The Spiritual Discipline That Impacts Everything

In our research behind Transformational Discipleship, we discovered that engagement in one particular spiritual discipline positively impacts engagement in every other spiritual discipline (giving, serving, sharing the gospel, fasting, praying, etc.). In other words, while the other spiritual disciplines are important, engagement in one of these (from a research vantage point) does not necessarily increase […]

Transformed Affections

Jonathan Edwards preached during the first Great Awakening, the greatest revival in American history. God used him uniquely, and many people came to faith in Christ through his ministry. But several years later many believed that some who claimed to have become Christians during the Great Awakening were not true disciples. There was no change, […]

Transformation Is Only Possible Through Jesus

Discipleship apart from Jesus is nontransformational. It may bring changes, but it essentially leaves you in the same spiritual state as it found you. The discipleship may provide education, improve behavior, increase happiness, add value, or make the disciple more skilled at a craft. But these are just changes. It’s the reskinning of the same […]

Transformational Discipleship: The Research Behind the Book

Earlier this year, Philip Nation, Michael Kelley, and I coauthored Transformational Discipleship. Based on the research behind the book, we discovered that transformation is most likely to occur in the life of a believer when the person has truth applied to his heart by godly leaders while in a teachable posture. We called this the “transformational sweet spot.” The transformational sweet […]

Sequoia Tree Faith

A few years ago, I took my wife to San Francisco and we drove up to Muir Woods just north of the city. Muir Woods is filled with sequoia trees, many of them 1,500-2,000 years old. And they are huge. The highest sequoia trees in the world average over 250 feet high. That’s almost as […]

Discipleship: More than Information

Many churches equate discipleship with knowledge. Churches who view discipleship as information transfer seek to stuff as much information about the Bible into as many people as quickly as they possibly can. I realize this sounds noble, but the essence of discipleship is transformational not informational. Jesus did not merely ask us to teach everything […]