John Maxwell Team Coach-Speaker-Teacher; Life-Breakthrough Coach Trainer, and Writer/Author
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ENDORSEMENT
"We are in the process of planting a multihousing unit church and we are planning a church reaching refugees very soon. The missional fever is spreading like wildfire. We also have 4 small groups as opposed to zero before starting Simple Discipleship (SD). Several people have read through the Bible for the first time ever in their walk with Jesus after SD implementation. Also have everyone plugged into a ministry at Bridge! A lot going on but all with the intentional disciple-making DNA in it. Praise God for the vision He gave you for SD! by Pastor Mike Kenney, Bridge Community Church, Rochester, New York
SIMPLE DISCIPLESHIP NEWS
Our Simple Discipleship site we used for the last four years on BlueHost was HACKED so that site was cancelled. We have come back to our original Wordpress site. You will see some changes and upgrades soon.
Dr. Tom is getting ready to launch an online Simple Discipleship class to help church leaders learn how to launch a discipleship revolution in their location. The online class will have a reasonable cost and will include premium content. Let us know if you are interested. Contact Tom Cocklereece.
Revelation Bible Study
"Secret Church" type study w/ Leader & Learner files for download
The church is losing the battle for souls on the battleground of Christian character—also known as—discipleship. A Barna Study said that in America, 3,500 — 4,000 churches close their doors each year. Baptist Press reported that an average of 880 SBC churches per year closed their doors from 1999 to 2009. Many leaders say it is reflective of a lack of evangelism but it may be reflective of a couple of other problems:
…a long-time fascination with evangelism without evangelizing—talking and preaching about it without doing it, and
Christian leaders and pastors seem to fail to see discipleship as Christian character development but that is exactly what it is.
FRUIT MUST HAVE A ROOT
Let’s take a moment and look at a Bible passage that clearly discusses the two kinds of character—that of a worldly person without Christ, and that of a Christian:
WORKS OF THE FLESH
19Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
WORKS OF THE SPIRIT
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:19-26 NKJV
Before we continue, let’s be clear of what we are not saying. Christians do not always do good deeds and non-Christians may live a quite moral life. However, the Apostle Paul is drawing a stark contrast so we may get his point and here is my point. What is described in the cited Bible verses are the outward behaviors but the acts are the fruit of inner character based on intrinsic heart values. There is no way around the fact that people do that which they intrinsically believe and it is seen as good or evil behaviors.
CHRISTIAN CHAR-AC-TER
The word “CHAR-AC-TER” is derived from a word that comes from the Greek language meaning “an engraved mark” or “symbol or imprint on the soul.” The imagery illustrates the point very well. When I was a teenager, my dad owned and ran a perpetual-care cemetery. It was one of those cemeteries that look like a nicely manicured park. Of course several weeks or months after the burial of an individual, the tombstone of the deceased would arrive on a big truck at which time a crew would unload the heavy granite or marble stone and proceed to install it at the head of the grave site. On at least one occasion, the name was misspelled. It is easy to fix a misspelled word on a word processor or when using a pen and paper, but a misspelling on a granite or marble tombstone is something not easily remedied. When the misspelled name is carved or engraved into the surface of the solid rock, it was necessary to reorder a new tombstone and discard the old one.
The point is that one’s character is carved deeply into one’s heart by way of intrinsic values, which is why it is so difficult for people to change. With people it must happen from the inside out by way of a spiritually transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. The fruit must be rooted in the heart. We see the fruit as a reflection of “character” or “works of the Spirit.”
Few if any churches approach discipleship as Christian character development. It is time that we not only develop discipleship ministries that saturate all the activities of the church with disciple-making but also develop comprehensive biblically founded Christian character development processes. I recently posted an article intended for an athletic character development process that may be adapted for church use: A 10-Point Character Development Process. If we fail to do this, the barrage of closing churches will continue. However, if we succeed, there may be a new great awakening in these end times.
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Questions:
What do you think of the concept of discipleship as Christian character development?
As a church leader, how would you launch a Christian character development process?
What elements would be included in a discipleship process or Christian character development process?
——————–
Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC. He is a pastor, author, professional coach, leadership specialist, and is a certified Coach/Teacher/Speaker for the John Maxwell Team
It has happened again. At the premier of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, a man committed the largest scale mass shooting of innocent people in United States history in Aurora, Colorado. Now Colorado has the dubious place in history as the place where two of the most notorious murderous events have occurred with today’s theater attack and the school massacre at Columbine in 1999. It is a constant and repeated reminder of the presence of evil among us though many fail to acknowledge it. This blog and article is targeted to a Christian audience that joins in heartfelt prayer for the victims, families, and responders to the Aurora shooting. However, as Jesus reminds us, we also pray for the shooter and his family.
While this writer will not name the shooter to give such a person any fame he may desire by his evil actions, it is important to remind us of four things for disciples of Jesus:
Who is the real dark knight?
How may disciples respond to this evil?
What we must do to cherish each moment?
Who is the Bright Knight?
After this article was posted, I viewed the movie Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, and also heard of some other people that committed violence during or after seeing the movie. The movie left this writer with an uneasy feeling that the movie overly empowered the bad guys, even if the good guys win in the end. Is there a point where a movie for entertainment pushes the limit and blurs the lines of reality and fantasy, and twisting evil into good and good into evil?
WHO IS THE REAL DARK KNIGHT?
In the Batman series the Dark Knight, Batman is one of the good guys, a sort of super hero who saves Gotham City. During the Middle Ages, knights emerged as a class of lower nobility and were largely considered to be the good guys among their countrymen. However, the real Dark Knight in the world today is not the good guy but is the evil one who attempts to fool people into thinking he is an angel of light when in fact he is the dark angel. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, 2 Co 11:14-15 “For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” NKJV We can expect things he does to appear to be good or to have acceptable motives at first but the result is always evil, confusion, sin, and bondage. If we knew the final result of the work of Satan, few people would join his crusade.
HOW MAY DISCIPLES RESPOND TO EVIL?
Christians need to respond to the victims of the Aurora, Colorado shooting with love and selfless works of help. Christians will join together to assist the victims with monetary gifts and blood donations. Christian love is often revealed behind the scenes as we find unique ways to help the victims and community. Some families may provide food and shelter for those forced out of their apartments by the actions of the shooter. Prayer for all involved will go far to heal the wounds.
We seem to fail to see the connection between the continual retreat of Christianity from the public square and the increase of crime.
This event reminds us of the real presence of evil in our world. As bad as evil is it often brings out the best in disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jn 13:34-35 NKJV
Responding to evil by love identifies you as a disciple of Jesus.
