A few years ago when I attended the Lifeworkx training developed by Steve Aldrich, I learned a lot about myself and who God had made me to be. It was a wonderful five-week learning experience and I’m so grateful for Steve’s commitment to creative learning techniques and interactive training. I’m also very grateful for Dave and Debbie who mentored my wife and I through the entire process.
Recently I had the privilege of teaching the first session of the Perspectives course in Yakima, Washington. I love the emphasis in the first lesson that our God is a missionary God! One of the quotes in the material for the first session is from Dr. Ralph Winter, founder of the US Center for World Mission:
To cultivate a disciplemaking movement, you need to be intentional about multiplication. Think: Multiply Everything! Multiply disciples. Multiply disciplemakers. Multiply disciplemaking groups. Multiply disciplemaking initiatives.
Missional Initiatives aren’t just about meeting needs and serving others. Missional Initiatives are connected directly to the mission of Jesus. We serve and bless and meet needs as we are on mission to make disciples who make disciples.
I struggle with obeying God. That’s right. I do. And I bet you do too. As I’ve said many times, “If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.” But it’s not. It’s hard to obey.
Following Jesus is the greatest joy in life. Discipleship is all about following Jesus. Disciplemaking is all about helping others to follow Jesus — and helping others to help others to follow Jesus. Discipleship and Disciplemaking go hand in hand.
“Do people think you are a good listener?” That’s a great question! Whether you are coaching someone, just being a friend, engaged in a missional conversation, or discipling someone, listening is a critical skill to develop. Good coaches practice active listening. Good disciplemakers are good listeners.
Today my niece Ali Austin married Erik Schlagel in Farmington, New Mexico. It was a great privilege for me to be here with my daughter to celebrate! Ali is the first of all my nieces or nephews to get married.
A disciple of Jesus is a reflection of God in the world. When Jesus talked about discipleship, it was an all-in kind of thing.
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.
Where do you intend to GO this year? Who do you intend to BE this year?What do you intend to DO this year? As each year begins, our family gathers to reflect on the previous year and to write down our Go+BE+DOs for the coming year.
