The Bible describes two discipleships: human & divine. Human discipleship takes place as one human disciples another human. When we make statements like, “Joe discipled me,” or “I’m discipling Kristy,” we are referring to human discipleship. Divine discipleship takes place between Christ and man. We refer to Christ’s discipleship when we talk about “following Christ,” …
Category Archives: Discipleship
Was Jesus “Cliquish?”
The question has been asked, “Won’t small groups create cliques that will divide our Church?” Great question. In Mark 3:13-19, Jesus is followed by a large crowd of people all vying for his attention. The Bible says that He healed many, before eventually pushing away from the crowd. (That’s right, even Jesus got away to …
God’s Global End-Game
Revelation 7:9-10 reveals a future scene in heaven. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a …
Is Your Discipleship Whole?
Discipleship has been used and misused to the point that the word itself has become almost meaningless. It begs for clarification. Everyone would agree that discipleship should be transformational (Check out Transformational Discipleship by Geiger, Kelley, and Nation). But what exactly is being transformed? At this point I see three popular, yet incomplete, views: 1) …
Baptisms, Breakfast, and God’s Mission
This morning I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in Nicaragua with my friends, Tami and Oscar. Oscar directs the mission work of the Baptist Missionary Association for this beautiful Central American country. After our meal, we reminisced about experiences we have shared in the past through mission trips and other events. Our conversation went back to …
Are You Causing Your Child To Fall?
“Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Can you imagine the shock on the disciples faces when Jesus told them that “whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4)? I imagine the disciples were expecting Jesus to point out someone like Moses, or …
15 Questions to Ask Before Starting Small Groups
This conversation takes place in countless homes every week: Bill: Honey, are we going to small group again tonight? Joan: I know it feels like a waste of time some weeks, but I feel like we need to stay committed. Bill: I understand what you mean, but the lack of focus week after week drives …
Continue reading “15 Questions to Ask Before Starting Small Groups”
Sowing and Growing
I never liked to eat corn until one year at Thanksgiving, I tried my grandmother’s cream-style corn. Wow! One bite and I was hooked. In fact, I probably ate three helpings that day. The next time my mother made corn at home, I put an extra large helping on my plate. After one bite, I …
Stop Raising Mules
I’m not a country boy. There, I admitted it. However, I do live in Arkansas, which means I get a few “country boy points” by default. For instance, I know that horses reproduce horses. I also know that donkeys reproduce donkeys. And, for bonus points, I know that a horse and a donkey together produce …
John the Baptist: Disciple-Maker
A great example of how human discipleship should work is provided in the story of John the Baptist. Several of the apostles were first disciples of John, who, in the words of Isaiah, came as a forerunner to Jesus, the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” (John …