WHAT WE MUST DO TO CHERISH EACH MOMENT
Tragic events whether natural or man-made can take the life of a cherished loved one instantly. While we are reminded of the presence of evil, we are also shaken by the brevity and fragility of life. We must learn to cherish life by living it to the fullest. I am reminded of the words written by Mark Batterson in his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day:
“Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-size goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop criticizing and start creating. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. And remember: If God is for us, who can be against us?” –Mark Batterson, Pastor Nat. Community Church
Batterson’s words apply not only to faith but also to living life with our loved ones to the uttermost.
WHO IS THE BRIGHT KNIGHT?
Jesus Christ is the Bright Knight or more correctly, the King of Glory. The Bible often pictures Jesus Christ as clothed in the brightest white. Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12 NKJV) We take comfort in knowing that Jesus wins the victory over sin, evil, and Satan. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the Christ as we love people through tragedy such as that of the shooting in the Aurora theater. We must not forget the evangelistic spiral created by tragedy. For a short time people affected by evil will be receptive to the salvation message of Jesus as revealed through authentic relationships with Christians. The spiral winds down and the individual may no longer be interested in salvation. We must seize the opportunity to share Christ in a genuine manner to all people but especially victims of tragedy. The time may be short.
In the battle between the Dark Knight and the Bright Knight…Jesus wins!
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Questions:
What is your reaction to the Aurora theater shooting?
How does Satan try to copy God in the Bible?
How may you help the victims of the shooting?
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Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC. He is a pastor, author, professional coach, leadership specialist, and is a member Coach/Teacher/Speaker for the John Maxwell Team
Balance is a major aspect of Simple Discipleship as the process encourages discipleship development in four primary domains within every ministry…Know Christ, Grow in Christ, Serve Christ, and Share Christ. These four domains are not static but there is movement within and from one to another, thus the missional movements of the gospel of Jesus. The Christian life is also not static but is dynamic and moving in spiritual and literal ways that require us to apply our faith in all kinds of situations. Each domain also represents one of the missional movements of the Lord as related to his ultimate purpose. The missional movements corresponding to the Simple Discipleship primary domains are: The Gospel is Attractional, Relational, Incarnational, and Missional. While preaching and teaching through each of the four missional movements, another one was discovered but it is more of an ultimate reward for Christians rather than another ministry domain—the gospel is…Extractional. The complete visual may be illustrated in the adapted Simple Discipleship logo to the left. This article will introduce the five missional movements of the gospel.
THE GOSPEL IS ATTRACTIONAL
In the Simple Discipleship process “Worship- Grow in Christ” is the beginning point as people connect to God through a relationship with Christ and is represented by the red part of the logo. The connection does not happen by accident, coincidence, or ritual religion. Instead, it occurs by God drawing people and inviting them to have a relationship with him. Included in this spiritually magnetic action of God are the prayers of Christians and their sharing of the gospel with those being drawn to the Lord. Put simply, the gospel is attractional.
Romans 2:4 …the goodness of God leads you to repentance.
THE GOSPEL IS RELATIONAL
Sunday school and small group Bible study is essential to the Simple Discipleship process. It is within the small groups that we learn how to love one another as it is not something that automatically occurs when one receives Christ. One’s values are often patterned after a life of dysfunction with family and friends who may or may not know Christ. It is true that salvation changes one’s values and worldview to a point resulting from spiritual transformation but some dysfunctional values often remain. It is within the small group Bible study experience that relationships are formed and much discipleship can take place. Thus, the gospel is relational. In the Simple Discipleship process “Word- Grow in Christ” is represented by the blue area of the logo. Matthew 5:1-2 captures the relational principle as Jesus sat down to teach, his disciples “came to him,” a phrase that is repeated several times in the Gospels. From Matthew to Acts we see the incredible growth of several of the disciples as they developed relationships with Christ and one another.
Loving one another God’s way is relational.
THE GOSPEL IS INCARNATIONAL
Relational living and love grows to a point where people willingly and sacrificially serve one another. In the Simple Discipleship process “Ministry- Serve Christ” is represented by the yellow area of the logo. If a Christian fails to serve other Christians within the body of Christ something is wrong with their understanding of a relationship with Christ. There are many “deep” Christians attending worship and Bible study but do not serve the body of Christ in any way—a fundamental flaw in their discipleship. Like a diamond with its pavilion cut too deep, the light of Christ is simply absorbed and not reflected. It is within the small group setting that we begin to learn the meaning of the incarnation as we become agents of love and healing among our fellow Christians. Incarnational living begins within the small groups. 1 Thessalonians 2:4-12 captures the essence of incarnational living as we love one another and others. An example of this might be the new mother of a child needing help to prepare her own meals for a week after her return home as her Bible study group lovingly fills that need. That is incarnational—being like Christ to her.
Serving others selflessly is being Christ to them- Incarnational.
THE GOSPEL IS MISSIONAL
This next missional movement of the gospel truly captures the meaning of God’s purpose and mission. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 is the mission statement for all Christians as we share Christ with all people. In the Simple Discipleship process “Missions- Share Christ” is represented by the green part of the logo. The question for every Christian is, “Who will be in heaven because of you?” It is the prime directive of all Christians to “interfere” with the spiritual blindness and comfort of people of the world who do not know Christ. The gospel is missional!
“Who will be in heaven because of you?”
THE GOSPEL IS EXTRACTIONAL
Unlike several religions of the world, Christianity does not view life as it is in this world as a never-ending cycle of suffering and pain. Rather, humanity began in God’s garden in Genesis and will ultimately live in God’s garden forever as told in Revelation. We do not go through cycles of reincarnation up and down the food chain based on our goodness. Rather, we are saved by faith through the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Since we are only ambassadors on this terrestrial earth, we are actually citizens of a greater Kingdom of God. Revelation and other Scriptures such as 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 remind us that all genuine disciples of God shall be extracted from this troubled world. The gospel is extractional!
The Gospel is Extractional–are you ready to go?
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Questions:
How is worship “attractional” to you and others you know?
Describe how your small group Bible study is “relational.”
How is serving with your spiritual gifts “incarnational?”
Are you a “missional” Christian? Is there any other kind?
Do you agree that the gospel is “extractional?”
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Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC. He is a pastor, author, professional coach, leadership specialist, and is a member Coach/Teacher/Speaker for the John Maxwell Team
Traditional evangelism that results in growing disciples of Jesus Christ, is not working in the 21st century. In times past, the unchurched or non-Christians came upon an evangelistic encounter already possessing a matrix of Judeo-Christian principles. The evangelistic message served as a key by which they could unlock the meaning of the matrix and thereby receive Christ and immediately begin growing as disciples. Generally, this is no longer the case as most people approaching their evangelistic encounter have little or no concept of Judeo-Christian principles. Many of them are attracted to the message and may receive Christ, but since they are lacking a corpus of biblical knowledge, they have great difficulty with their own spiritual growth.
