FOUR ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF DISCIPLESHIP

- Discipleship 2/3 - Janet Munn -

Four Essential Components Evident in Jesus’ Life and Leadership
Relationship! Relationship! Relationship! Relationship!

Mentoring and Role Models
People grow through relationships. Therefore, leadership must be relational for maximum influence.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.
(Matthew 9:9-10)

Consider this:
Jesus chose to be available, accessible and vulnerable to a wide variety of individuals; in one-on-one conversations and interactions. In fact, He was the ultimate mentor.
He taught thousands on hillsides but was superb in one-on-one situations.  He invested in the individual – regardless of age, status, gender – from the rich young ruler to the Samaritan woman to Nicodemus the Pharisee to the haemorrhaging woman to the thief on the cross.

Jesus also deeply invested in the three among the twelve disciples – Peter, James and John – with whom there are more recorded mentoring dialogues in the gospels than any other individuals.

Read more HERE.

Introduction to Discipleship

Discipleship 1/3 - Janet Munn

What is discipleship? How did Jesus make disciples?  How can I become a disciple? How can I be a disciple-maker?  Why should I prioritise discipleship? How can I be discipled in The Salvation Army?

If you are asking these questions, you are not the only one. In fact, I think you would find many, who are asking the exact same questions. This three-part series of articles contains some insights into discipleship.

“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Read HERE.

We all have decisions, choices, to make in life.

From FSAOF blogg:

We all have decisions, choices, to make in life. Every day we make choices from the very time we wake until we close our eyes and venture into the world of sleep. How we sleep also depends on a choice. How many forget to pray for protection while in this state? I seem to remember a prayer I prayed as a child, the words went something like this. "Lord, if I die before I wake, I pray you Lord my soul to take". It is only now, the significance of this prayer is being understood by me....

Read more HERE.

It´s Thusday - Reflections on Genesis (49)

'Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Make everyone leave my presence!” So there was no-one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.' Genesis 45:1

 

As Judah finished pleading for Benjamin to be set free, expressing his willingness to take his place, explaining that to return home without him would kill their father, Joseph could not contain his emotions any longer. All previous conversations had been through an interpreter. The brothers had no idea that Joseph, all dressed up in his Egyptian regalia, was their long-lost brother. It was time to disclose to them who he was. He needed privacy and so he ordered all his officials and servants to leave the room.

Joseph's words were accompanied by floods of tears. So loud was his wailing that everyone outside the room heard it and news got back to Pharaoh's household,(v 2). You can imagine the gossip that travelled along the Egyptian grapevine! It must have been a terrible shock for the brothers to suddenly hear this 'Egyptian' speaking fluently in their mother tongue, never mind what he had to say. Having previously kept them at a distance, Joseph drew his brothers close to him (v 4), repeating himself in an effort to convince them that he was indeed their long lost brother. They were terrified, not without good reason, but he reassured them of his goodwill and his desire that they didn't condemn themselves for what they have done. Joseph saw all that had happened as being part of God's plan to save many lives. Despite all the injustice he had experienced, Joseph bore no ill will or animosity towards his brothers. What a lovely spirit, something of the Spirit of Jesus, surely?

When we are totally surrendered to God, desiring that he fulfil his purposes through us, whilst we might not understand the difficulties and sorrows we experience, we can rest assured that God knows what he is doing. As with Joseph, troubles can be there to test us and build our character and prepare us for some particular service,and our consistent faith and trust in times of trouble so often is God's means of touching others and revealing that the Lord is with us. God bless you all.

The Importance of Loving Your Enemies

by David Wilkerson | July 3, 2000

If you claim not to have any enemies, I'd like to make you an offer. I want to sign you up to write a book explaining how you managed to get this far in life without having a single person oppose you. Your book would surely be a bestseller.

You could describe how nobody has ever been jealous, envious or hostile toward you. You could explain how no one has ever tried to interrupt your plans, wreck your goals or derail your future. You could tell how no one has ever injured you, kept you from a desire, or orchestrated a destructive offense against you.

I don't mean to be flippant or sarcastic. But, the fact is, these things are what make someone your enemy. And each of us has had at least one of these experiences.

Read more HERE.

Coming to Terms with a Post-Christian World

Our culture is radically rejecting Christian faith; our response must be radical, too.
- Rod Dreher in Christianity Today -

Political and legal revolutions always follow cultural revolutions. The gay rights revolution is just the latest example of the West’s long process of emancipating the individual from all authority outside the sovereign Self.

Gerson and Wehner are surely correct that Christians must learn to live in a world—I would call it a post-Christian world—that accepts same-sex marriage. And they are right to say that as a general rule, Christians should work with LGBT citizens and their allies on causes both sides support.

But I see two big problems with their essay. First, it is naïve to believe that if only Christians stop making a big deal about homosexuality, LGBT groups and their allies will partner with us in other areas. Many people on the other side see orthodox Christians as the equivalent of straight-up white supremacists.

It’s outrageously unfair, but that’s the world we live in. As long as we hold to traditional biblical teaching on sexuality, all the winsomeness in the world won’t make them like us.

Second, I sense in Gerson and Wehner’s essay a veiled willingness to compromise on Christian sexual orthodoxy. They blame “some Christian leaders” for “associating Christianity primarily with sexual morality.” That’s true, to an extent, but the secular world, especially the media, has played a far more consequential role in this distortion."

Read more HERE.

Dr Ben Carson | Creation Vs Evolution - Webb-TV