorite story?

As I see it there’s a pretty straightforward way defining a story. Here’s my definition: a story is the life or adventure of a character who wants something and is willing to overcome challenge(s) to get it.

I think our lives are a lot like story as well. So often we get bored with our lives. We get bored with our relationships or with our jobs or with our hobbies. Why? I think it’s because we have lost the art of story in our day to day lives. We’ve stopped seeing the plot of our lives develop and our character progress through the narrative of life.

Think about your life as a story for a minute. You are the main character. There are protagonists (those are the good guys) and there are antagonists (those are the bad ones). Some of the bad guys are really bad and some of the good guys are, well nominally good at best and eventually prove to be not in your corner the way you thought.

Our lives have some form of adventure as well, even if it’s not climbing mountains or repelling off of buildings or saving the world. We can have adventure in driving to work or walking the dog or making dinner. There is adventure in just about every aspect of our lives if we just open our eyes to see it.

Our life has a plot as well. Although admittedly this one is an area of our lives that we don’t focus on nearly enough. What’s the plot of your life story? Do you even know what you’re about or why you’re here? This is your plot. The why behind the what of your day to day life. Without a plot we grow tired and wear out quickly. We burn out. We give up. We walk away. Not knowing our plot or having the wrong plot, i.e. life story, is what causes us to drift and lose focus on important relationships or even lose our jobs. The lack of plot, in my mind, is a huge factor in much of the depression we see in our world and honestly a significant factor in divorces, college drop outs and the inability to hold a steady carrier.

Think about marriage for a second. Marriage has a plot. But for many couples with children, those kiddos are the plot of their life. This is why so many couples have trouble when they become empty nesters. The kids were the plot to their story, and with no children around they seemingly have no plot. So little marriage tip – your children are not the point of your marriage. A product of it to be certain but they are not the point of it. The sooner you figure that one out the healthier your marriage will actually be.

Our faith lives are the same way. If our lives as followers of Jesus are only about the Sunday morning church attendance gig, then we’re doing it wrong. Then we’re going to burn out on “doing church.” We’re going to wander to the next church around the corner when this one doesn’t give us what we want. And quick hint…that new church won’t cut it forever either. That is until you figure out your story. Faith is about far more than going to church or giving an offering or singing a song or which book we use in worship. Faith is about story. It’s about your story and God’s story colliding in a fantastic adventure.

A life of faith is the adventure of a character who’s willing to overcome adversity to achieve something. This was what drove Jesus to do what he did for us. This is what took him to the cross and out of the grave. It was the story of salvation. Our story isn’t one of salvation. It’s the story of discipleship. This is what Jesus told us to do and what we’re supposed to be about daily.

Living a life of faith is about growing in our love for Jesus. It’s realizing every day just how loved we are by the one who created all things. It’s the story of loving one another and serving one another and being with one another. It’s about letting the image of Christ come to light in all we do.

So I guess now is the best time to start living that story!

When To Fight

August 26, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Doing the wrong thing for the right reason is still wrong. I know that this is not necessarily a popular opinion but it’s the truth. You can’t just throw away the right thing and do wrong because it’s not working for you in the moment. You can’t just do what you want even when the situation dictates otherwise.

I’ve been involved in a number of situations where one has to play a challenging game of teeter totter. But it shouldn’t be that difficult. When we truly understand right and wrong. When we truly value the power of truth, none of this should be an issue. The challenging part happens when we throw truth out the window and make everything in our day to day subjective. I’m sorry but you don’t have the right to change truth.

Look I get it. We all want to be in control from time to time, but you can’t throw the God card. It doesn’t work like that. You don’t have to believe in God to still value truth. And I hate to break it to you, but you cannot change truth. No matter how much you want to or how much you don’t like it, truth is truth whether you agree with it or not.

Think of it this way. I know it’s fairly simplistic and you might not think it applies in every situation but honestly if you really think about it changing truth is like changing something as simple as 1+1. Just because I don’t like the number 2 or don’t want the equation to equal 2 doesn’t give me the right to change the outcome of that formula. I mean I can’t say 1+1=4 and be anywhere near right. No matter how much I try to weasel my way around making it sound like the right answer. It never will be right.

The same is the case for altering standards of truth to fit your desires in the moment. You just can’t do that. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. Calling one the other doesn’t change reality at all!