In times past, the unchurched or non-Christians came upon an evangelistic encounter already possessing a matrix of Judeo-Christian principles.
Many churches focus on evangelistic encounters resulting in conversion instead of developing sustainable evangelism resulting from an ongoing process of disciple-making. New Christian converts are often left bewildered as they try to figure out how to make the Christian life work. They may feel as if they have been given a valuable key to salvation but while they are sure the Jesus key fits many more doors to spiritual growth, they have no idea where or how to find them. The reaction of many church leaders is, “The Holy Spirit will disciple the new converts.” The problem with that thinking is that Jesus’ Great Commission gives the responsibility of making disciples to the church. The Holy Spirit is a helper or assistant to both the new convert and the disciple-maker. There is nothing is Scripture that suggests that the church is to make converts and leave the discipling to the Holy Spirit.
If new Christian converts do not already possess a matrix of Judeo-Christian principles they must be provided a process for spiritual growth…discipleship.
THE PROBLEM WITH JOHN 3:16 EVANGELISM
Tim Tebow
The message of the third chapter of The Gospel of John is compelling and has served as the evangelistic instrument in the salvation of many people since that fortuitous night when Nicodemus sought out the notorious Rabbi from Nazareth. John 3:16 continues to lead many to faith in Jesus Christ by the actions of fans holding up banners with the verse notation as they attend sporting events, the face paint of athletes like Tim Tebow, or Max Lucado’s excellent book 3:16- The Numbers of Hope.
Great Commission gives the responsibility of making disciples to the church.
Consider the person of Nicodemus as he sought out Jesus. Nicodemus grew up in a home that was saturated with teachings from their Bible—the Old Testament. Early in his life he learned the Shema and added many dos and don’ts to his religious to do list. In his quest to solve his Rubik’s Cube religion Nicodemus became a Pharisee but all that seemed to do was to add 613 new rules to his dos and don’ts list. It was like a Rubik’s Cube for which there seemed to be no solution.
Many churches focus on evangelistic encounters resulting in conversion instead of developing sustainable evangelism resulting from an ongoing process of disciple-making.
Some people have carried a Rubik’s Cube for several weeks trying to solve it while a few like Ludwig Fichte solved the 3D puzzle in 31.5 seconds while skydiving before opening his parachute. The point is that to someone like Nicodemus the message of Christ that he must be born again was like a key by which he could solve his Rubik’s Cube faith. Unfortunately, few people today bring a Rubik’s Cube religion to their John 3:16 moment of being born again. To make things worse, few churches have a process that a new Christian’s key will unlock and lead them to spiritual growth and maturity. The message of John 3:16 is not only the evangelistic key to salvation but a key to the door of discipleship. However, effective church leaders will recognize that moving new Christians beyond conversion requires intentionality and the implementation of a discipleship process. A discipleship process provides the missing faith matrix for the evangelistic key to unlock spiritual growth.
A discipleship process provides the missing faith matrix for the evangelistic key to unlock spiritual growth.
JESUS IS THE KEY AND PROCESS DISCIPLESHIP IS THE RUBIK’S CUBE
Receiving Jesus Christ provides the key to spiritual growth. Churches that provide a Process Discipleship system have the greatest opportunity to move converts to become disciples and then to be disciple-makers themselves. A Process Discipleship system provides sustainable evangelism and ongoing spiritual formation. A Process Discipleship system such as Simple Discipleship includes as many of the following discipleship methods as possible in an ongoing delivery system:
Many church leaders are looking for the next big thing but building a sustainable disciple-making process is not a quick fix or the next big thing. In fact it is ministry as old as the church of the first century. It is a return to biblical discipleship instead of Constantinian evangelism.
QUESTIONS:
Process discipleship churches can measure their spiritual growth progress. Can your church measure spiritual growth?
Do you understand the Rubik’s Cube comparison?
Consider the difference between a conversion ministry as compared to a sustainable discipleship process.
SD Blessings,
Dr. Tom Cocklereece, The Disciplist
——————– Dr. Tom Cocklereeceis CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC He is a pastor, author, professional coach, leadership specialist, and is a member Coach/Teacher/Speaker for the John Maxwell Team
This series of articles explores thirteen major methods that are effective for making disciples. Keep in mind that in a ubiquitous (all encompassing, everywhere present) disciple-making process, virtually each method is not only encouraged but is planned into the church ministries. Here is a list including links to articles that have been completed in the series:
The previous article in this series was about “Personal Discipleship,” also known as one-to-one discipleship. The present article is about “Peer Group Discipleship,” also known as small group discipleship and it is one of the most effective methods when done well. Encarta Dictionary defines “peer” as someone who is equal to another in age or social class. Churches have done well at making disciples using peer groups called Sunday school classes or small groups. They tend to be natural groupings based on a number of demographic, social, and spiritual commonalities. The things they have in common functions as the “glue” for an ongoing community relationship. The positive effect of psychosocial development and interaction in peer groups has been well documented in recent years. However, the benefits of spiritual growth compound the overall growth and development of the group as a supportive community.
Peer group discipleship engages the class in interaction, reflection, evaluation, and an assessment of values. People today inside and outside the church experience an ever increasing level of dysfunction. Discipleship peer groups lead people deeper in their relationships with Christ and with one another. The effectively learn to love one another and as a result they become a faith community within the church. A healthy church of any size should have healthy or holistic small groups.
PEER GROUP DISCIPLESHIP IS INTENTIONAL
Simply forming Sunday school classes and small group Bible study units does not automatically qualify as peer group discipleship. There are many examples of teachers of Sunday school classes and small groups who show up to impress their groups with their insights into Scripture but have no clue about how to make disciple-making disciples. Many think their job is to teach the Bible but their job should be—make disciples. A group leader with the perspective of making disciples connects with people and creates community. A disciple-making peer group leader is infective! It is sad to say that many classes and groups will meet this week and the group could just as well push a button on a CD/MP3 player for their weekly lesson. Jesus taught with passion, examples, Biblical authority, and love. Effective peer group discipleship does what Jesus did.
10 BENEFITS OF PEER GROUP DISCIPLESHIP
Peer group discipleship has many benefits and here are ten:
Members of peer group classes disciple one another as they share Bible knowledge, insights, and application points.
An excellent facilitator guides the Bible study and discussion in a manner that engages the entire group.
Provides a visual and living illustration of three-way reconciliation (forgiveness from God, forgiveness of self, and forgiveness of others).
Demonstrates Christian unity (all for one and one for all).
Encourages perpetual spiritual growth as less spiritually mature interact with those more spiritually mature.
