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What if we dropped a “1” in front or a “0” at the end?
“If God be your partner, make your plans large.” – D.L. Moody
One fun exercise to enlarge your plans is to ask, “What would we do if we wanted to drop a 1 in front or a zero on the end?”
A new church has 35 adults attending small groups. “What would we do if we wanted to put a 1 in front of that and make it 135?” or “What would we do if we wanted to drop a zero at the end and make it 350?”
Jesus stretched the disciples’ thinking in this way when 5,000 plus hungry people were gathered listening to His teaching. They pointed out the need for food and Jesus said to the disciples, “You give them something to eat.” They had two fish and five loaves at that point. Jesus basically said, “What if we put a few zeros on the end of that?” or “What if we put a five in front of that?” Jesus blessed what was provided and God gave a great increase.
Big thinking is not something I’m always guilty of. It’s easier to look at the decline around us and downgrade our plans for the church. It’s less emotionally draining to plan small and not be disappointed. But thinking big, and having great faith is a lot more fun. And bears more fruit because of obedience in the end. Think big. Plan big. Expect God to bring the increase.
The 7 Realities of Experiencing God
Woke up to the news that Henry Blackaby passed away. What an incredible influence he had on a generation. His 7 Realities are so simple and profound. Worth review on this day and every day.
- God is always at work around you.
- God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
- God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
- God speaks by the Holy Spiritthrough the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church.
- God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
- You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
- You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.
Say Yes to the Jesus’ Commands
When asked by Pew research to define what Jesus’ teachings were, people answered:
- Take care of the environment
- Buy from companies that pay fair wages
- Live healthy and exercise
Not bad things at all, but Jesus actually didn’t say any of that. What did Jesus actually say? We can find his commands in the four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And his commands, his directives, were on his mind when he stood in front of his disciples before going back to heaven. He told them to “Go. Make Disciples. Baptize them. And teach them to obey EVERYTHING I HAVE COMMANDED” (Matthew 28:19-20).
What if we focused on obey everything Jesus commanded? If you look at and seek to obey his commands, you’ll find everything you need for a dynamic spiritual life that will make an eternal impact. There are commands for situations, like “What happens when someone attacks me?” Jesus says, Love them, Bless them, Pray for them. “What happens if I’m running out of food?” Jesus says, don’t worry. The father knows your need and will provide.
You also find commands that give meaning and purpose for all of life and that you can literally build life on. Like, “Seek first the kingdom of God” and “Love God and Love Others” and “Go and make disciples.” Jesus commands give us more than enough to build life on and to know how to live in difficult times.
And the best news of all. We’re not alone when it comes to obeying Jesus. This is not a checklist that we have to struggle with. That’s religion. And its powerless. These commands are given in the context of relationship that Jesus paved the way for with his own life. Jesus, as part of this relationship, has promised to put these commands in the hearts of those who follow Him (Ezekiel 36:27). And he has promised power to obey in the person of his Holy Spirit to live within us. To struggle with obedience to Jesus may reveal something amiss about your relationship with him. Obedience is a product of an abiding relationship with Jesus. Saying no to Jesus’ commands is saying “I am the Lord of my life. Jesus, no thanks.”
Saying Yes to Jesus is a way of life. For the person who has made Jesus the leader of their lives, we find joy and strength in obedience to him. It’s the best yes of every life and should be the first yes of every day for those who follow him. Have you said yes to Jesus today?
Look Beyond Numbers to Generations
How many disciples have made disciples? Great challenge from Alan Briggs in his new book Guardrails: Six Principles for a Multiplying Church.
Reproducible discipleship looks beyond numbers to count generations – it measures how many disciples have made disciples… When we aim at mere numbers, we will rarely multiply disciples, but when we aim at generations, numbers come naturally.
Love this thinking! If church is about making disciples and one thing disciples do is make other disciples, we should be able to begin measuring generations within the first few years of our church. Take a look at your church roll and see how many generations deep you can go. If not far, examine your goal for people. Are you making disciples or just attenders? This is a mistake I have made in ministry. Attendance makes pastors feel good and populates the chairs on Sunday’s. Disciple making makes the kingdom grow and populates heaven.
Guardrails is a great book to help you get back to the simplicity of discipleship. Here’s a few other great quotes:
- healthy ministry always centers around making disciples.
