Tag discipleship

The Strategy of Jesus for Evangelism and Discipleship

by roderickbarnes Uncategorized
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕘𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝔾𝕠𝕕
The life group or missional community is the strategy of God for making things better. He tried to show us. How? Look at Him, saints. After a night in prayer the Son of God makes a missional community of twelve (Luke 6:12-16). In that intimate community Jesus is Rabbi, Father, Light, and living lesson on mercy and humility. And the members of that community mean much to Him. They are His disciples, children, frustration, unreliable comfort, means for meeting the immediate needs of the crowd, and His focus. He sanctified Himself for them (John 17:19).
Figure 1 – Small Group Meeting at the Whiteheads Home
And after many trials and triumphs some in that small band still doubt Him (Matthew 28:17). But they, with the exception of Judas, are His. And He is theirs. Together they are a community with a mission of leading people to life through faith in Christ – a missional community (Acts 1:8). With Him they are witnessing to the world, working in the faith community, learning the word, and worshipping. After He goes home they continue in that community with a mission. Why? They need each other and, empowered by His Spirit, they will stay together and make things better in the world.
The life group or missional community continues to be the way of making life better for (1) the individual, (2) the missional community itself, and (3) the surrounding society. Using these little tribes of Jesus followers, God brings His message of reconciliation and mission of rescuing the lost.
Are you in one? That is, are you in a missional community. It is His strategy for making things better.
In His grip by His grace,
Roderick Barnes

Secure Your Own Oxygen Mask First

by alexmandes Uncategorized

Life is a journey. For a leader, it is a double journey as we travel with others. For leaders of leaders, frequent flier miles can quickly add up. For those leaders who are “worried and troubled about many things,” frequent flier miles may never be cashed in. A regular pre-flight announcement states, “If oxygen masks are necessary, they will drop from a compartment above. If you are traveling with a child or someone needing assistance, put your mask on first.” Why? Because you can’t help someone when you are struggling yourself. Right? Not so fast; we Christian leaders do it all the time.

As leaders, we often forget to grab some oxygen first before we take care of our charges. Someone is always in need, and good leaders always care. The better a leader you are, the more people will seek you out. You didn’t become a good leader by only looking out for yourself. Being a leader is a call, and it is confirmed by people looking for you. Compass needs leaders who go beyond a title or seeking recognition. And Compass is committed to making sure our leaders continue to look more and more like Jesus.

Once, when Jesus was leading a life group in Martha and Mary’s house, the principle of “put your oxygen on first” was on full display. Martha wanted Mary to get up and help her take care of the people hearing Jesus. Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).

To care for others is our call, but that must be balanced with an insatiable thirst for being with Jesus. We can’t give what we don’t have. I’m not saying ignore people; I’m saying make sure you are serving others out of a deep breath of the Spirit of Jesus. It makes shepherding an adventure and keeps the burn-out far away. Think adventure!

I’m not big on guilt as a motivation, so don’t take this as an admonition to get your priorities right. What I am saying is that the journey you invite your disciples on will be more life-giving when we maintain our spiritual discipline of personal devotional time. It is the kind of journey that will keep us from burning out.

Tools for enhancing our devotional time:

 Refresh and Recalibrate: https://bit.ly/4cP7WNc

 The Spiritual Disciple of Resetting: https://spirituallyhungry.com/the-spiritual-discipline-of-resetting/

For you leaders, it is a reminder, not an invitation. “Continue to choose the good part.”

Dr. Alex Mandes