Provides social relationships in the church context as well as outside the church in the community.
Provides social stability for those within the group as they interact to meet needs and love one another.
Teaches the roles of each as related to the identification and use of spiritual gifts and natural talents.
The group culture encourages chosen accountability as related to Christian behavior.
Groups collectively form a healthy church and provide for the overall needs for ministry.
Can you think of more benefits of peer group discipleship? Please share them in the comments section.
SD Blessings,
Dr. Tom Cocklereece, The Disciplist
QUESTIONS:
1. Ten benefits of peer group discipleship are listed. Can you share some more?
2. Could your small group leader easily be replaced by a CD/MP3 player and hardly miss the leader?
3. Is disciple-making the focus of your Sunday school and small group Bible study units?
——————– Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC
Author “Simple Discipleship,” contributing writer L2L Blogazine
He is a pastor, an author, professional coach, and leadership specialist Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Blog | Book | Coaching Site
Simple Discipleship was published in 2009 and The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit in July, 2011, so this simple church discipleship process has been “out there” long enough for church leaders to begin sharing their experiences. It is one thing that the Simple Discipleship book has received very good reviews but church leaders want more than a book, they want something that works. I have received several reports from pastors in the field about how the Spiritual Vitality Assessment is a great tool for creating a disciple-making culture. The Spiritual Vitality Assessment was introduced in the Simple Discipleship book as the SD-360 Survey but remains unchanged despite the change of nomenclature in the new book, The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit. It consists of 40 statements based on biblical values and expectations discussed in both books. The 40 statements or questions are divided into four sections in which participants may sore a total of 400 cumulatively out of a possible 100 in each section. Here are three stories of how the assessment is working in the churches.
The Spiritual Vitality Assessment is included in both books, Simple Discipleship and The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit. The former is configured for church-wide use and the latter is configured for individual use in a spiritual formation workbook.
THE SPIRITUAL VITALITY ASSESSMENT RESULTS IN BAPTISMS
One of the first churches that began using Simple Discipleship decided to change question #2 in the WORSHIP section of the assessment. Question #2 says, “ I know that when I die I will go to heaven” with the ability of the participant to respond with an answer from 0 to 10. The church leaders left the question as is but changed the response section so that the participant could only respond with either a 0 or 10. A “0” response meant “I don’t know” and a “10” response meant “I am sure.” The church leadership gave the Spiritual Vitality Assessment in Sunday school classes. Three people from different classes went to talk privately with their respective teachers or with a trusted friend. In each of the three cases the individuals said that the assessment led them to think specifically about their salvation. They were convicted by question #2 and subsequently received Jesus and Lord and were baptized. The questions cause participants to think personally about their own standing in relation to their beliefs.
Green= Community Missional Footprint
THE SPIRITUAL VITALITY ASSESSMENT SHOCKS A CHURCH TO ACTION
From the introduction of Simple Discipleship, I have encouraged churches to give the Spiritual Vitality Assessment only when the pastor is serving and supportive of the process. However, an interim pastor contacted me a couple of years ago and asked me to give the assessment in the church where he was serving. The church was clearly struggling and had been in serious decline for several years. The assessment was given and I prepared a report of the compiled assessments. The pie graph of the results was shocking as the green MISSIONS section was very small. This is an indication of a dying church that has virtually no community connection. The green section for the church is called the “Community Missional Footprint” and is an indicator of missional involvement. The pie graph illustration shown here brought audible gasps from the congregation but then resulted in a significant level of missional projects in the community. The church has since made progress and has the potential of resurgence.
THE SPIRITUAL VITALITY ASSESSMENT MOTIVATES A LEADER TO SERVE
Recently I had been doing Discipleship Coach Training for a church planting pastor and his staff. The pastor had struggled with starting small group Bible studies as they lacked willing and qualified teachers. A potential leader joined the new church and had volunteered to start a new small group. Unfortunately, he backed out with little or no explanation. Concurrently, the pastor had given the Spiritual Vitality Assessment to the church congregation and a surprising thing happened. The person who had back out of leading small groups contacted the pastor and let him know that he was disturbed by the Spiritual Vitality Assessment results and felt convicted by the Lord to step up to his earlier commitment of leadership. The pastor was very pleased and contacted me to once again share his testimony of how Simple Discipleship was helping establish a disciple-making culture in the church.
More stories will follow as church leaders are sharing with us. The proverbial proof will be in the pudding as leaders and churches become effective at making disciple-makers.
Purchase discipleship materials and books that include the Spiritual Vitality Assessment at Simple Discipleship
SD Blessings,
Dr. Tom Cocklereece, The Disciplist
QUESTIONS:
1. What process does your church use to make disciples?
2. How may the Spiritual Vitality Assessment could help your church become a disciple-making church?
3. What is the Community Missional Footprint of your church?
——————– Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC
Author “Simple Discipleship,” contributing writer L2L Blogazine
He is a pastor, an author, professional coach, and leadership specialist Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Blog | Book | Coaching Site
This series of articles explores foundational principles of church health as related to discipleship. At the outset there are several premises to identify. Many leaders seem to approach discipleship as one essential feature among other equal elements of a healthy church. This author has a differing perspective. Since THE purpose of the church is to “make disciples,” discipleship is the primary feature of a healthy church that determines the long-term health and vitality of a church. In fact as goes discipleship, so goes the other aspects of the church. Granted that other elements often contribute to the vitality of a church for a time, discipleship contributes to the sustainability of the church’s vitalaity.
For this series we will look at the church as a system of processes that work together. Granted that the church is an organism but for this series we will use an automobile as our mental model. A living organism is made of many complex systems and an automobile is an inorganic ordered collection of systems.
THE NEGLECTED DISCIPLESHIP ENGINE
In my book Simple Discipleship, I compare the discipleship process in the church to an engine of a car, in this case a four cylinder engine. I also called attention to the fact that discipleship is neglected in favor of many other activities…albeit good ones. Mike Breen recently observed that for every 100 tweets about missions there was only one tweet about discipleship. In his guest post for vergenetwork.org he identified discipleship as the driver for being missional and many other aspect and activities of a healthy church.
So what is the engine of the church? Discipleship. I’ve said it many times: If you make disciples, you will always get the church. But if you try to build the church, you will rarely get disciples.
If you’re good at making disciples, you’ll get more leaders than you’ll know what to do with. If you make disciples like Jesus made them, you’ll see people come to faith who didn’t know Him. If you disciple people well, you will always get the missional thing. Mike Breen, “Why The Missional Movement Will Fail” on the vergenetwork.org .
My analogy differs from that of Breen somewhat but I think we agree on the major point: Discipleship is the key to sustainable ministry, evangelism, and a vital church.
