By Bill Allison and Dave Garda
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 1, go here.
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 2, go here.
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 3, go here.
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 4, go here.
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 5, go here.
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 6, go here.
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 7, go here.
For The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus-Part 8, go here.
A woman was sipping on a glass of wine while sitting on the patio with her husband. She said, "I love you so much, I don't know how I could ever live without you."
Her husband asked, "Is that you, or the wine talking?"
She replied, "It's me... and I'm talking to the wine."
What is it that you can't live without? What is your great obsession?
When I read the New Testament, I get the overwhelming sense that Jesus' disciples were obsessed with Jesus. I know a lot of people who like Jesus. I know many who claim they love Jesus. But to be honest, I know very few people who seem to be obsessed with Jesus.
Are you obsessed with Jesus?
To find out why this is so important to disciplemaking, keep reading.
The Disciplemaking Genius of Jesus
Eight Leading Indicators You’re a Part of a DLC....
Leading Indicator #8 A Disciplemaking Learning Community produces disciplemakers who are obsessed with Jesus.
“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” -Jesus in Matthew 10:37-39
“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John said, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” -Acts 4:18-20
Yeah, I know. Obsessed is a strong word-often with negative connotations. But it’s exactly the word I want to use because to be obsessed means that something or someone dominates or preoccupies your thoughts, feelings, and desires.
Frankly, it’s difficult to read the New Testament and not think of people who are obsessed with Jesus. And I mean obsessed. The only obsessions that you and I can have that won’t hurt us in any way is an obsession with Jesus. An obsession with Jesus has been incredibly healthy in every way in my life. To be obsessed with anything else is to inflict damage on ourselves.
According to Jesus, the mouth speaks what is really in our hearts (Luke 6:45). Ouch. So what do you find yourself talking a lot about these days? Could it be that that is your current obsession? What does that say about you?
Think about your DLC. When you’re DLC concludes a gathering, what/who do they talk about most? I encourage you to keep quiet and listen. This will tell you a lot.
At the first gathering of a DLC, I asked everyone to kneel together for a prayer time. I was hoping that kneeling together would show them Jesus was the center of the DLC and all of us are followers of Jesus trying to walk together. I noticed as we prayed together, some were mentioning me because I was the one who had initiated the DLC. About the third time someone mentioned my name in prayer, I sensed God speaking to my heart: “There is way too much Bill in this room.” I realized this was a teachable moment for our DLC. So after our prayer time, I drew something like this diagram to help them understand that a DLC not about me or anyone of us-it’s about us being obsessed with Jesus together.
It's important to not make yourself or any other person in the DLC the center of it. That place belongs to Jesus. Alone. An obsession with Jesus will help you to jealously guard Jesus' rightful place as the center of your DLC. It's a very good sign when people in a DLC walk away from a gathering talking way more about Jesus than:
—you
—your ministry
—their ministry
—any other ministry
—new models of ministry
—disciplemaking
—the great training tools and resources they're getting
—a favorite podcast preacher
—a new ministry book
—a conference
—the DLC itself
It's quite possible to think you're making disciples of Jesus when you're really just making disciples of yourself. This is why I keep talking about Jesus-like disciplemaking. Think about it. When you're DLC concludes a gathering, what/who do they talk about? The only obsession that won't hurt us is an obsession with Jesus. A DLC makes disciples of Jesus... not disciples of the person or ministry initiating it.
No obsession with Jesus = no DLC.Pause, Ponder, and Discuss
Pause:
When you're DLC concludes a gathering, what/who do they talk about most?
Ponder your DLC:
people in the DLC ministry stuff Jesus
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Discuss your thoughts.
Real Life DLC Stories: Obsessed with Jesus... It is great being in a DLC with others who share a deep passion for Jesus-even |
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This Cadre Connection is also available as a FREE PDF, get it here: Download the PDF |
Disciplemaking is Relationships Training
Disciplemaking Is Relationships is training that helps you and those in your ministry explore the disciplemaking genius of Jesus together.
If you're interested in pursuing a Jesus-like disciplemaking way of life, this training is for you-whether you're a stay-at-home mom, volunteer, or a paid church leader.
In the Disciplemaking Is Relationships training experience you'll explore D3 disciplemaking, mutual community, kavanah, haver learning, Disciplemaking Learning Communities, and much more. The manual includes Learning Labs for Disciplemaking Learning Communities. The Disciplemakers Journal is 25 biblical studies to help you wrestle the disciplemaking genius of Jesus together with your Disciplemaking Learning Community. And here's a cool fact: The Disciplemaking Is Relationships training was originally developed in Disciplemaking Learning Communities.
For more information about bringing this training to your church or ministry, contact Cadre Ministries.
Successful Ministry as Defined by Jesus
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Have you ever wondered what Jesus would say successful ministry is? That's exactly what this $.99 cent PDF download explores. Why is this question so important? Because if your definition of success is different than Jesus' then your definition of success is off. Here's how you can get back on target.
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A Taste of Cadre Training
Cadre training could be coming to a place near you, but you'll never know unless
you go here to find out.
Why eating boogers is good for you, senior citizen texting codes, how reading almost ruined my life, and a video that shows what good fathering looks like. It's all right here.
(After you click the link, scroll down and look for the words "Monday Funday.")
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Cadre Ministries: Equipping Local Churches to Make Volunteers WILDLY Successful!
Cadre Ministries is a [501(c)(3)] not-for-profit ministry.
To be trained to take Cadre training to your church/ministry, contact info@cadreministries.com and ask about Cadre's certification process.
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For Cadre training resources visit www.cadreministries.com/store. Cadre's fun-loving staff serve as support-based, God-dependent missionaries who can only do this ministry with Cadre because of generous friends like you. To make an online, tax-deductible donation to Cadre Ministries:
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Spring Lake Church, Green Bay, WI | 06-09-2013
