Discipleship Program or Not?

Should we have a Discipleship program in the church?  I don’t think the answer is a program.  Discipleship needs to be intentional and systemic so that it leaks into the culture of the church at every age level.

The strategy that I used was small groups and one on one relationships.  Small groups were taught by trained people that led others studying the Bible.  My favorite style was one on one (and maybe up to four).  I met with men for breakfast or lunch and had my devotions (study) time with them. I followed a model called SOAP. S=Scripture; O=Observation; A=Application; P=Prayer.

Effective discipleship is not about curriculum.  Its about helping, loving, and leading others to follow Jesus by being more and more like Jesus.  If you know how to love like Jesus and walk like Jesus then you can disciple someone.  Notice I did not say that you are perfect in every way like Jesus at all times.  We can teach others how to seek God, repent, read the Bible, pray and share their faith with others.

Find someone and study God’s Word together.  Learn the stories of Jesus – tell them over and over.  Even if you study a book by a favorite author – always be in the Word too.

Would you like to hear more about discipleship? Do you think it might help your church?  Would it help you? 

A Meeting Filled with Hope - Sullivan Illinois

I met with the leaders of the Church of God in Sullivan earlier this week.  I was so encouraged by the topics of discussion.  You see, several years ago the topics of discussion were so typical of what I usually hear:

1)   We need a new program

2)   How are we ever going to turn the decline around

3)   How are we going to get new people

4)   We better keep the people that pay the bills happy

5)   We better keep the new people

6)   This family will leave if…

7)   I remember when…

But last week we were talking vision, discipleship, growing budgets, new families, assimilation, missional community outreach.  How cool is that?

It’s all about leadership and Pastor Brandon Zoll’s strategic thinking  - that has been bathed in prayer, study, and good preaching.   They have a long way to go to reach what their vision communicates but they are moving; just like the Church of God is suppose to be – movement!  They are reclaiming souls that the enemy had stolen.  They are reclaiming their city for Christ. It was a meeting filled with smiles and encouragement.  Even the oldest lady (that I thought was going to struggle with any change) was full of hope and excitement.

Many skills make for an effective pastor but there is one that must never be forgotten – we are disciple-makers.  Without making disciples, it doesn’t matter how good your personality is, how powerful your attractional model of worship is, how amazing people say your pastor preaches… it’s over if you don’t make disciples.

1)   Are you making disciples?  Are you reproducing yourself in someone else on a regular schedule and a strategic manner? 

2)   Is your church a disciple making church? Can you look at your congregation and point to someone that 10 years ago was not even a believer?

“But we don’t have a program”!  Discipleship is not a program.  It’s about being intentional to teach others how to read the Bible – the way you read it.  To teach someone to pray like you pray.  To tell people about Jesus and then teach them to tell people about Jesus.

The other day a friend and I were traveling in two separate cars to Springfield.  He was following me.  He called me and asked if we could meet at a restaurant once we arrived in Springfield.  I said, “yes, follow me as I follow Christ.” We laughed.  However, I couldn’t get the remark out of my mind.  I said it as a silly statement but what a powerful thought.  Can I really say to someone, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”  That’s discipleship!

Should we have a program of discipleship? 

Check back tomorrow at

 illinoisministries@blogspot.com

No Drama Leadership

Browsing through a Barnes and Nobles is one of my favorite things to do. Being among books and browsing titles gets my creative juices flowing.  Adding a good cup of coffee while browsing only makes the experiences all the grander. 

I saw it, “No-Drama Leadership – How Enlightened Leaders Transform Culture in the Workplace”. I thought, how about the title, “No- Drama Church Leadership – How Enlightened Church Leaders Transform the Culture of Ministry?”

You see, it’s a lack of leadership not spirituality that is problematic most of the time.  Unless we take responsibility for healthy relationships in the church, people will continue to get hurt.  I know, I have hurt people badly.  I’ve been wounded deeply. My stomach has been left in knots after people scolded me for what I did or didn’t do.  I have literally trembled in horror that my poor decision or leadership caused such a nasty reaction. 

What would my book say?  First, I would write based upon experience of not doing the right things. I seriously have wondered if my spiritual gift was, "making mistakes".   Here are few chapters that I would include:

1)      Don’t promote people to positions of responsibility without training them continually.

2)      The personal values of the pastor and leaders should be aligned with stated values of the church.  Otherwise, there will be a lack of accountability and awareness.  For instance, if the church says, ‘we value family’ the leaders need to model what that looks like.  If the church honors “God’s Word” the leaders better be in God’s Word.  If a value is 'lost people matter to God' you better be reaching people for Jesus. If Jesus is the subject, He needs to be the subject in your life.

3)      I would have a ministry coach that constantly takes me to self-awareness.  I see pastors and churches killing their ministries because of this!  They don’t have a clue how they are coming across to others.  I remember having to tell a pastor that people think that he is arrogant.  His response, "really"?  Another pastor was criticized for being aloof but it never really mattered to him.

4)       When making changes – move slowly and give several opportunities for people to gain an understanding of the ‘why’ behind the change, they are less inclined to resist them. 

5)      Address issues immediately and correct course as needed.  Hoping an issue will resolve itself never works.  This includes personnel, sin, worship, children’s ministries, youth ministry, missions, etc… People will respect you for immediate attention. I had a phone call today from a pastor that said, "Eric, because you are handling this today, you won't have to handle a year from now when the problem would be worse and involve more people."

6)      Leaders must be put time and energy into understanding and knowing those you are leading.  Shaking hands on a Sunday Morning is not “relationship building”.  Doing life together is relationship building.  I do not understand leaders that are the first ones out the door on a Sunday Morning.  I do not understand pastors that hide in their office or leaders that don’t drink coffee at least once a week with their team.

7)      Without good communication – drama will result.  More drama has been caused by me assuming people understand my intentions or could read my mind than any other thing. 

Do you have any chapters that you would add?