SEE YOUR CHURCH AS A SYSTEM
Open the hood of your car and do a white handkerchief test on the engine and usually you will get really dirty. A car chassis with an engine illustrates a church very well, as the outer body of each church is different but the essential inner workings are similar. Consider that a car symbolizes a church, the engine is discipleship, and each wheel is an essential element that appears to provide movement, however, the engine provides the energy for the wheels to move. Each wheel represents an essential element of a vital church such as evangelism, fellowship, community, and Holy Spirit guided leadership.
Many leaders focus on one part of the system all of the time or they may give attention to one system and then another. Both of these scenarios neglect the primary component or heart of the automobile…the engine. For our analogy we will use a four cylinder engine car. We could use a larger engine but I liken the four cylinder engine to the four chamber heart of a person. In Simple Discipleship each cylinder represents one primary value of a vital church: Worship- Know Christ, Word- Grow in Christ, Ministry- Serve Christ, and Missions- Share Christ. A church firing on all four of these cylinders will often transfer the energy to the other four resulting essential activities: evangelism, fellowship, community, and Holy Spirit led leadership.
FIX THE DISCIPLESHIP ENGINE
Back to our dirty engine thought that symbolizes discipleship which can be messy, tedious, time consuming, and requires specialized knowledge and tools. However, it must be done if the car/church is going to move. When it comes to my car, I am not a mechanic so I am intimidated by it. Some leaders are intimidated or do not fully understand the process of discipleship, while others are content with working on the evangelism or fellowship wheel. These efforts will not produce sustainable growth if the discipleship engine is broken. We must fix the discipleship engine by restoring Christ’s intention of the Great Commission, specifically “make disciple-making disciples.”
It is pleasing to see leaders like Mike Breen giving proper attention to discipleship. Perhaps we will see a genuine discipleship revolution soon. Simple Discipleship provides the process, materials, tools, and coaching to help leaders become the “church mechanic.” Let us help you overhaul your discipleship engine.
QUESTIONS:
1. What process does your church use to make disciples?
2. Do you agree or disagree with the points made?
3. Why do evangelism and missions get primary attention while discipleship is often neglected?
SD Blessings,
Dr. Tom Cocklereece, The Disciplist
——————– Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC
Author “Simple Discipleship,” contributing writer L2L Blogazine
He is a pastor, an author, professional coach, and leadership specialist Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Blog | Book | Coaching Site
This series of articles explores thirteen major methods that are effective for making disciples. Keep in mind that in a ubiquitous (all encompassing, everywhere present) disciple-making process, virtually each method is not only encouraged but is planned into the church ministries. Here is a list including links to articles that have been completed in the series:
John and Sandy went to the doctor’s office together with great apprehension. Several weeks prior, Sandy had completed a routine mammogram exam. Within ten days Sandy received a call to repeat the exam and have some other tests. It raised her concerns as she scheduled the follow-up exam and tests. Within a few days Sandy received a call to have a meeting with a cancer physician. So Sandy decided the report must be bad so she asked her husband to go with her for emotional support. Dr. Patelli walked in and greeted the couple. He was very slim and dressed in a professional manner. While he seemed to project a friendly attitude, his concern and seriousness was evident. The doctor began to go through the report in a matter of fact manner. To boil it down, Sandy had breast cancer that had already spread to her lungs according to the various supporting exams. While this was shocking to Sandy, Dr. Patelli began to reassure her of the treatment and prognosis. He suggested that a treatment regimen using a combination of several varieties of interferon would be effective in her case. He felt that there was a better than 90% chance of curing her cancer. John and Sandy began to ask questions about the treatment and other possibilities.
John asked, “Interferon treatments have been around for some time. Aren’t there newer treatments that should be used?”
Dr. Patelli said, “While there are some negative side effects of interferon and it is an older treatment, I think it is the best to use in Sandy’s case. Again, the cure rate is about 90% using the interferon for this type of cancer.”
“I think I agree with John, Dr. Patelli,” Sandy replied. “I have a friend, Betty who said her mother had a bad reaction to interferon when she had cancer. I want a newer treatment.”
Puzzled, the doctor said, “Well, there are some new chemotherapy regimens that alternate the chemicals to increase effectiveness and are engineered to be gentler than most chemotherapy treatments. However, the survival rate is not as good as the interferon treatment…say 40%.”
Sandy replied, “Let’s go with the chemo treatment.”
“Huh?” Dr. Patelli was dumbfounded and could not believe Sandy’s choice.
Simple Discipleship Conference
PERSONAL DISCIPLESHIP: MOST EFFECTIVE BUT UNDERUSED
My book, Simple Discipleship: How to Make Disciples in the 21st Centurywas published in late 2009 by Church Smart Resources. During 2010, I had the opportunity to do a sort of “book tour” leading conferences to introduce the book. In the course of the year, leaders from over one hundred churches attended my conferences. I began each conference with a question: “How many churches represented here intentionally do one to one discipleship?” I further explained that “personal discipleship is when new Christians are intentionally paired with a discipler in order to 1) connect the new believer to the church, and 2) to get the new Christian off to a good start learning how to nourish his or her spiritual growth. Out of over 100 churches represented in these meetings, not even one church clearly identified personal discipleship as an intentional disciple-making method that they used. Certainly Jesus used personal discipleship as one of his methods.
Like Dr. Patel in the fictional absurd analogy at the beginning of this article, I was dumbfounded!
Some leaders tried to reason that their church had an assimilation class for new members and Christians but I don’t buy a diversity group assimilation method as discipleship. The goals of assimilation of members and discipleship differ. Assimilation programs are designed primarily with the needs of the organization in mind while discipleship is designed with the needs of the disciplee in mind.
Out of over 100 churches, not even one clearly identified personal discipleship as an intentional disciple-making method they used.
PERSONAL DISCIPLESHIP EFFECTIVENESS
I continue to wonder at why so few churches intentionally employ personal discipleship as a method of disciple-making. In the 20th century we saw class sizes in schools and colleges increase while grades and the quality of education dropped. Since the 1990s there has been an increasing use of home school and one to one tutoring organizations with a concurrent rise in the grades and quality of education for the students affected. On the other hand, grades and education quality continues to fall in schools that have large classes.
I plan to write an article soon with some statistical support for these claims. In a cursory reading of articles on the subject I found that struggling students with just three months of one to one tutoring can jump one whole grade. Clearly personal discipleship is one of the most effective methods of disciple-making. What if churches began intentionally designing one to one discipleship into their disciple-making processes? I believe it would begin a genuine discipleship revolution.
Through my ministry, Simple Discipleship, I recommend designing as many of the thirteen discipleship methods listed above into your church’s disciple-making process and insure that personal discipleship is a priority. Here are several recommendations:
Simple Discipleship recommends training 4 Discipleship Coaches to insure that the disciple-making process is ongoing.
