Tag: Jesus

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Identity Before Effort: 3 Ways to Find Ourselves in Christ in the Midst of a Busy World

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In my last post, I discussed the various dangers of always being busy. One of the major problems I shared is that it hinders our relationship with God, and we can even begin to find our identity in the work we are doing, rather than in Christ. This is a problem which must be overcome!

Busy or not, as a Christian, it is in Jesus alone where we must find our identity. It is so easy for other things in our lives to slip in and claim that role, we must remind ourselves daily of who we are in Christ because of what He has done on our behalf. The way we do that is by cultivating our relationship with Him, so that He can transform us into His image.

I want to share three daily spiritual disciplines you can begin practicing today, that will help you find your identity in Christ alone. (While these should be regular practices, we should also remember that this is a relationship we are cultivating, not just another item on our to-do list.)

A Daily Routine of Prayer

There is an old cliche which has been used by Christians for longer than I’ve been alive. It says, “Christianity is not just a religion, it’s a relationship.” Unfortunately, this little statement has not settled in for too many of us. 

We are supposed to enjoy the presence of the Lord, daily, and have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Too often, however, our prayer life dwindles down to confessions of guilt and giving the Lord our list of needs. In the worst case, prayer gets limited to a ritual blessing before a meal! Instead of taking time to simply be with Him, our prayer life becomes part of a religious practice that gets checked off a to-do list, or brings guilt when we forget.

If we are going to find our identity in Christ, this must change! We must learn how to be with Him, to hear Him speaking, and to rest in His presence. He will take the lead in the relationship, if we will simply give Him time in our busy schedule. Just like husbands and wives begin to be shaped by one another as a result of time together, we, too, will begin to be shaped by our relationship with Him.

If most of us would be honest, it isn’t even a lack of time that hinders our prayer life. It is a lack of priority. I am my own proof of this statement. Some mornings I wake up with a worship song in my heart, and begin the day with prayer, before my feet touch the floor. Other days, I grab my phone to turn off the alarm, and immediately go to facebook and emails to see what I missed during the night.

Until we get the relationship right, our identity will continue to be determined by all the other things we give our time to.

A Daily Time in the Word

A friend of mine said something back in high school that has stuck with me for years. “The Bible is God’s love letter to us, written in blood.” If that statement is true, then we should want to know the scriptures by heart.

As I think back to the days of dating my wife, Liz, we were separated by a six-hour drive. We couldn’t always be together, and it is impossible to stay on the phone constantly, so a lot of our communication happened via text messages, email and social media messengers.

You can bet that when my phone sent a notification that there was a new message from Liz, it didn’t take long for me to read every word. It did not matter what I was doing at the time, my first priority would shift to finding out what she had to say.

In the same way, if God has written the Bible for us to know Him and His love for us, then we should read it. We should study it. We should know it from front to back, and want to know it even more. This isn’t because the Bible takes the place of an active relationship with the Lord, but because it enhances it. Through the scriptures we learn everything He wants to reveal to the church in every generation.

Unfortunately, too often we cannot seem to make the time to read His love letter to us. It gets pushed to the back of our daily priorities; exchanged for everything else vying for our attention.

The truth is, however, that not only does the Bible reveal the Lord to us, but it also reveals who we are in Him. If we are going to keep our identity grounded in who Jesus says we are, and not in everything else we do, then we must take time every day to read His message to us!

A Daily Affirmation of Who We Are in Christ

One final practice that will help us to keep our identity grounded in Christ is to habitually remind ourselves, every day, of who He has called us to be. When we get busy, it is easy to forget, so make it a priority to help yourself remember.

“I am a child of God, walking in holiness, and living for the Kingdom of God!”

“I am loved by my creator.”

“I am forgiven of every sin and freed to walk in righteousness.”

“I am made to love.”

“I am called to serve.”

There are so many truths we believe, yet do not live out because we lose them among the distractions. Make a list. Read them every morning and night. Post them where you will see them. Send yourself an email at night, so that it’s the first thing you see at your desk in the morning. Set reminders on your phone to pop up before that stressful meeting. Listen to music or podcasts that keep your focus on Him throughout the day.

However you decide to do so, you must remind yourself every single day of who you are in Christ. Do not let the busyness of life sneak in and steal it away.

I promise, as we practice these disciplines and live out who we are in Christ, it will begin to change the way we interact with our busyness. We will learn to work from our position as sons and daughters of God, rather than being consumed by the ever-expanding to-do list.

What other practices do you do to remind yourself of your identity in Him? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. 

In the next post, I share 3 Keys for Redeeming Your Time. If you find this blog to be helpful, why not subscribe? You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram, to never miss a post.

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9 Books that Shaped My Ministry

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As I continue to take a break from my regularly scheduled blogging this week, I don’t just want to share with you the books that changed by life, but also the books that have made me into the ministry leader that I am today. Some of these books shaped me in my early days of serving the church, and I may not fully adhere to their teachings today. Nevertheless, all of these books have influenced the way I serve the Lord, and I am happy to share them with you.

HERE ARE 9 BOOKS THAT HAVE SHAPED MY MINISTRY:

The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out by Mark Driscoll

The book, ‘The Radical Reformission’ was my first introduction to Mark Driscoll, and though he has gone through some rough times in his ministry, and is now looked down on by some, the influence he had on my post-Bible College life, entering ministry, cannot be overstated. His preaching style was direct, practical, and attention grabbing, but it was his ministry leadership sermons that held my attention the most. I still love Mark Driscoll for his influence in my life. I also believe this book still has value to up and coming church planters today, offering real, practical advice for how to grow a church grounded in truth while purposely engaging the culture.