So do the right thing. Whether you want to or not. Right will always be right even if everyone around you doesn’t like to hear it. It sure seems holding to the truth is no longer fashionable. You might lose out on a few things by holding to what’s right. But I am pretty sure that what you get by clinging to truth will be far better than anything (or anyone) you lose who can’t handle hearing the truth called out to them.

So when is it time to fight? When you’re fighting for truth not how you feel. When you’re fighting for something that surpasses your personal desire in the moment. Fight for the truth and you’ll always come out on top in the end (not always in the middle but in the end you will).

Four Parts To An Effective Gathering

May 24, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The last time we got together we discussed two key steps for making disciples along with a critical definition. You can find more details on those here, but the point is to read the bible daily and meet weekly with your triad to break down what you’ve read. It’s really that simple. Now there are undoubtedly some questions about what one of these triad things looks like and what you do when you get together. Again don’t complicate this thing!

In the church we tend to make everything into a program that has rules and boundaries and set times and set curriculum and all the things. One of the beauties of discipleship triads is that they are simple, straightforward, anyone can do them, and they don’t require a lot of resources or training. They’re also extremely reproducible, which is an absolute must. You can do this as a pastor or a church member. You can do these in a church of 50,000 or 50! It doesn’t matter how big or small or how much formal education you have because the Bible is our text book and the Holy Spirit is our teacher. We have all we need!

I have a friend named Brian who used to say how much do you need to know to share the Jesus that you know. The idea is that you already have all you need as soon as you open the bible! It’s all about knowing Jesus more fully and intimately. You don’t need a study guide or the use of the church building. You don’t need a degree or a set of hard and fast questions. All you need is the Bible and a couple of friends and you’re off!

Community Building

So what do these groups look like? They look like a group of men or women who genuinely care about each other and their spiritual well being. So take the first bit of time when you connect in your weekly gatherings, that I call a huddle, to get to know what’s going on. Just catch up a little because a lot can happen in a week.

Ok so I call these things huddles because it’s kind of like the offense getting together before snapping the ball to make sure they’re on the same page. These weekly gatherings, not a substitute for or part of a worship service, are where we gather our team to get on the right page. So start by catching up on how the week has been. All the normal conversation things.

Good questions to consider here are:

  • What are your highs? Lows?
  • What are your prayer needs today?
  • What are you really struggling with in life this week?
  • What success has come in your life since we were together last?
  • What in your life is worthy of praising God for right now?

Biblical Equipping

This portion is taking the Bible and opening it up to see what’s inside. You’ll go through your reading that you did apart this week and see what God was up to. The point of Biblical equipping is to do more than just read a paragraph but to interact with it on a personal level. There are no set questions needed for this section but I’ll give you a few to consider. You’re not looking for deep notes on translations and all that but simply what is God saying? What are you hearing? Here are two methods I find helpful when interacting with a section of the Bible:

SOAP – this uses the word as an acronym for Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer

  • What section of the Bible are you referring to? Write the verse, sentence or even a couple of words down.
  • What was happening in the text? What did the original hearers of this message get from it?
  • What does this mean for me today? Why should I even care about this in my life right now?
  • What prayer has God laid on my heart after reading this passage?

Observe…Investigate…Apply – this uses three sets of questions that can be used for any Bible reading and are aimed at helping us dive deeper into a better understanding of what God has in store for us in each section of the Bible.

Observe
  • What’s going on in this passage?
  • Who’s talking? Who’s listening?
  • What are the important words, people, or ideas?
  • What is my first impression of the passage?
Investigate
  • What can I discover about God?
  • What questions would I like to ask God about this passage?
  • What can I discover about myself?
  • What can I learn about God’s picture of a healthy spiritual life?
  • What can I do to encourage or discourage this health?
Apply
  • What is one take-away truth that the Holy Spirit would like me to think about today?
  • How would God like to change my life if I applied this passage?
  • What’s one specific and practical way I could respond to this passage in the next 24-48 hours?

Pray For Each Other

One really important part of these triad groups is that you all pray for one another. You have to resist the fear that you won’t have the right words. This prayer isn’t about sounding all churchy. It’s about caring for those in the triad and addressing the concerns they already mentioned.

Think of prayer as a conversation where you talk and lay out your thanks and concerns then spend the rest of the week listening to the answers that are all around you. Keep the prayer short if needed. Don’t worry about fancy phrases or sounding like you have something pre-written for you to read. A good acronym for you is the word pray – praise, repent, ask, yield. Thank him for what he’s done. Admit where we’ve failed. Ask for help. Then yield for answers.