The 4 Discipleship Coaches should be a mix of men and women so they may do personal discipleship of others of the same gender.
Establish strong policies of selection, background checks, and training for Discipleship Coaches.
Large churches should establish Christian coaching ministries that include at least one coach trainer who will train as many Sunday school teachers as possible to be Discipleship Coaches.
Christian Coaching Ministries should be separate from education and counseling ministries though they would certainly work together. They should not compete or threaten one another but the goals of each must be firmly established.
In the “Absurd Analogy” at the beginning of the article, which treatment would you choose? If personal discipleship is the equivalent of interferon in the analogy, why would you not employ it in your church? Do it now! Simple Discipleship can assist you with consultation and training of your Christian coaching staff and Discipleship Coaches.
SD Blessings,
Dr. Tom Cocklereece, The Disciplist
QUESTIONS:
Examine your church’s disciple-making ministry. Does your church intentionally design personal discipleship into the ministry?
Why do many churches not use intentional personal discipleship?
Identify Bible references where personal discipleship is used.
What steps will your church have to take to develop personal discipleship into the ministry?
What will you do to move to a high-expectation disciple-making delivery process in your church?
——————– Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC
Author “Simple Discipleship,” contributing writer L2L Blogazine
He is a pastor, an author, professional coach, and leadership specialist Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Blog | Book | Coaching Site
A LEADER’S EDITION IS NOW AVAILABLE THAT INCLUDES DISCIPLE-COACHING NOTES TO HELP YOU LEAD INDIVIDUALS OR SMALL GROUPS THROUGH A 12 WEEK STUDY. Each book includes a code for an online UNIQUELY YOU! DISC profile.
Disciple Maker's Toolkit
A pastor friend asked me what I was currently working on and I told him about The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit. I also offered that I planned to use it in workshops and discipleship coaching to equip all Christians to share Christ and then to disciple new Christians ASAP (As Soon As Possible). The idea is to encourage and equip Christians not only with the ability to share their faith but to then nurture or disciple those they win to Christ at least to the point where they may feed themselves. My pastor friend seemed surprised and questioned not whether I could but whether I should have such a vision. I was perplexed by his response. His view was much like that of many Christian leaders that says. “Leave the driving to us.” You may remember the old Greyhound bus buy line. My friend had adopted a view that says only the pastor, or person with theological education may disciple people. Another point he made was that he wanted to spend his time winning people to Christ and he was sure that the Holy Spirit would take care of the discipling. How is that working? We need but see the many articles and statistics about church decline.
I did not initially plan to write what became The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit, as my plan was to write a primer for new Christians. However, I already had been using several assessments as I was personally discipling Christians. The assessments were the usual battery of useful tools to encourage self-awareness and spiritual growth such as:
The Simple Discipleship Spiritual Vitality Assessment
A doctrinal assessment created for my doctorate
A spiritual gifts assessment
A DISC personality traits assessment
I began to consider the idea of combining the typical assessments used in disciple-making, adding the basics of Simple Discipleship, and including some additional material to enhance the usefulness of the material. The result is The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit. As with anything a writer produces, there are already some things I desire to add or improve. Perhaps in a second edition that would break the material into twelve weekly segments and I have already begun providing a separate guide to help leaders use the Toolkit in such a manner.
Each Toolkit comes with the 12 week study guide included in this article. Additional support materials will be added to the Simple Discipleship website.
WHAT’S IN THE TOOLKIT?
The Toolkit is a concise collection of disciple-making materials that includes a simple way to understand and live the Christian life. Here is the Table of Contents laid out in my 12 week format with some explanation for disciple-making:
Week 1- Introduction
The Disciple-Maker’s Oath– calls for the disciple-maker and the “student” to accept a proper view of Jesus’ Great Commission that every Christian is supposed to be a disciple-maker. The point from the church leader’s perspective is to cultivate a culture of disciple-makers.
How to Use the Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit– defines what the Toolkit is and how to use it.
Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit Introduction- presents the Gospel and then the vision of every Christian being a disciple-maker.
Week 2
What Is Simple Discipleship- a summary of the primary values of Simple Discipleship. It iterates the fact that a disciple’s actions are based on heart values.
Week 3
The Biblical Basis of God’s Expectations of Christians- Within each of the primary value domains of Simple Discipleship are 10 basic expectations God has for every disciple. One could argue that there are more, but this is a starting point for many Christians. Remember instruction from Dr. Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger from their book Simple Church which presented the four characteristics of a church with a simple discipleship process—clarity, movement, alignment, and focus. Each of these are designed into Simple Discipleship plus some additional qualities such as measurability (Simple Discipleship was the first to provide a balanced scorecard for churches), scalability, and reproducibility, to name three. The expectations build missional DNA into the life of the Christian as well as small groups and the church.
Week 4
Simple Discipleship Spiritual Vitality Assessment- in the Simple Discipleship book it is called the SD-360 Survey with the original idea of “living life around the cross.” The concept still works but the end result is increased spiritual vitality.
The Balanced Christian Life- ditto, however using one’s scores on the assessment, a visual graph is produced to show the relationships of service in all four discipleship domains. Too many Christians spend most of their church connection time in only one or two domains—Worship and Word.
Week 5
The Stages of Spiritual Growth- According to Barna Research, most pastors cannot define the biblical stages of spiritual growth. This is a problem since a disciplist must know what the desired fruit should look like as well as the stages on the way.
Simple Discipleship Spiritual Growth Matrix- a visual of the Stages of Spiritual Growth.
Week 6
How to Have a Daily Worship Time- an absolute must for growing Christians that can change your church.
Week 7
Disciple’s Doctrinal Assessment- This was my project as I was working toward my doctoral degree. It is statically valid and reliable assessment that is based on The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, but has been found to be useful for any evangelical Christian.
Doctrinal Study Guide- a reprint of The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 that includes all of the Bible verses for support that may be used as a doctrinally based study guide.
Week 8
Simple Evangelism- SE Card Edition- The logo of Simple Discipleship or any church with a contextualized logo may use the visual logo as a simple evangelism presentation.
Simple Evangelism- Napkin Evangelism Edition- This is a reprint of one of my own most read articles from the Simple Discipleship Blog. The point is to encourage people to learn to share their faith in simple visual and storied ways.
Week 9
Simple Discipleship New Life Coaching- Using the back side of the Simple Evangelism card includes a simple list of the primary values and expectations of Simple Discipleship that may be used for a 4 to 6 week period to disciple new Christians.
Week 10
Disciple’s Spiritual Gifts and Assessment- a spiritual gifts assessment of 12 of the biblically identified spiritual gifts with their definitions as related to disciples.