The Essential Guide to Healing: Equipping All Christians to Pray for the Sick by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark

Living in Haiti for most of 2012, I dedicated myself to praying for the sick, believing that God still heals today. Week after week, my prayers proved ineffective. I began looking for resources from those who have verifiable healing results to push me forward in this journey, and quickly found ‘The Essential Guide to Healing’ in the iBooks bookstore. This was my first introduction to Dr. Randy Clark, who has become a spiritual father to my ministry, and I was immediately taken with his life experience which mirrored my own in many ways. I was also captured by the simplicity with which Randy and Bill are able to impart the truth of the scriptures and the wisdom of their experience in the healing ministry. Never looking back, this book started my journey into healing that continues to increase to this day. (Our ministry is also spiritually covered by Randy Clark’s Apostolic Network of Global Awakening, and my ministry credentials are held by the same.)

Victorious Eschatology by Harold R. Eberle and Martin Trench

Early on in real life ministry, I struggled with the fear-based teaching I was getting from the church and Christian television. I could not reconcile that a good God, determined to establish His Kingdom on the earth, would let thousands of years go by in which believer’s preach the gospel and attempt to disciple nations, only to end with a destruction of that work by the anti-Christ, and a great, surprise rescue mission to get the church out of harms way. The book, ‘Victorious Eschatology’ was my first venture outside of the Left Behind teachings, and opened a whole new world of possibility to me! Now, after years of study on the subject, I hold to the amillennial view of end times, which along with “historic postmillennial” makes up the majority view for most of Christian history. Yet this book, with its short, straight to the point exegesis of end times scriptures, helped me on this journey.

(Two bonus books worth reading on the subject are ‘Unafraid: A Better Book on the End Times’ by Marc Arlt and the much larger book, ‘A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times’ by Kim Riddlebarger)

Heavy Rain: How to Flood Your World with God’s Transforming Power by Kris Vallotton

Where ‘Victorious Eschatology’ led me in the early theological framework for my end times views, ‘Heavy Rain’ stepped in to paint a practical picture for what this viewpoint could mean. Now, I do not know the eschatological views of Kris Vallotton, and would not speak on his behalf, however, this book struggles through some of the same things I wrestled with in my previous, dispensational way of thinking. What if the world isn’t getting worse and worse, but is actually being overcome with the Kingdom of God, sometimes in the most subtle of ways? This book set my course on the journey to find out, and for those who will read it, it will definitely make you hungry for revival.

Contagious Disciple Making by David Watson and Paul Watson

Although I did not run into this book until last year, ‘Contagious Disciple Making’ has instantly had a major impact on my ministry in East Africa. The call to make disciples, not just converts, is a challenge faced by many ministries, especially those heavily invested in crusade-style outreaches. As a practical guide for not only reaching the lost with discipleship in mind, but also opening new churches built on this mindset, it has useful information any pastor and leader can learn from. As I now seek to train the pastors of Sozo Ministries and beyond in methods for discipleship, I lean heavily on this book’s guidance in doing so.

Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger

When I was on staff at a small, historically Baptist church in west Texas, we ran program after program, seeking to be effective in our ministry to reach the lost, and help Christians to grow. What we were discovering, however, is that too many programs actually led our church to burnout, quicker than it led to success in ministry. ‘Simple Church’ changed all that by helping our staff think through the reasons behind our church programming, and to actually cut down on how much we were doing, in exchange for higher quality work in the few we kept. If you are in a program-driven ministry, I highly recommend this book. Although your ministry might not change much, you will at least challenge the assumptions you currently make about what you are doing.

The Other Half of the Army: Women in Kingdom Ministry by Phill Olson

“Women in ministry.” That phrase was almost as bad a cursing in the fundamentalist circles I came out of. There, a woman’s highest aspiration to serve the Lord was to become a pastor’s wife, or to infiltrate the secular education system as a teacher. For a long time, I held to the perspective that men were the only ones capable of carrying the highest levels of church leadership, though privately it was always a question I struggled with. It just didn’t make sense. Yes, men are to be the head in the household. However, the Bible gave other leadership to women, from being a judge in Israel in the Old Testament, to calling some apostles and prophets in the New Testament. Ultimately, my viewpoint shifted on the matter. Now, being the father of two beautiful daughters, and hearing God directly instructing me to prepare them for the ministry He has for them, I am so thankful for men like Phil Olsen and books like ‘The Other Half of the Army’ who are leading in this mindset change. Every church leader should read this book! (And if you are a pastor in Sozo Ministries, you will…)

Always Enough: God’s Miraculous Provision Among the Poorest Children on Earth by Heidi Baker

Since I first heard Heidi preach, back in 2012, I have admired this woman of God, and sought to learn from her ministry in Africa. Her pioneering movement in Mozambique is the stuff of missionary legends, as her family continued to pursue God into bigger things for His Kingdom, without being held back by limited funds or a disbelief in God’s provision. When I read ‘Always Enough,’ it pushed me closer to trusting God in the calling He has given me for my family’s move to Africa and the overwhelming vision He has placed in me for the work. I highly recommend this book, and any others that Heidi has written!

Free in Christ by Pablo Bottari

From my first encounter with deliverance ministry, at a Nigerian evangelist’s revival meeting in Fort Worth in 2005, to my first time helping “pray out” a demon in Uganda two year’s later, I have been drawn to deliverance, and helping people get free from the bondage they are held in. Out of all the books I initially read on the subject, none of them helped me grow in my authority and effectiveness for deliverance ministry, as did Bottari’s book, ‘Free in Christ.’ Based in his experience developing a deliverance ministry from the ground up, during the Argentine revival, his simple method for not only getting people free, but also helping them stay free, is still the most effective I have found. While I do not recommend getting into deliverance ministry lightly, if God lead you there, this book will certainly help. 

