What is Discipleship?
Discipleship is a word that is used a lot at church but what does it mean? One definition that I found is discipleship is "the lifelong journey of obedience to Christ that transforms a person's values and behavior and results in ministry in one's home, church, and the world." (Discipleship:God's Life Changing Work, Lifeway Resources, p. 3). Discipleship is all about following Jesus. It is learning from him and becoming like him. Discipleship follows a genuine conversion experience where an individual turns his/her life over to Jesus and says, "From this day on, I will trust and obey Jesus." It is a LIFELONG journey that has a starting point but never ends.
Because it is a lifelong journey, there is always work to be done, improvements to be made. This applies to every believer. Believer, how is your journey? What work needs to be done right now? What improvements need to be made in your life?
On Sunday, January 25, all adults who attend Sunday School will have an opportunity to take a spiritual growth assessment, a questionnaire that is designed to get you thinking about how well you are doing as a disciple. This is something that only you will see unless you choose to share it with someone else. You will be able to examine how well you are doing in the areas of: abiding in Christ, living in the word, praying in faith, fellowshipping with believers, witnessing to the world, and ministering to others.
Starting Sunday, February 8, at 5:00 p.m., we will offer discipleship classes to address most if not all of these six areas. If, after taking the assessment, you discover any areas that need work or improvement, I encourage you to register for the class that will most benefit you at this time in your journey!
Read Through the Bible 2009
I hope you are reading through your Bible on a daily basis. If you have a plan to read through the Bible in 2009, I want to invite you to become a part of an online encourager group. There are a group of 80 + individuals who are part of an online group on Facebook.com called "Read Through the Bible 2009 -- LNBC." I hope you will consider joining. We have people in the group from North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, and West Virginia! It is an opportunity to encourage one another, share things God is teaching us, and raise questions we might have about what we are reading. I would enjoy your participation.
If you would like to join, go to facebook.com and set up a profile. Then in the search field, type in the group name as I have it above. This should take you to the group page where you can then sign up. All of this is free.
Proverbs 30:5
This verse was shared by someone on the "Read Through The Bible 2009 -- LNBC" online group page this week. It says, "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." God's word is pure. He can be completely trusted! Because His word is pure and He can be trusted, He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. The safest place to be is a place of trust!
How has He proven to be your shield? I'd love to hear your comments!
I look forward to taking the assessment. I would be curious to hear people's feedback on the scenario below:
ReplyDeleteIf someone came up to me tomorrow and said they wanted to grow as a disciple and had 1 hour set aside the next day to invest in doing so, what direction should I give them with respect to how to spend that hour? What would I tell them is the most important factor, 2nd, 3rd and so on and then how much time should I tell them to spend on each one? Or is there a better way to think about answering the question?
Again, interested in people's thoughts!
First, I would like to know if this is a one shot opportunity by the seeker? It is hard to disciple in only one hour. Regardless of the time allotted, you cannot go wrong sharing with the person the Life of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of John. In this Gospel one cannot help but develope a better understanding of Christ's coming in human flesh and still be divine.Taste for yourself.
ReplyDelete