Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Foundation of All Discipleship

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

Yesterday during our Missional Association church planters luncheon I was reminded in a very strong way that the essence of all we do as pastors and Christ followers is rooted in this verse.  If all we do and who we are, is not abiding in Christ, our works, our ministry, our life is nothing.  Our day, our Christian walk must start out with this basic principle, abide in Christ.  

When we reproduce disciples, do we reproduce ourselves?  Or do we reproduce Christ?  Do we reproduce workers?  Or do we reproduce others who also abide in Christ?

When making disciples we must live and lay down this foundational truth found in Jesus' words of John 15. It is such a simple truth that we often overlook the significance of it in our lives.  In our busy days with so much to do and so much to teach, we breeze past it.  Yet everything rests on this principle of abiding in Him, all doctrine, every aspect of the Christian life. We cannot undervalue this aspect of the Christian life and cannot focus on it too much.  

What does abiding in Christ look like in your life?  

I've posted two other blog posts about discipleship and bearing fruit that speak to this.



Monday, March 10, 2014

The most important message to pastors and church planters

There's a lot of information to be processed and strategies to develop when planting and pastoring a church.   Much of it is important but if you neglect this, you will miss out on what God wants to accomplish in your life and church.
Frank Viola's message is the single most important aspect of a Christian leader's life. 

Click on the link to hear the message Audio message

For the written shortened transcript click The transcript

I'd love to read your thoughts on Viola's message.  

What does Jesus' statement "pick up your cross and follow me" mean to you?

What are some of the crosses has God given you to carry?

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