(Two bonus books worth reading on the subject are ‘Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance’ by Neal Lozano and Randy Clark’s ‘The Biblical Guidebook to Deliverance,’ which also follows Bottari’s pattern for effective ministry.)

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10 Books That Changed My Life

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Growing up, I HATED reading. It probably had to do with assigned books from school, rather than the freedom to choose my own interests. It likely, also, had to do with the accelerated reader testing and comprehension assignments attached to even the best books. Nevertheless, I did not become a reader until later, sometime in college.

Now, however, I read all the time. I can devour a good book in a few days, and have bought so many more than I will every have time to read. I have physical books, kindle content, and even a massive digital library in Logos Bible Software that I’ll never make it through in this life.

This week, I want to take a break from my normal blogging routine to recommend some of the best books I have ever read, that have helped to shape the insights I share with you regularly.

To begin with, here are 10 Books that have changed my life:

Hosting the Presence by Bill Johnson

‘Hosting the Presence‘ is one of the greatest primers on living life filled with the Holy Spirit that I have ever read. In fact, when I read it for the first time, I immediately read it again, and then again, before I could move on to any other book. Using the picture of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove, Johnson explains that when we value the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life,  we will do everything we do with Him in mind.

Experiencing the Father's Embrace by Jack Frost

‘Experiencing the Father’s Embrace‘ is an amazing book revealing the Father-heart of God over us. This is another book that I have read a number of times, and it is the first book I recommend to any person looking to me for counseling or inner healing. If a person wants me to disciple them personally, this book is required reading, and I cannot more highly recommend it to you, no matter who you are!

Called to Reign by Leif Hetland

Many years ago I noticed that God was teaching me things in three distinct areas of spirituality: identity in Christ, intimacy with Him, and our inheritance as co-heirs. These things filled my personal devotions and the sermons I preached. Imagine my surprise with I stumbled across Leif’s book, ‘Called to Reign: Living and Loving from a Place of Rest,’ and discovered that his main sections are Identity, Intimacy, Inheritance, and one I hadn’t explored, Destiny. He covers these topics in such an eloquent way, I had to read it twice. If you struggle to be who Christ says you are, or attain the vision He has given you for life, then you must read this book!

What's Wrong with Protestant Theology by Jon Mark Ruthven

‘What’s Wrong with Protestant Theology? Tradition vs Biblical Emphasis‘ is a very scholarly work which leads us to the simple conclusion that the Reformers went wrong by excluding the continuing, active voice of God in the lives of everyday believers. ‘Sola scriptura’ effectively silenced any contemporary communication from God to man. Yet, without the ongoing and direct leading of the Holy Spirit, we will never be able to fulfill the mission of Jesus for the church. For some, this may be a difficult book to read, due to its formal style, but will be worth the effort if you are looking for a well researched, theological approach to Pneumatology. 

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice by Mark Virkler

In 2012, I was living in Haiti, and growing in many areas of personal life ministry. One thing I was convinced of was that hearing God’s voice was my right as a believer, and should be natural part of the Christian life. However, I did not know where to begin. That is when I stumbled onto the book, ‘4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice.’ These simple steps were so practical for me, that I began to practice them immediately. Having so many hours alone in the evenings to do nothing else, I spent long periods of time on the balcony of my guesthouse praying and listening for God’s response. Eventually, it became almost as easy to hear Him talking as it was to hear people around me. To this day, I still practice the journaling process I learned from this book. I am so thankful for it!

The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus

‘The Barbarian Way‘ was one of the most influential books of my college life. It was not required reading for any class, but was passed around our dormitory by many young men who were inspired to do something great with their lives for the Lord. If you are already established on your journey in life, then pass this one by. However, if you need inspiration to rise up and do more, with boldness and passion, then maybe this book can help get you there.

Forgiveness by Rodney Hogue

This book set me free from so much extra baggage I carried around from the things done to me by others. It was so easy to blame people for everything wrong in life, and to play the victim card. However, once I learned the power of forgiveness from this little book, it changed my life in so many ways. ‘Forgiveness‘ by Rodney Hogue is now that I recommend and even require by people seeking counseling and inner healing. It might just help you in ways you didn’t know you needed it.

Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby

‘Experiencing God‘ was another breakthrough book for me and some of my friends early on in the Christian life, teaching us how to have a true relationship with God with scripture as our guide. It has been dubbed a modern classic by many. If you have never read this book for yourself, just ask around. I am sure you know some people who have. If you are looking to deepen your relationship with Him, then this might be a good place to look for help.

Created in God's Image by Anthony Hoekema

‘Created in God’s Image‘ was required reading for one of my Bible college counseling classes, and although I didn’t realize it at the time, this book fundamentally shaped my understanding of humanity’s original design and the destructiveness of sin. Although my theological framework is not as reformed as Hoekema’s, this book is still one I recommend to the pastors and leaders in our ministry.

The Simple Way by Shane Claiborne

‘The Simple Way‘ was my first look into Christianity outside of normal, modern church services. Although I cannot recommend all of the theology Claiborne holds to, I can truly say that this book inspired me to love others in ways I didn’t think possible, and to go out into the world to find those who needed the love of Christ, desperately, but may never be welcomed by everyday believers. At one point, it almost led me and a group of friends to become squatters in a rough neighborhood in Fort Worth for sake of the gospel. Be careful.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

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Level 4 Discipleship: From Learner to Leader

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(Click here for an Overview of the 4 Levels of Discipleship.)