Week 11
People Skills and DISC- an introduction to the concept and use of DISC personality trait assessments as a “people skills” tool to aid in disciple-making.
Your DISC Personality Profile- a word-based DISC personality trait profile assessment. As of 8/23/2010 each Toolkit comes with a code for use to complete the DISC on the website of Uniquely You by Dr. Mels Carbonell.
Squirrelly DISC- an entertaining look at personality traits- between 460 and 370 BC Hippocrates developed the concept of four primary personality types into a medical theory—choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic. More recently the four personality types were renamed as D-dominant, I-inspiring, S-steady, and C-competent. Gary Smally reclassified them respectively as lion, otter, golden retriever, and beaver. Me and my wife Janice have fun with applying the four personality types to…squirrels. Funny and entertaining!
Simple Discipleship and DISC Personality Traits- an explanation of how Christians of either DISC personality trait sometimes have a tendency to focus on one domain of the Christian life and encourages them to live a balanced Christian life through serving in each domain.
Combined Simple Discipleship and DISC Assessment- An assessment that helps people determine whether they tend to serve in one domain.
Week 12
Applying Simple Discipleship- answers the question, “What now?”
Simple Discipleship Key Ideas- a summary of The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit on one page.
Online Discipleship
HOW TO USE THE TOOLKIT
There are several ideal uses for The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit:
discipleship conferences
leadership team training for discipleship
by church planters launching a simple church discipleship process
by pastors launching a simple church discipleship process
by disciplers doing one-on one or group discipleship
by Sunday school and small group leaders for a quarter
by Christian Coaching Ministries
for individual self-training for disciple-making
for online disciple-making training- we now offer affordable online discipleship. This course includes training many graduates of Bible college and seminary have never received. The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit online discipleship course is an intensive spiritual growth ministry particularly useful for pastors, ministry leaders, Christian school teachers, Bible teachers, and other lay leaders. To register go to Simple Discipleship.
The Toolkit is authored by Dr. Tom Cocklereece and printed by RENOVA Coaching and Consulting that now has a Coach Training Academy. The workbook is 66 pages and is available in print as well as ebook format. You may purchase The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit at the following sites:
Amazon Kindle ereader– This is the Amazon Kindle version and has some problems but you can get a general idea before purchasing the printed version that is only available at the Simple Discipleship site. Assessments do not work well on the ebook versions. Price = $7.50
Barnes and Noble Nook ereader– This is the Barnes and Noble Nook version that works reasonably well but again, assessments do not work very well on ebook readers. Price = $7.50
SIMPLE DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES- HELPING YOU MAKE DISCIPLE MAKERS
Simple Discipleship is now a provider for two excellent publications: 1) Simple Discipleship– to help church leaders develop a simple church discipleship process that works, and 2) The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit– to introduce lay Christians and leaders to the Simple Discipleship process and equip them as disciple-makers.
Simple Discipleship is also now a certified coach training academy and is affiliated with the Biblical Coaching Alliance and the Life Breakthrough Academy. Thus, we now provide several levels of coaching and coach training such as: 1) Certified Christian Life-Coach Training- to equip individuals to serve as leaders of church Christian coaching ministries, 2) Simple Discipleship Coaching- to help church leaders implement SD, 3) Disciple Coach Training- to train coaches to coach church leaders to implement SD, 4) Discipleship Coaching Training- and 5) we will soon offer RENEW Wellness Coach Training- a church-based support group ministry that incorporates Simple Discipleship principles.
Go Make Disciple-Makers!
Tom Cocklereece, DMin, LBCT
——————–
QUESTIONS:
Do you believe the churches have effectively equipped and empowered the laity to make disciples?
Do you believe traditional church ministry approaches are effective at discipleship? Why or why not?
What process does your church use to make disciple-making disciples?
Does your church have a Christian Coaching Ministry that is separate from the counseling ministry?
——————–
Dr. Tom Cocklereece is the author of Simple Discipleship: How to Make Disciples in the 21st Century which was published and released by Church Smart Resources in November 2009. He is also the author of a new resource just released (2011) titled The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit the first publication of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting LLC.
CAUTION: Reading and applying the teachings in this article may be hazardous to your secular life. You could experience a spiritual awakening and renewal that will transform your life. Follow these principles at your own risk.
This post is a section from The Disciple-Maker’s Toolkit by Dr. Tom Cocklereece. As of July 14, 2011 pre-orders are being received.
Disciple Coaches should use this guide among the first steps to encourage increased spiritual vitality with the coachee. Expect accountability by asking good questions each week related to the daily worship time of the coachee.
Often called prayer time, quiet time, devotional time, meditation, or private worship, having a consistent daily worship time is THE one most important activity you can do to increase and maintain your spiritual growth and vitality. You will note that all four batteries of questions on the Simple Discipleship Spiritual Vitality Assessment includes one statement relating to having a daily worship time that includes bible reading. There are two big reasons why daily private worship is so important:
1) Intimacy with God: The Lord desires his disciples to be close to him. Genesis 32 includes a story about Jacob who experienced life transforming worship. Through his life Jacob had seemingly experience a superficial relationship with God but on this occasion he refused to let go of the Lord until he received a blessing. That is the kind of intimacy God desires of his disciples!
2) Human nature: Our humanity breeds forgetfulness when it comes to spiritual things. James 1:22-25 indicates that a disciple can look into the mirror of God’s word, walk away, and immediately forget his or her appearance before God, which leads to a failure to apply the teachings of the Bible.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-25 (NKJV)
UNDERSTANDING PRIVATE WORSHIP
Meditation: It is important to make a distinction between Christian meditation and other forms of religious meditation:
Christian meditation involves “filling one’s mind” with Bible verses, prayer thoughts, and the presence and power of God. Remarkably, this activity is spiritually revitalizing and physically relaxing at the same time. Christian meditation also carries the idea of chewing on a bit of food thoroughly to obtain full nourishment from it. The Hebrew word “hg#h#””” (hegeh) has the idea of a lion growling in satisfaction over food. Christian meditation is a major opportunity for disciples to access the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to tear down evil spiritual strongholds within their own lives.
On the other hand, eastern religious meditation calls for one to “empty one’s mind” in order to achieve a relaxed state. Some practices of eastern meditation such as yoga involve subtle forms of idolatry.
Fasting: Fasting is the discipline of going without food for a period of time. Many Bible characters including Jesus fasted from food, water, and/or wine for a prescribed length of time such as 40 days. A 40 day fast is difficult and may be harmful to your health. Fasts of a shorter duration are also recorded in Scripture such as one day until sundown (Judges 20:26), and seven days (1 Samuel 31:13). The practice of fasting can be an important part of the prayer life of disciples, as it intensifies the experience of intimacy with God. However, strong caution must be expressed to those with overriding health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and other problems. Ask your physician about fasting before attempting the spiritual discipline. DO NOT FAST if you have been warned that it could be harmful to your health and life.
