Real Life Discipleship Review #1

Week #1: Biblical Basis for Discipleship

The Bible tells us that God's goal for us is to become like Jesus. The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of discipleship. Two sets of verses that help focus our efforts are Mt. 28:18-20 and Matthew 4:19

Matthew 28:18-20 reminds us that we are here to make disciples of all nations and to be intentional every day in that mission.

Matthew 4:19 reminds us of our definition of a disciple.

One who is following Jesus. (Head level)

One who is being changed by Jesus. (Heart level)

One who is engaged in the mission of Jesus. (Hands level)

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Key Discipleship Tool: The Phrase from the Stage

One of the key ways that we can help people grow in their faith is by understanding where they are on the discipleship process. By really listening to people, we can learn what is important to them, what their beliefs are, and what their goals are. Then, you can help determine next steps. Listen to how the book Discipleshift by Putmam and Harrington describe it. Again, we teach our people to recognize these phrases so that they can know where a person is — not to judge them or condemn them but to help our people better know how to pray and respond, to understand what part Jesus wants to play in their lives right now. Just as a teacher will assess a student to better grasp where he or she needs help, a discipler can use these identifying phrases to assess a disciple (or potential disciple) to better understand where he or she needs help in their journey toward spiritual maturity in Christ (p. 62) For a review of “Phrase from the Stage,” re-read pages 211-215 in t...

Key LifeGroup Goals

A few years ago, I came across information published by Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois. They identified three key tasks of their LifeGroups that I thought made a lot of sense for Lincoln Christian Church as well. I have taken some of their material and placed some of our material and put together goals for LifeGroups. (You can also see that information in the LifeGroup Leader Handbook). Connect the Unconnected Invite and incorporate new people into the group. Encourage group members to invite and incorporate new people into the group. Follow-up on everyone who expresses interest in your LifeGroup. Model the pursuit of Christ-likeness to your group members. Ensure regular personal contact with LifeGroup members is made. Prepare, plan, and facilitate LifeGroups each week. Be trained in and intentionally utilize the discipleship process to help group members grow spiritually. Be trained in and utilize ChurchTeams to maintain accurate LifeGroup roster ...

The Role of a Discipleship Leader in Helping People Grow

1. Understand people's spiritual maturity 2. Understand people's next step to greater spiritual maturity. One of the tools that Lincoln Christian Church has adopted to help with these responsibilities is the "Phrase from the Stage." People will often let you know their level of spiritual maturity by the kinds of questions they ask and the kinds of responses they give. Remember, a person's level of spiritual maturity is not a statement of their value to God (He loves us all!). It is a statement about what a person's next steps need to be.

Brandon Boyd

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