After a person gets saved (Level 1) and matures in the Lord, they will go through the process of being taught about Christianity by others (Level 2) as well as learning to grow themselves through the Word of God and prayer (Level 3), yet that is not the end of discipleship. Their personal maturity in the Lord must continue to develop until their focus makes a shift from themselves to others. This change is part of a life-long journey into Christian service.

Catching a Vision To Serve

While a person is growing in the Lord, they must come to know their new identity in Him, and also the inheritance they carry. This process can take a lot of time and revision – years for many of us. However, this internal identity shift should naturally begin to manifest itself outwardly in service toward others. 

As a believer discovers the extravagant ways Christ loves us, their hearts will begin to change, in love, toward other people. They will naturally begin to look for ways to share that love. As they do, God will begin to give them a vision for ministry (which simply means service) and to reveal their spiritual gifts to them, for His purposes.

Although there are obvious universal aspects to God’s ministry within the church, this developing vision for ministry will be personal to each believer. As people demonstrate the desire to serve and begin to step into various love-sharing opportunities, we must begin to disciple them in clarifying their vision for serving others. 

Christ gave general commands to those He sent out in the New Testament. Those same commands still apply today. We must continue to “preach the gospel,” “heal the sick,” “cast out demons,” “encourage one another,” “care for widows and orphans,” etc. However, He has also uniquely designed each one of us to fulfill different aspects of service in His Kingdom. Each of us are equipped with different giftings and callings from the Lord.

As we disciple people to “become who they are in Christ,” we must never seek to force all Christians into the same areas of service, or expect the same abilities from everyone. Just as not all are apostles or pastors (see 1 Corinthians 12:29-31), it is also true that not all are choir leaders, children’s ministers, or ushers.

As we continue to disciple people, personally getting to know them, we must give them opportunities to develop their own unique gifts and talents, and help them find their place within the Body of Christ. This will enable them to serve His people, and the world He wants to save, with passion and effectiveness.

Catching a Vision To Lead

Once a person has found their own place in the Body and is using their gifts with excellence and with joy, the next step is to go beyond simply serving, to leading. As we have discussed before, we replicate in others what God has formed within us. We said that at the most basic level, disciples make disciples. In the same way, ministers will make ministers out of others.

As we have also previously discussed, Ephesians 4:11-12 makes clear that the role of ministry leaders is not “doing” the ministry, but “equipping” others to serve. All believers, without exception, must discover how to minister to the body of Christ and to share the gospel with the lost. However, in the continuing growth process, we must all move from being ‘learners’ to being ‘leaders’ in our service.

Part of a person’s vision to lead will develop naturally, as others begin to pick up and follow their passion for service. However, for most Christians, there comes a time when they must be pushed out of their comfort zone, and into the place of leading and guiding others.

We, as disciple makers, must make every effort to identify the giftings and fruit in a person’s life, and move them toward opportunities to teach others what they have learned from the Lord.

Let me share a personal example. I once served as a missionary to the island nation of Haiti. I was in an area of heavy witchcraft, yet the present reality of evil also built an expectation of supernatural activity from God. Every Sunday after I closed our church services I was approached by many people for prayers for their physical healing.

Up to this point in my life, I had seen people healed through the prayer of others, and I had a very high personal desire to see healing in the ministry, but I had never had the opportunity to pursue healing very much. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew that the “effectual, fervent prayers of a righteous man” has power to heal (see James 5:13-15), but I did not know how to pray that prayer for myself. My passion was still greater than my inability; however, and so I prayed (ineffectively) for every person who came to me for months.

As I continued this pursuit, God led me to the ministry of a man named Randy Clark, whom God has used to both heal the sick, and to impart the healing gift into thousands of regular Christians all around the world. I was personally touched very powerfully by the Lord while attending the Voice of the Apostles conference and receiving Randy’s prayer. I went out with a new boldness to pray and a new gift inside me. The very next week, on a short trip to Southern Sudan, I had the chance to lay hands on a blind man and to watch his grey eyes regain their color. Many other incredible healings followed over the next few days.

Being emboldened by this experience, I signed up for Randy’s training course for healing ministry, to learn from him and his team how to pray more effectively. That was in 2012. Since then, God has used me to heal hundreds, maybe thousands, around the world in my own ministry.

I have also taken up the responsibility of teaching those I lead how to pray for the sick. I want my fellow ministers to have strong faith for healing breakthroughs, too. Though I have not attained to the level of Randy Clark or others, it does not release me from the responsibility of sharing what I have learned with others.

Imparting God’s Vision for Your Organization

The last thing I want to touch on is moving people from “lay minister” to joining the official ministry leadership within your church or ministry. It is at this point you must add to your mentoring processes what I call, Values-Based Discipleship. This is how you will begin to shape them with the vision God has given for your organization.

If I were to ask you, “what are your highest personal values as a ministry,” you would likely have an answer. Most founders and senior leaders of organizations have received a clear vision for the ministry. However, as I have found throughout my own ministry experience, that vision is seldom passed on to other leaders clearly or effectively.

We must personalize our leader-making discipleship strategies to fit our church or ministry. This will begin the process of turning new disciples into long-term, mature leaders within our organizations.

To give an example, in my ministry, Sozo Ministries, we have set 5 “cultural values” that the Lord called us to live out when we founded the ministry. They are Bible-loving, Intimacy (prayer)-led, Identity-driven, Revival-longing, Empowerment-focused.