For some people a partial or modified fast may be as useful as a total fast while reducing some of the discomfort and danger to one’s health.
The quality of your public worship depends directly on the frequency, intensity, and intimacy of your daily worship.
Journaling: This discipline is often practiced as a temporary or ongoing part of private worship. It may assist in focusing one’s worship, increasing confidence in praying, building faith, and tracking effectiveness. Journaling is not the same as keeping a diary. Record the following items:
Date and time
Location- (home, Marietta, GA, back patio)
Bible reading reference
Impressions from God
Your response and plan of action
Special issues of concern
Three prayer requests; leave space to record when and how God answers
These are intended as guideline, so modify the instructions as much or as little as desired.
STEPS TO PRIVATE WORSHIP
This guide provides valuable steps that can transform your life.
Preparation: Before you begin having a daily worship time, gather your Bible, a blank journal and a pen, placing them in the place where you will spend your devotional time. It may be best to have your private worship in the same place every day.
Time of Day: My rule of thumb is, “What works for you? Many Scriptures suggest that the morning is the best time to enjoy a daily worship time (Ps 5:3; 59:16; 88:13) Of course there is biblical evidence of having a private worship time at any time of the day or night (Gen 32:24-30; Ex 3:1-6; 1 Chr 4:9-10; 1 Sam 3:1-15; Ps 55:17; Matt 1:18-25; Acts 16:24-25; Rev 1:9-11).
Bible Reading: God speaks through His word, the Bible. You may not hear him speak as a person but you may have impressions. Daily living tends to condition people to be unable to discern, understand, or distinguish these impressions, so it may require the consistent practice of a daily worship time. It is best to read through a Bible book or even the whole Bible during daily worship times. Read one to three chapters each day. However, the focus of daily worship time is not Bible study.
Bible Memory, Marking, and Meditation: Find one verse in your reading each day that you may meditate on through the day. You may choose to mark or memorize verses that you find important.
Prayer: You may choose to use model prayers as a guide such as the Lord’s Prayer in Mt 6:9-13. You may use the ACTS prayer model: A=adoration, C=confession, T=thanksgiving, and S=supplications (requests). Another model prayer is the hand model.
Pinky Promise Prayer: The first prayer anyone should pray is for salvation. With the hand prayer model, you can make a pinky promise prayer to God. It sounds elementary, but young people certainly understand it. It is a prayer confession and invitation for salvation by Jesus Christ. You must receive Christ BEFORE he will hear your other prayers. Of course, God hears all of the prayers of children who have not reached a point of accountability and understanding of sin (Dt 1:39; Is 7:16).
Disciple Coaches may use the Pinky Promise Prayer as a means of witnessing to young people.
The daily hand prayer: This prayer is illustrated with your hand. As you hold your hand in front of your heart with your thumb closest to you, number each finger as illustrated.
1) Pray for those closest to you
2) Pray for those who point the way for you
3) Government leaders
4) Those who are sick, the poor, the defenseless, and persecuted.
5) Yourself
These are simple prayer models but do what works for you and be sure to grow in prayer by using your own words.
6. Devotional Aides: You may use a daily devotional resource whether it is a book for the purpose or internet lesson. However, these may become the focus and can be distracting from the real purpose of daily worship. In fact, internet based devotionals often become substitutes for quality time spent with God. Reading a quick devotional delivered to your iPhone or droid is more like a drug than genuine devotional time with God. It makes you think you spent time with God but without the benefits. It is often too easy to become distracted by the sound notification of new emails. There is the tendency to interrupt your worship time by checking your emails for just a minute which often leads to more clicks of the mouse. They can become part of the same daily noise that prevents one from hearing God’s still small voice. Some useful devotional aides are:
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren
Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures for Intimate Worship by Kenneth Boa
Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures for Spiritual Growth by Kenneth Boa
7. Duration: The duration of your daily worship time will depend greatly on how much time you have without distractions and the cares of life and work. There will be times when your time will be short…10 minutes, and there will be times when you will get lost in prayer…30 minutes or more.
8. Listen: When you have finished praying—don’t get up and leave quickly. Instead, give yourself some time for the Lord to give you understanding or an impression. Remember that the Lord will never lead you to break either of the two Great Commandments—1) Love God above all, and 2) Love people including your enemies.
9. Be Consistent: Establishing a daily worship time requires consistency. Time, place, process, and length of time factor into developing a consistent and enjoyable experience. Human behavior experts tell us that it takes 21 to 30 days to break a habit or establish a new one. The Bible indicates a 40 day period of consistency may be required to establish transformational behaviors. Prophets and leaders fasted and prayed for 40 days, and God gave Nineveh 40 days to repent which suggests that period of time to change their behavior (Dt 9:25;1 Ki 19:8; Jon 3:4). The point is that you must not skip a day as you are establishing a daily worship time. If you skip a day then start the count over again.
Disciple Coaches should ask accountability questions to encourage consistency in daily worship times. i.e. “Out of the last 7 days, how many days did you have a daily private worship time?” “Please share some things you have written in your journal.”
10. Journal: Using the guidelines on journaling listed at the beginning of this section, journal your experience. Remember to go back in your journal and record when and how God answers a prayer concern. Recording answered prayer is a faith builder! If the place and time are recorded, the worshipper is able to virtually go back in time and experience the same feelings of the past whether good or bad. The experience is powerful and transformational.
——————–
QUESTIONS:
What practices or steps would you add to the daily worship experience?
How has God impressed or spoken to you as a direct result of your private worship experience?
Do you fast occasionally as a part of your private worship time? If so, how often and describe your process and experience.
Do you journal? If so, describe how it helps your private worship experience.
SD Blessings,
Dr. Tom Cocklereece, The Disciplist
——————– Dr. Tom Cocklereece is CEO of RENOVA Coaching and Consulting, LLC
Author “Simple Discipleship,” contributing writer L2L Blogazine
He is a pastor, an author, professional coach, and leadership specialist Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Blog | Book | Coaching Site
The church is losing the battle for souls on the battleground of Christian character—also known as—discipleship. A Barna Study said that in America, 3,500 — 4,000 churches close their doors each year. Baptist Press reported that an average of 880 SBC churches per year closed their doors from 1999 to 2009. Many leaders say it is reflective of a lack of evangelism but it may be reflective of a couple of other problems:
THE NEGLECTED DISCIPLESHIP ENGINE
SEE YOUR CHURCH AS A SYSTEM
Simple Discipleship Blog 