Accountability Is Key

Finally, each time you get together you have to make sure you have next steps. How are you going to take what you talked about today and put it into practice? This is laying out the mission in front of you all and then holding each other accountable for reaching it. The more you meet, the more this will help in your catch up time at the beginning of the next meeting.

You can still start by asking about the kids or wife or work but having something to hold one another accountable for is a great asset in transitioning to the new topic for the day. This will also give you things to pray for throughout the week apart.

So the key here isn’t to make things challenging. It’s actually about leaving the structure wide open to make it easier to adjust based on life circumstances. The point is to have the bible as a daily rhythm for life and a group of 2-3 of you who meet regular to huddle your way through next steps of applying what you believe.

Two Key Parts To Get Started With Discipleship

May 17, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The church world has this word that we use a lot but have a hard time characterizing or defining. The word to which I’m referring is discipleship. The key for me here is a good definition which I’ll give you in a minute, in addition to a couple simple steps. Then over the next several weeks, we’ll unpack a little more about discipleship and what it looks like in the real world. So the definition is pretty important and after studying the Bible it became super clear to me. You don’t have to use my definition, but you need some sort of definition. So here’s mine:

Discipleship is the process of being transformed into the image of Christ for the sake of others.

There are some loaded terms and ideas in this definition that we’re honestly not going to get to in this post, but the key for us today is the transformed and for others parts of the definition. So let’s get started!

Transformation is something far bigger than that cool sci-fi show where alien robots become cars and airplanes. As a matter of fact the outside change isn’t really the point of our transformation at all. The outer transformation will happen in time, but we need to get the inside in the right place first.

How do we transform in this way then?

The bible tells us that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds in Christ Jesus. That means quite simply that we need to be consuming, in large quantities and on a regular basis, the things that Jesus said and did. Simply put we need a regular and frequent diet of time in the Bible. The Spirit of God will do the work of transformation. That’s not up to us. The reading of and spending time in the Bible is the part we can do. This is step one. And you cannot get these out of order!

Read your bible. I know that sounds like something a pastor would typically say. I get it and to be honest you probably expect something like this. But the point is, the only power to work any kind of transformation is found in the things that Jesus taught and did. And the only place where we get that in its purest form is in the Bible. So spend time in your Bible. Read the gospels to get a good handle on who Jesus was, what he did, and what difference he made for his immediate followers.

My personal recommendation is to start with the book of John. In my mind, it’s the simplest of the gospels and contains more of a storied approach to Jesus’ life. Take a chapter a day. Just read it. Read it word for word even if you’ve read it before a thousand times! Just read it. If you need to get a bigger picture when reading, go through a few chapters a day and then repeat that the next day. The key is the Bible and being intentional about your time in the Bible.

Invite someone else to join you. There’s a rule of thumb that I use in my life that says if something is important or special to you, you’re going to want others to be a part of that or know about it. We get a new job and we want our friends to know. We make a good dinner and we want all of social media to see it. (Ok small jab at those who post constant pictures of their food). But matters of faith are absolutely no different. You and I need to spend time working through our Bibles, and it’s true we can do that alone. But the second critical step that just can’t be short cut is to invite a couple people to come along with you.

It goes something like this. You do your readings and they do theirs. Then once a week you get together to talk about what you read. It’s like a mini-small-group. I call them triads. You see in my mind the best way to go through this transformation process is for you to invite someone and have that person bring a friend too. The more you share it the more you own it. This serves a couple different purposes.

First it gives ownership. When you invite someone you really tend to stand behind it. The second reason is that you have built in accountability. When someone else is doing something with you, then you’re more likely to actually do your part.

These are not one and done kind of steps. They need to be done continually until they become part of your life. The key is to keep sharing this with one or two people then let them do the same. This process of being transformed into Christ’s image could make a massive impact on your home, neighborhood, work, friend circle and even your community as more and more of you grow in the image of Christ through a guided time in God’s word.

The point is to start in the word and stay in the word together. The word alone has the power to transform lives. Events don’t change lives. Books written by men don’t change lives. Good feels from a good song don’t change lives. Honestly your time in worship doesn’t change your life. God alone through his word changes lives all the time. So how about it? Grab a friend. Challenge each other to a chapter of John and have them bring a friend along for the journey. Then sit and chat once a week over coffee, a phone call or a zoom meeting, and see how God is transforming each of you. We’ll talk next time about what one of those weekly check ins looks like but for now call a friend and open that bible!

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