The goal is that these values would mark every leader, missionary, pastor, church, and church member in our ministry. In order to make that goal a reality, we cannot simply post the values on the wall and hope they are being received by people passing by. We have to teach, train, and demonstrate these things in order to impart them into every leader and member of our churches. These things, then, become a vital focus in our disciple-making process.

In your ministry, too, I am sure you have a vision from the Lord and a set of values you attempt to live out. The question that must be asked is, “how well are you imparting those things into your next generation of leaders?”

It is true that not every person who comes through your ministry will end up carrying the same vision. That is perfectly fine! You will eventually release those individuals to go serve another ministry or begin something new. Praise God that He used you to touch their lives as you did. 

Despite this fact, there are those whom God has called to come behind you, to carry your vision on long into the future. That is a high honor for both you and to them, but it only happens when you fully share with them all that the Lord has placed on you.

We must realize that everything the Lord has done in our lives is intended to be passed on to others. We are to take the things God has given to us, and to give them away to others. If we have been taught from the word, we must share the truth with others. If we have been set free of demonic powers, we are given authority to set others free as well. If we have been called into leadership, we must raise up other leaders around us. This is not optional!

If we seek to protect what is “ours” — our ministry, our church, our blessing, our…whatever — we will end up losing it. Instead, when we learn to pour out what God has given to us for others, we will be refilled again and again as faithful stewards of the things of God.

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

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Level 3 Discipleship: A Bible-Centered Life

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(Click here for an Overview of the 4 Levels of Discipleship.)

Once a person has been won to Christ (Level 1), and has begun their walk in the foundational truths and practices of Christianity (Level 2), the third level of discipleship — and the longest-lasting — becomes paramount to their longevity in Christ. The believer must be taught not only to read the Bible as a matter of normal practice, but must also learn to interpret the meaning and apply it practically to their own life. This is what Paul calls, “the solid food” for believers, rather than “the milk of the word” (see Hebrews 5:12-14). 

As I have shared in elsewhere, one of the most effective ways to teach a young believer to study the Word of God is called ‘The R.E.A.P. Method,’ which teaches you to Read, Examine, Apply, and Pray. In this post, however, I want to specifically look at some questions new believers should be taught to explore in every passage of scripture they read, which will help them to examine it and make a personal application. These questions can also be used as the basis for Bible-based group discipleship meetings, which will further help the new believers learn to ask them for themselves.

To Begin, Read the Passage

The obvious first step is to read the Bible. For deeper Bible study, the passage should not be too long. I would recommend a chapter at most, but more often than not, it should be a smaller section. A paragraph or even a single verse can be a good focus, especially in groups.

If you are doing a group discussion, it might be helpful to read the passage more than once. Allow the participants to summarize what the passage says, so that you can make sure they are grasping the story and context.

Question 1: “What does this teach us about God?”

The Bible is first and foremost God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. While scripture does give us important information about ourselves, that should not be the first focus of our study. Good theology is to understand the revealed truth about God!

If all scripture is primarily about Him, then we must understand what the passage we are reading says about Him first. Does it reveal a character trait, or speak about His love or His justice? Does it show us anything of His desires or His will? According to what we read, what do we learn about Him?

For private Bible study, a good practice to teach is to keep a journal and write these things down. Especially if something seems contradictory or confusing, then the people can bring the question up for discussion with a more mature believer or a church leader.

Question 2: “What does this teach us about people?”

Once we have established what the Bible teaches about Him, we then begin to explore our role in His story. As we look at what the Bible says about us, we must remember that there are two versions of us in scripture: the old man, who is lost without God, and the new man, who is redeemed and renewed in Jesus.

We are not yet asking application questions here, so it isn’t about taking action yet. First of all, we want to establish our identity according to scripture. Who does it say we were? Who does it say we are in Christ, now? What promises does the scripture make to us, and what conditions are those promises hinged upon?

Another avenue to explore is, how does what the scripture says about us compare with what it says about God? Are they the same, or is there a contrast being made?

Again, we should be teaching people to keep notes of these things, so that as God builds their knowledge through the Word, they will naturally begin to make connections and identify themes.

Question 3: “What does this teach that you should do?”

Once we have examined the things the scripture is teaching us, then it is time to turn our attention to the practical application of the Word. It is at this point we want to take note of any commands in our passage. Is there anything explicitly stated that believers should do or stop doing? Is there anything hinted at in the passage that would require our personal lifestyle or actions to change? Are there commands for the broader church, rather than just us as individuals? Once again, write them down.

Question 4: “How will you put this scripture into practice?”

Having established the commands of scripture, we now make it personal. We must look at our own lives as believers and analyze how we are measuring up to the teachings of the Bible. With the Holy Spirit’s help in prayer, we should see where we fall short, and turn our attention to repentance. In areas that are not sinful, but in which we must grow, we should ask ourselves how we can intentionally seek to develop in this area. Combined with listening to God in prayer, this exercise should not take too much effort to see where we need to grow and mature.

Once we have decided how we will pursue personal growth (and written them down), then I’d also recommend adding a timeframe to begin working on them. If it is a need to reach out to others, when will you make the time? If it is a need to stop doing something, then identify when that thing will come up and tempt you again, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you prepare to overcome.

If this is a group discussion that happens regularly, then encourage the participants to make an effort to apply these things before your next meeting, so that you can include a time for testimonies or follow-up discussion when you come together again.

Question 5: “Who do you know who needs to hear this message?”

This final question is one to encourage reaching out to others with the Gospel and God’s truth. It reminds us that we are part of a community of faith, and that no matter what God is teaching us in His word, there will be someone else who needs to hear it. We are called to give away what we have received from the Lord (see Matthew 10:8)

Encourage your disciples to think about someone else who needs this truth, and to make time with them to share what God has taught them. If it is a message of salvation, who do they know who needs to be saved. If it’s a word of encouragement, who do they know who would benefit from that message. When will you meet with them? Make it a priority!