- Our mission is to make disciples. That’s what missional people do.
- Spiritual leadership is not about gaining followers; it’s about making disciples.
- Disciple-makers are very ordinary people who take God’s mission seriously.
- Discipleship is a beautiful and rugged journey into living like Jesus.
- Discipleship is not something to be comprehended and mastered by something to be lived out and passed on to others.
- Every follower of Jesus has the capacity to become a multiplier of the message.
- When we portray discipleship as complicated, ordinary people leave discipleship to the experts, and reproduction is killed before it starts.
- We simply cannot afford to choose building our churches over making disciples. We must follow the progression of making disciples, developing leaders, and leading churches – in that order.
Grab a copy of Guardrails. Refreshing, challenging book to fuel the mission of making disciples. See the Trailer for the book HERE. Looking forward to having Alan Briggs as one of our Equippers in 2017 & 2018 for our Multiply Louisiana Church Planting Network! More info soon.
Swells: Lessons from the Psalms on Surviving Life’s Ups and Downs
Bridge Church tackled the book of Psalms in our summer series called Swells. We covered 8 major themes in Psalms including: Worship, the Word of God, Dealing with Difficult People, Dealing with Discouragement. Get the audio from this series HERE or by subscribing to our Podcast on Itunes. Here are a few highlights:
- Two truths that stand out in the Psalms: God is bigger than anything I face & God is with me no matter where I am or what I’m going through.
- Psalms reminds us that it’s OK to have lows in life. It’s actually NOT a sin to be discouraged or depressed. The very best of folks in this life, do. It IS a sin to go to the wrong place to heal discouragement & depression.
- Our faith in God, not the surface waves of life ultimately define us.
- There are only three kinds of people in life. People who are in the midst of a storm. People who just came out of a storm. People who are about to go through a storm.
- there is POWER in the Word of God. We’re not just reading a good self-help book, we’re connecting with the Living God, through the means he chose to reveal himself to us.
- When waves come, you need resources. And the earth’s resources will not be enough! You need strength inside. Strength from heaven.
- John Bunyan said it well: “This Book (the Bible) will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this Book.”
- D.L. Moody said, “The only way to keep a broken vessel full is by keeping the faucet turned on.” Keeping the faucet of God’s Word running repeatedly through your mind will clear out the garbage and keep you pure.
- It’s OK to FEEL FRUSTRATED & FEARFUL. As long as you take those frustrations to the right place. We often think – “I shouldn’t have these feelings.” But feelings are a part of the journey toward experiencing God. We don’t waller in our feelings. That’s called sulking & doesn’t accomplish much. David kept moving, took his feelings to God, & expected God to do something about it.
- If you’ve ever realized how badly you needed grace, you’re more likely to extend it to others.
- People & our feelings will let us down. But God will be a shelter.
- We can’t always say that bad things happen in our life are the consequences of sin, but sometimes they are. You will know. Sometimes bad things happen b/c we live in a bad world. Sometimes bad things happen b/c of other people’s bad decisions. Sometimes it’s just the natural outworkings of foolish decision making. Sometimes it may be discipline from God. God disciplines those he loves.
- There’s great freedom in living a life of integrity & character, powered by God’s son.
- Becoming a Christian is not an insurance policy from bad things. It IS an insurance policy against purposeless, meaningless life. We can be assured, that even the bad things that we can’t figure out are a part of God’s plan. And we can cry out to God for deliverance & be assured of His presence & that He will answer us.
- Results of Trusting God should be greater courage, greater confidence, victory over fear, risk taking for God’s kingdom & for the sake of lost people!
- Some of us never experience God’s protection, b/c we’re so focused on providing for our own safety & comfort. We learn to trust God outside of our comfort zone. “God doesn’t give you more that you can handle.” No! God always gives you more than you can handle, so that you can learn to trust him.
- There’s never a place that worship should not break out in our hearts & minds. We should always be in awe of him. We should always be coming back to the truth – HE IS WITH ME! HE IS BIGGER THAN THIS!
