A few years after I encountered Jesus personally, I became a volunteer in a ministry that preached on the streets. As part of the orientation process we were taught to share the gospel and it went something like this: “God…
Church: What does the word mean?
If I were to survey 100 Christians and ask them to describe the term “church”, that description would still include a building, what we do on Sunday morning (or some other time), an organisation or a more cultural interpretation; whatever…
The Koala Dream
A few weeks ago Judith had a dream as well as some insights about the dream that are worth sharing. As I was waking this morning, I was coming out of a dream which, although strangely mixed in its images,…
The Role of the Spirit in Discipleship
One of the legacies of Modern thinking that has been adopted by the Church leads us to believe that discipleship is a teaching course, an enculturation process into a Christian group or a process of ticking competency boxes. This is…
A New Way of Thinking
Have you ever asked the why of a practice or a way of thinking and been told: “Because this is the way things are done around here”. A simplified illustration of a research project performed in the 1960s on a…
20th Century Evangelism: When did this approach become popular
During my Bible College days I worked as a Youth Pastor. During my first year the senior pastor retired and I found myself on the committee appointed to call a new pastor. Part of the calling process meant the potential…
Discipleship Today
“The Simpsons”animated sitcom may not be a viewing preference for you but you have probably heard about it or viewed it at least once. The very structure of the television show follows the classic era of the family sitcom while…
Principles for the Discipling Journey
My friend Bob once got lost in a shopping centre. It was the height of the Christmas season and shopping was in full swing. Everywhere he looked he saw distractions and advertisements. Scents and sounds abounded. He had some idea…
What is Discipleship
From my earliest days in ministry, I’ve been passionate about people connecting with Jesus and growing in their faith. Discipleship and making disciples are important subjects for me and I will buy into them with anyone willing to discuss them.…
The Starting Point
DISCIPLESHIP was considered an important topic by the writers of the New Testament, as the word “disciple” can be found over 200 times in their writings. Disciple and discipleship have remained important up till today but even a cursory overview…