This, again, will lead to a follow-up discussion at your next meeting if the question is asked as part of a group meeting.

This Becomes Self-Guided Discipleship

As the people you are discipling at this level learn to ask these questions, and make Bible study a regular part of their Christian walk, their maturity in Christ will begin to come automatically. Though we never outgrow the need for church fellowship and one-on-one accountability and mentoring, nothing can compare to a life committed to the scriptures for growth. Level 3 discipleship will help them to mature themselves in the Lord, and to have more to give away to others coming behind them in the faith.

(Click here for Level 4 Discipleship – From Learner to Leader.)

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Note: These five questions did not originate with me, but I have found them beneficial enough that I want to share them with you! I originally learned them through a book called ‘Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery.’ I cannot more highly recommend that book if you seek to develop your disciple-making skills and method. (If you use the Amazon links from this site, I get a kickback on your purchase, which enables me to continue my own disciple-making efforts in East Africa and beyond, so I am grateful if you do.)

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4 Levels of Disciple-Making

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As we continue our discussion on creating a strategy for discipleship within your church or ministry, I want to look at four levels of growth people go through in the discipleship journey. (Click here for part 1 of our discipleship strategy series.)

These four levels will give us a grid for how to view our interactions with others, determined by where they are in their own journey with Christ. As we learn to keep disciple-making at the forefront of our minds in every interaction with others, this will help us to see where they are, and inform our efforts to help them draw closer to Christ and to maturity in Him.

Of course these four levels could be broken down even further into many sub-categories, but keeping it simple will enable us to grasp the challenges and opportunities we have with each group, and form a plan for raising them up.

1. The Non-Believer

While this is not technically a level on the discipleship spectrum, I want to include it here because it is the place all of us start from. In our efforts to make disciples, it is necessary to view every person in relationship to where they are in Christ, and so we might simply say these people are pre-Christ. They haven’t met Him yet. Which tells us how we need to be interacting with them .

Jesus loves the world so much that He gave up His own life to redeem ours. In Him, all of humanity has been called back to the Father and has a divine opportunity to be conformed to the image of Christ. Our interactions with non-believers should be intentional to speak in love, offering the life-giving gospel to them as the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity.

The desired outcome of our time with these people is that as they would encounter Jesus through us, will be drawn to Him, and receive salvation.

2. The New Believer

Once someone has been born-again by putting their faith in Christ, the next step is to help them understand the foundations of the Christian life. They are no longer lost sinners, but unless there has been a supernatural breakthrough which brought them into salvation, they will likely still struggle with what it means to be a Christian.

It is at this stage that we must impart to the new believer the foundation of their new identity in Christ. The old man has passed away, and the new man is breaking through. Yet it is a process to see the new man come in maturity, so we must help them.

In developing a discipleship strategy for these men and women, it can be a good idea to use a topical approach in your discipleship meetings. We can use their hunger to grow, and take them to the basics of the Christian life. These would be things like:

  • what is salvation and repentance
  • how are we born again,
  • what does it mean to pray, 
  • how do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, 
  • why is Bible study important,
  • why they should join in a church fellowship.

This list can be much longer, depending on how the Holy Spirit leads you in developing your own teaching, and we will discuss this topic in more depth in a future post. But for now, we simply need to understand that the goal at this stage of discipleship is that these people would begin to leave the old life behind, and start taking steps to live as a follower of Christ.

3. The Growing Disciple

Once a person has integrated into the Christian life and is operating as part of the local fellowship of believers, there will come a day that topical lessons have less of an impact on their walk with the Lord. That is not to say that all believers cannot benefit from specific teachings on certain points of the Christian life. Simply that there will come a hunger for “the meat of the word,” and not the basic things – “the milk” – given to babes in Christ.

It is at this stage that we must ensure that these men and women can begin to walk out their own discipleship and growth, through the word of God and in intimacy with the Holy Spirit.

One practical way you can teach people to study the Word of God, as we have discussed in another post, is called the R.E.A.P. Method. While this is not original to myself, I love it because it is simple enough to teach and remember. You simply teach people that with every passage of scripture you should (R)ead, (E)xamine what it means and the principles it teaches, (A)pply these lessons to your life and decide how you will live them out, and then (P)ray for the Holy Spirit to help you do so.

As they are learning to pray for the Holy Spirit’s help, they must also be learning to hear His voice and discern His leadership in their lives. While your church probably has its own beliefs and convictions about how involved the Holy Spirit is in our daily lives, we must make sure we are not limiting Him through willful unbelief. We will discuss this topic in more detail in a future post as well.

The goal with believers at this stage is to let go of handholding Christianity, and enable believers to grow on their own. They will still need guidance along the way, but they cannot remain dependent on others for ongoing growth.

4. The Mature Leader

The final level of discipleship comes when a person has not only learned how to hear the voice of God and grow themselves in the Word of God, but they have a growing track record of practicing these things regularly.

When they reach the point of truly knowing who they are in Christ, and are living out a respectable level of Christian maturity, then the discipleship process turns to them becoming disciple-makers themselves. We might call this a vision-centered discipleship.

What I mean by this is that not only are they learning to walk in Christ more every day, but as their relationship with Him matures, they will begin to have God-given visions of gospel improvement to their family of faith, their neighborhoods and community, and even for national revival. They will no longer simply be pursuing their own growth in the Lord, but naturally they will being leading others toward growth in Him as well.

