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We, as pastors, are reading through DiscipleShift again.  Here are some quotes from the introduction and first two chapters: First comes philosophy. Second comes practical adaptation. (Know the "why" before you figure out the "how.") Focus=biblical discipleship; Methodology=relational environments The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit to the glory of God the Father. Simply put, a church exists to make disciples who make disciples. And the primary methodology is Christlike love expressed in life-on-life relationship. Yet as difficult as the journey may be, people who follow Jesus are also given important promises. We think that God's grace covered us up to the point of salvation and somehow we must now get it right to continue as Jesus' disciple. Far too many of us assume that discipleship is merely the transfer of information leading to behavior modification. But discipleship, at heart, in...

If you are regular reader of the blog, on Fridays I have shared new books, favorite books, and most recently kid books.  Now, I am going to share discipleship resources that I would recommend each Friday. We, as pastors, have learned a great deal from DiscipleShift by Jim Putman and Bobby Harrington.  It has shaped a lot of our discussion about discipleship and even how we define a disciple.  We talk a lot about head, heart and hands and this concept was introduced to us in this book.  If you have struggled with the tension between evangelism and discipleship, this book is a great resource. Tomorrow I will share some quotes from the first few chapters of the book because we as pastors are going through the book again.

Below is a quote from DiscipleShift by Jim Putman that I shared prior to Service Sunday yesterday. Geiger, Kelley, and Nation describe it well: “As believers understand their identity, they are empowered by God to flesh out their identity in everyday life. Leaders who view discipleship through the lens of identity encourage and train people to live in response to the great identity God has given. Instead of beginning with behavior, leaders remind people of who they are in Christ. They connect the commands of God to the identity he secures for his followers, presenting obedience as the overflow of understanding and living the new nature Christ has given.” I have read this quote many times and each time I respond with a resounding AMEN! Do you agree or disagree?  Are we trying to obey and live without understanding our identity? The underlined words remind me that who God is and who we are shapes what we do. 

I am going to be sporadically sharing a longer quote with you.  Today's quote comes from DiscipleShift by Jim Putman.  Actually, Putman is quoting Geiger, Kelley & Nation from Transformational Discipleship. Be encouraged! "As believers understand their identity, they are empowered by God to flesh out their identity in everyday life.  Leaders who view discipleship through the lens of identity encourage and train people to live in response to the great identity God has given. Instead of beginning with behavior, leader remind people of who they are in Christ. They connect the commands of God to the identity he secures for his followers, presenting obedience as the overflow of understanding and living the new nature Christ has given."

This summer, Pastor Brad has been leading those who are interested through the book, DiscipleShift by Jim Putman.  Every Wednesday night, the congregation enjoys ice cream and discussion together.  I will be attending for the first time tonight.  I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts as they reflect on this book.  Here are a few quotes from the Chapters 5-7: The biblical model for church community is an authentic and healthy transparency that repeatedly points people back to the gospel. A disciple maker makes disciples. Every Christian has that job. It is impossible to overstate the importance of getting into the Word of God for discipleship.

At our church, we are currently working through a discipleship plan from birth to death.  The committee responsible for this is called the Discipleship Ministries Committee (DMC for short).  We have also been talking a lot about discipleship as pastors at our Tuesday meetings and now on our Thursday afternoon planning sessions.  I love these conversations! At times, it seems like we might not be making progress.  But I am glad we are asking some difficult questions.  We have also had the benefit of three people from our church attending Exponential. They heard some great speakers and are excited about what they learned.  As part of that discussion, we have had at least two conversations based on content from Exponential.  We also started reading a book together as DMC, PMC (Pastoral Ministries Committee), and pastors.  It is called DiscipleShift by Jim Putman. I look forward to seeing what God is going to do at Hesston MB as we discuss and imp...