On Ramp to Spiritual Growth: Understand God’s Will
God wants you to grow! And He’s provided everything necessary for you to grow! However, there are obstacles. Just like merging onto a freeway, many times we’re hesitant, things get in the way, we’re lazy, or fearful. One of the on ramps for me personally, was when began to understand what God is doing in the world. What is God’s will? is a frequently asked question. When I saw that God’s will was not difficult or hard to understand, my desire for spiritual growth increased. Here are three words that have helped me understand God’s will:
1. Relationship – The God of the Universe wants a relationship with you. And He went to great lengths to make that a possibility. Jesus showed his desire to have a relationship with us by giving His very life. See John 3:16. The growing Christian will see their life through the lens of this relationship God through Christ.
2. Identity – Christianity is not about what you do, it’s about who you are. Or really, WHOSE you are. God shapes our identity through our relationship with Him. As we relate to Him & draw closer to Him, we become identified with his character & his mission in the world.
3. Eternity – God made us for more than this life. Eternal life starts when we place our faith & trust in Christ, not when we die. One meaning of the word eternal is TIMELESS. Salvation makes us timeless. And this reminds us that God has more in mind for us than just the 60-80 years that we may live on this earth. We’re made for eternity. We are also saved & sent to help others understand & get ready to face eternity.
What helps you understand God’s will?
This month Bridge Church in Madisonville is talking about On Ramps to Spiritual Growth & Transformation. Join us Sunday’s, 10:30am at the Maritime Museum in Madisonville.
Things Spiritual Infants Say #discipleship #spiritualmaturity
How can I know where I am or where those I’m trying to disciple and lead are spiritually? Try listening. My last post was about Things Spiritual Giants Say. A few years ago, I posted about Jim Putman’s great book Real-Life Discipleship: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples. In the book, he breaks down five stages of spiritual maturity by what will be common phrases for a person at each stage. Jesus said, “The mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart” (Matthew 12:34 HCSB), so our words reveal our spiritual condition.
Spiritual Infant
- “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.”
- “I pray and read my Bible. That’s good enough for me.”
- “I didn’t know the Bible said that.”
- “Jesus helps me be a good person. I don’t need church.”
- Characterized by ignorance, confusion, dependence, worldly perspective.
- Needs personal attention of a spiritual parent, teaching and modeling the Christian faith, accountability to develop new habits.
Spiritual Child
- “My church isn’t taking care of my needs.”
- “I didn’t like the music today. If only they did it like…”
- “I love my small group; don’t add more people to it.”
- “I’m not being fed at my church, so I’m going to a church that can meet my needs better.”
- Characterized by self-centeredness, pride, idealism, spiritual highs and lows.
- Needs relational connections to a church family, help to start feeding themselves, teaching about identity in Christ.
Spiritual Young Adult
- “I love my small group, but there are others who need a group like this.”
- “Randy and Rachel missed church today. Their kids have the flu, maybe our group could make meals for them. I’ll start.”
- “I have some friends I’ve been witnessing to. I think I could lead a Bible Study for them with a little help.”
- “In my devotions, I came across something I have a question about.”
- Characterized by action, zeal, God-centered, others-centered, independent, desire to serve others.
- Needs opportunities to serve, ongoing relationships that offer encouragement, accountability and skills training.
Spiritual Parent
- “This guy at work asked me to explain the Bible to him. Pray for me.”
- “Our small group is going on a mission trip, and I have given each person a different responsibility.”
- “We get to baptize someone from my small group today. I want them to get plugged into a ministry right away.”
- Characterized by intentionality, reproduction mindset, dependability, desire to see others mature.
- Needs ongoing relationships with other disciple makers, a team approach, accountability and encouragement.
So where are you? If you’re moving toward spiritual maturity you may want to get this book or the training manual to learn more about how to be a spiritual parent and make disciples who make disciples. Here’s a few other great quotes from the manual:
- Every Christian is commanded to participate in the mission to make disciples.
- Your work is complete when the person you are discipling can make a disciple.
- The church was not designed to be a group of spectators who attend weekly lectures; it was designed to be a trained army with a powerful message.
- We cannot change the definition of discipleship to sit and listen and then expect to make disciples as Jesus did.
- Don’t mistake Bible Knowledge, years of church attendance, physical age, education, and so forth for spiritual maturity.
- A church is successful when everyone is in the game, maturing into disciples who can reproduce disciples.
- Relationships create the environment where discipleship happens best.
- Serving produces players, not spectators. Service helps a disciple develop and mature.