For these people, stepping into leadership may not be automatic, but it should be encouraged.

As far as it concerns a discipleship strategy, it is at this level that a church should be seeking to impart the vision and values of the ministry into the person, as they begin to lead others down the line. These people should learn what the greater vision God has given to the ministry and how the leadership strives to live it out.

For example, in my own ministry we have 5 “cultural values” which should mark every pastor, missionary, or leader in our ministry, and should be trickling down to every church member and short-term team member. These are things like “bible-loving” and “prayer-led,” which are vital to any ministry and to every maturing disciple. Yet we also have more distinct values such as “identity-driven” and “revival-longing.” Those things need pressed into people growing into maturity within our ministry.

Imparting things like their identity in Christ into the vision they have to serve others will prevent things like a spirit of competition or a poverty mindset. It is not simply a mental understanding of the new man that is necessary, but a practical outworking of their inheritance and authority as sons and daughters of God.

To teach them what it means to be revival-longing, is to impart the vision our ministry has for holiness, justice, community restoration, healing, deliverance, and mass salvations. These things drive how our ministry works from day-to-day, as well as how we pray and seek God as a team of ministers.

The point is that as a person begins to step up into spiritual maturity, our strategy must include a plan to help them become leaders within the church and community, and that means teaching not just the biblical theology and foundations of Christianity, but also imparting the specific callings and giftings that God has given to your ministry for your area of service. The goal is that they will continue the mission of making-disciples in the next generation of believers.

(Click here to begin exploring these four levels in depth.)

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Discipleship: Revelation and Preservation

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(This is Part 4 in our series on Discipleship. Click here for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.)

Among the famous statements of Jesus, one of the most quotable things He ever said was, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). This, spoken to the multitudes of His followers was an amazing, identity-giving statement. As it should be! It is no small thing that Jesus viewed His church as the carriers of God’s revelation, which pointed the way to His salvation. We are all commissioned to go with the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to make Him known in the world!

Jesus went on to say, “you don’t light a lamp and hide it out of sight. It is meant to shine, and when lights shine together, as they do in a city, you cannot hide it from the world.” He then commands us, like a lamp on a stand, or a city on a hill, to let our lights shine in the world so that other people will see our good works, and turn to glorify our Father in Heaven (paraphrase of Matthew 5:15-16).

We Reveal What is Hidden

When we understand that we are the shining lights of Jesus, we will reveal what is true and real. That is what light does. You can hide a dirty room in darkness, but when the light is switched on, everyone will see the mess for themselves. The Christian is meant to be a revealer of the truth – both God’s truth in light, and also those truths that men desire to keep hidden in darkness.

As we go throughout our daily lives, we should be such a reflection of God’s glory, that people recognize Him in us, and want to see more of His reality. At the same time, they should also be confronted by the sin and dark places inside themselves, as the light of our lives brings those things into view. That is not to say we come with judgement on people, or live as self-righteous individuals by comparison. It is simply to say, in the words of Paul, that “we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

When we show up, those who know God are drawn more to Him, and those who are not believers have an encounter with the reality of their own sin as they see His glory in us. It’s just the nature of His presence through us.

If it isn’t obvious, the call to be light in the world, is definitely a call to do the work of evangelism, bringing God’s revelation to those who would be saved. What is interesting to me, however, is that before Jesus says we are agents of revelation (light), he first says we are salt.

We Preserve What is Good

Before Jesus said, “you are the light of the world,” He said, “you are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).

Salt does a few things. Not only does it taste good, but it is a necessary substance for sustaining life itself. However, in the ancient world, salt had a different primary function. All throughout history, salt has been sought after and used as a preservative for food. 

If you lived in a society before refrigerators, and you had extra meat that you could not smoke, dry, or cook immediately, then you would pack it in salt in order to preserve it. If you didn’t it would spoil.

Regarding the verse in Matthew 5, The Pillar New Testament Commentary says:

“We should take salt as a metaphor and the earth as referring to people. Jesus is apparently thinking of the function of salt as a preservative, as the enemy of decay, and as giving taste to food. What is good in society his followers keep wholesome. What is corrupt they oppose; they penetrate society for good and act as a kind of moral antiseptic…”

The enemy is at work in the world bringing corruption and seeking to spoil the work of the Lord. We are called to prevent his efforts! Just as salt does for food, we are to enter the world, seeking out what is good and godly, and act to preserve it for the good of humanity and to the glory of God. The devil cannot steal or destroy what the believer is preserving for the Lord (see Matthew 16:18-19).

To bring this back in the context of evangelism and discipleship, this means that before we go into the field preaching the gospel and seeing people saved (shining our light), we must have a mindset that sees our responsibility is not just to harvest the fruit, but also to preserve the harvest which God gives to us.

When the enemy comes, like a bacteria, seeking to corrupt the good fruit of the Lord (see Matthew 13:19), we have the responsibility to block his efforts and preserve the harvest of God.

We Enhance What Can Be Better

Once we have taken the stand to preserve the fruit the Lord has given us, then we become like salt in other ways. As we mingle our lives together with other believers, we pull out what is good in them, and seek to make it even better. They do the same for us, and together, we enhance what is good in the world!

Just as salt enhances the flavor of food, we enhance the flavor of life through the gospel in personal discipleship and societal transformation. 

We call people into the light through salvation, preserve them from the corruption of the enemy, and then press each other onward to become more like Christ. As more people are discipled into Christ-likeness, communities are transformed; entire nations are renewed, and the cycle continues again and again! That is how we bring God’s restoration into the world: by being salt and light!

