How People Grow…in Groups
In Transformational Discipleship, we unpacked the important relationship between truth, posture, and leaders. God brings about transformation as godly leaders apply the truth to our hearts while we are in a teachable posture. Truth: The Lord transforms us, sanctifies us, through His truth—and His Word is truth (John 17:17). The truth of the gospel and […]
Neither Dependence nor Independence
I am excited about the launch of my latest book, Transformational Groups with Ed Stetzer. Ed and I are both big believers in small groups because we are both big believers in Christian community—community that is rooted in Christ. The Christian life is meant to be interdependent and interconnected, believers in partnership and fellowship together. […]
Do You Want a People Filled with Gratitude?
Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). Most church leaders long to see the people they serve become a people who teach and encourage one another in the Christian […]
Your Role Is Changing
I have heard that there was a time when you could enter a job and stay in the same role as long as you wanted. You could, if you desired, essentially perform the same tasks in the same way every day and every year. Supposedly, you could find an unchanging rhythm and live in it. […]
Breaking Up with the Groups/Discipleship Pastor
One of my mentors, Brad Waggoner, recently told me that he noticed a major shift in church ministry in the early ’90s when “senior pastors of churches broke up with their discipleship pastors/ministers of education and ran off with the worship pastor.” Of course, a senior pastor does not need to choose between the two. […]
The Trinity of Sin Is Overcome
In Psalms 32:1-2 and 51:2-3, David used three different words to describe the fullness of our sin: transgression (pesha‘), iniquity (‘avon), and sin (chatta’ah). As transgressors, we willfully disobey the One to whom we owe our allegiance. In our iniquity, our hearts have been twisted. And as sinners, we woefully miss the mark of God’s […]
A Woeful Substitute
The apostle Paul challenged Timothy, “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Notice the order of the language. Paul did not say, “Entrust to able men who will one day be faithful.” He did not encourage […]
The Myth of Insider Language
The biggest myth of insider language is that there is really no such thing as insider language. “Insider language” will inevitably become outside language that everyone hears—meaning, it does not stay insider language. If it did, the term never would have been coined because no one on the outside would have heard the language that […]
Augustine: The Word Became Flesh
All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever ~ 1 Peter 1:24-25 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ~ John 1:1 The […]
A Simple Exercise for Organizational Stewardship
If you lead a ministry, department, or organization, you have likely been entrusted with the financial stewardship for your area of responsibility. You carry the burden both to execute the mission faithfully and to manage the financial resources wisely. And while the resources are merely tools to fulfill the mission your team has embraced, they […]