Things Spiritual Giants Say
I’ve known what I’d consider a few spiritual giants in my life. These are spiritually mature people who I’ve looked to for encouragement & as an example of faith and discipline and spiritual growth. In thinking about what leads to spiritual growth, I got to thinking about their stories and their paths and what I’ve heard these people say about their own growth. What were the catalyst for them? Here’s a few that I remember:
“I surrendered my life to Christ when I was __ years old.”
Spiritually mature people can point to a time when they began their journey with God and they see that event as a catalyst for almost everything in their lives.
“I was reading the Bible the other day and…” or “It’s like the Bible says…”
Spiritually mature people have devotional habits like Bible reading that give them a foundation for decision making and life.
“I met ____ and they helped me understand God’s will more clearly.”
Spiritually mature people often point to catalytic relationships that spurred them on in their spiritual growth & pursuit of Christ. A pastor, a small group leader, a godly friend or family member.
“I was on a mission trip in ____ and…” or “I got involved in the ____ ministry of my church and…”
Spiritually mature people are always on mission. You’ll find them on mission trips, leading ministries, opening their homes, cooking, serving, sharing, giving.
“Life took a turn for the worse, but God & my church family gave me strength.”
Spiritually mature people often experienced hardships and tragedy, but they can point to the good and to God’s providential hand at work in the situation. And they can often testify that the hardship was a catalyst for growth and for deeper dependence upon God and others.
“Can I help you with anything?” or “Can I pray for you about anything?” or “How are you doing?”
Spiritually mature people are focused on others. Visit with them and you’ll leave with more than you came with – spiritually and maybe physically. Always giving, always pointing to others.
So, are you and I on the path to spiritual maturity?
- Can you point to a time when you began a relationship with God?
- Do you practice daily devotional habits that shape the way you live?
- Do you have catalytic relationships that challenge you? Or are you in the right place for these to happen?
- Are you on mission? Are you serving others through your church or some other way?
- Have you allowed the circumstances and hardships of your life to aid your dependence on God and spiritual growth?
- Are focused on others or yourself?
Conversational Discipleship Tools
Evangelism & Discipleship takes place today over multiple if not many conversations (Billy Graham says at least 20). Here’s a few tools that work well over coffee or in a small group setting:
- How to START or Re-START the Christian Life – PDF
- How to Get a Grip on the Bible – PDF, Issuu
- Allowing the Teachings of Jesus to Go Deep. How to use HERE.
- Discover Your SHAPE for Ministry – PDF
- 25 Training Objectives for Disciples by David Platt
What tools have worked for you in growing in your faith & making disciples?
Beneath the Surface: Going to Church vs. Getting Involved in the Life of a Church
“every individual Christian will find in the communion of a local church the most perfect atmosphere for the fullest development of his spiritual life.” ~ A.W. Tozer
My observation is that most people never experience “the fullest development of his spiritual life” through the church or see the great value, because they may GO TO CHURCH, but they don’t get involved in the LIFE OF A CHURCH. There’s a big difference. Going to church makes you a CONSUMER of its services. Getting involved in the life of a church puts you in “COMMUNION” with a life source fed by God himself. The Apostle Paul said it like this
“From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” ~ Ephesians 4:16
It’s consuming vs. serving, sharing life, supporting, being supported, building up, being built up, etc.
The enduring image of church for me is that of a forest. A forest stays strong, even in dry seasons, because BENEATH THE SURFACE, the roots of the trees are feeding off of one another for growth & strength. Roots can’t share their life with a tree that just lays itself upon the surface. It has to take root & do life with the others.
“I tried church, but it didn’t help.” Probably not, if you just showed up every now & then with little commitment, little humbling of yourself, little sharing of your life, little getting involved in relationships, little investment in ministries, little digging deep to support & be supported.
I love the Tozer quote, because I’ve experience it. Now, don’t read it wrong. The church is NOT a “perfect atmosphere.” Far from it. It is the perfect atmosphere for spiritual development BECAUSE of its imperfections. Relationships with people that are struggling through life together, growing as individuals, utilizing unique gifts no matter how imperfectly. And seeing God in Christ feed & nourish & heal & empower each other. It’s a beautiful thing! But you won’t see it on the surface by just GOING TO CHURCH.
Lane Corley 