The church can no longer simply preach the gospel in our megaphones, hoping people will somehow get saved and mature on their own. We must engage on a deeper, more personal level. We must bring the revelation of truth. We must see them saved. And we must help them to become who they are meant to be in Christ.

Light shines in the darkness to bring people to Christ, but our job is to do more than just see people saved. Our job is to preserve the harvest from the corruption of the enemy, and to enhance the lives of believers as they become more like Christ. We are the light of the world, and we are the salt of the earth. If that is who Jesus says we are, then let’s act like it!

Click here to continue to Part 5, “Maturity in Christ: The Goal of Discipleship”

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4 Vital Prayers for Discipleship

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(This is Part 3 in our series on Discipleship. Click here for Part 1, Part 2.)

As we saw in our last post, the Holy Spirit is the Chief Disciple-Maker. He calls, convicts, saves and sanctifies the believer. With all of that resting on His work, it seems there is little left for human action in the process of discipleship. Biblically, however, that is not the case. God clearly puts the job of making disciples on the church; on every believer, not just the leadership.

Since the Holy Spirit has the primary role in disciple-making, and we too are a vital part of the process, then it should become obvious that our first step in making disciples is to make sure and do so in partnership with the Spirit! For this reason, prayer is the most vital step in our own disciple-making efforts.

With this is mind, here are four prayers we should all be praying for discipleship:

Pray for Fruitfulness

Jesus very clearly taught us that the fields are ripe for harvest, and that we are to pray for Him to send more workers into the fields (Matthew 9:37-38). Once again, however, as we discussed in our first blog of this series, the call to the harvest field goes beyond “soul-winning.” We cannot just pick the ripe fruit, and leave it laying in the field. We must obey the fullness of the great commission by making disciples of every person the Lord gives us. Therefore, the first thing we must be praying for is our own efforts to be fruitful.

We do this by asking the Lord for clear instructions on what He is already doing in the world around us. God is already working. Likewise, every person we meet has a divine encounter with Jesus waiting for them. As we pray for fruitfulness and give the Lord the opportunity to use us, it will be through us that the Holy Spirit releases those experiences to people. We should be seeking to be the hands, feet, heart, and mouth of Jesus to those around us, most especially those the Holy Spirit reveals to us are ready.

More so, we must realize that every interaction we have with the believers in our life is an opportunity for growth, both in us and in them. We must be praying that our fellowship will be a fruitful time for sanctification, “as iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). When we become intentional about praying for fruitfulness in every relationship, in every conversation, in every meal or cup of coffee, we will see our level of discipleship rising.

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Pray for Wisdom

Most of us fear “discipleship.” It is a big, scary word, that requires something of us to build up others, and yet we don’t know what it is, exactly, that we are supposed to do. Even the most experienced disciple-makers run into this challenge because every person is different and has different life-experience and expectations. The good news is that the Holy Spirit knows exactly how to transform the lives of all men back to the image of Jesus, and wants to empower us to do so.

We have such a great promise in scripture that in our serving the Lord and others, we are not left to figure it out on our own. James writes:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:5, English Standard Version

Make it a priority to be praying for supernatural wisdom and divine revelation for every discipleship encounter. Even as the conversation moves along, make sure you are listening to the Holy Spirit and asking for wisdom relevant to the things being discussed and how they impact the person’s life. You do not need to be a professional counselor. You simply need to be in tune with the voice of your Father for guidance.

Pray for Receptivity

Up to now, we have been praying for our own ability and effort in the discipleship process, but we also must be praying directly for the ones we are discipling. Most especially, we must pray that they will hear the truth God wants to reveal to them and make life-changing applications according to His will.

Now, this is not praying that they will listen to us and do what we say. It is praying that they will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit through our time together, and do what He says. Even when we are not perfect in getting the point across, the Holy Spirit is more than capable of filling in the gaps where we are lacking. Just as Paul writes:

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

1 Corinthians 2:12-13, English Standard Version

We must pray for the person to have an open heart, sincerely desiring growth in the Lord, and their ability to receive the truth. We must pray for a willingness to be vulnerable to the process, and to repent where necessary. We must pray for their active attempts to apply the life-giving truth the Holy Spirit is wanting to share with them. These things are their active participation with the discipleship process, and without it, growth will be stalled and our efforts useless.

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Pray for Impartation

Finally, we must realize that for true discipleship to take place, we must be engaging more than just the mental life of the believer. We must pray for God to give an impartation to the person spiritually, which releases righteousness into them as their new identity in Christ, and enables them to stand as a new creature in this world.

Paul said:

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. 

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, English Standard Version

This means that the evidence of true discipleship does show up when it is demonstrated in the person’s mental understanding of a truth, but it is even more evident when there is a demonstrative experience of life-changing power that bears tangible fruit in their life.

The scripture is full of examples of impartation, where a mature, Spirit-filled and Spirit-led believer lays hands on and prays over the one being discipled, and in a release of God’s power, the one being discipled is supernaturally transformed in some way. This may be being filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time or being “baptized by fire” for cleansing and holiness. It may be the reception of new gifts of the Spirit or another kind of supernatural release. The point is, it goes beyond human ability, as it comes directly from God.

Paul reminds us that the Kingdom of God is not only in talk, but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). We, therefore, should pray for and expect the power of God to show up in our discipleship efforts. We are not only teachers, but we are the conduit through which the Holy Spirit can touch the person. 

The truth is, without impartation we are simply filling the new believer’s with head-knowledge, instead of raising them up as supernatural Children of God, endowed with “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). We must pray for divine impartation to come.

(Click here to continue to Discipleship Part 4.)

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© Anthony Scott Ingram 2019. All Rights Reserved.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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