CCK leaders rediscovering Jesus approach to disciple-making

discipleship versus conversion Most of evangelism today is obsessed with getting someone to make a decision; the apostles, however, were obsessed with making disciples. Evangelism that focuses on decisions short circuits and yes, the word is appropriate aborts the design of the gospel; while evangelism that aims at disciples slows down to offer the full gospel of Jesus and the apostles. Scot McKnight The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News

Jesus approach to disciple-making Jesus is recorded twenty times in the New Testament as saying Follow me. This command brought a small group into an apprenticing relationship with Jesus and with one another - through which he taught and immersed them in kingdom mission. Through these relationships Jesus trained them to reproduce: turned His disciples into fishers of men (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17), trained them in loving obedience - Jn 14:15: If you love me, you will keep my commandments Commanded them to train others (Mt 28:19 20). Following His resurrection, Christ commissioned those He had trained to wait for the Holy Spirit s empowering (Acts 1:4) CHRISTLIKENESS IN MISSION AND CHARACTER

How the Brain Learns by David Sousa, 2001

Hebraic understanding of learning and change

#missional-incarnational impulse" #tabernacle" #incarnation" And the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth John 1:14 Hirsch (2006) p133

Group work! Luke 9:1-6 (ESV) Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles 9 And he called the twelve together and gave them power (dunamis) and authority (exousiai) over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.[a] 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Group work!!! 1. Take turns retelling it or paraphrasing it in your own words (without looking at the text) 2. What do we learn about God? What do we learn about people/ourselves? Fight the urge to bring in other passages that others might be unfamiliar with. 3. If you believe this passage is from God, how could you live out this passage this week? 4. Who could you share what you have learned with?

disciple-making environments Raise the bar on discipleship - establish Christ-like living and acting as normal Develop a set of discipleship practices and habits - communion and kingdom seeking Activate the priesthood of all believers - everyone participates

raising the bar 1. obeying Jesus (scripture, Holy Spirit, accountability) 2. lingering in God s company 3. speaking about the things of God 4. longing for the return of Christ 5. forsaking other gods and idols 6. laying down and sharing our lives 7. loving what God has created 8. forgiving others

communion and kingdom seeking" St Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556): The key to a healthy spirituality is to find God in all things and work constantly to gain freedom in order to cooperate with God s will.

disciples of Jesus the agnosticism of inattention Jesus spiritual habits and practices solitude - unplugging silence - attuning fasting - detoxing prayer - communion

myth: sacred and secular" debunking dualism There is no such thing as sacred and secular. If the world and all in it was created by God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - then there can be no sphere of life that is not open to the rule of God. There is only sacred and desecrated.

detoxing consumerism There is little doubt that in consumerism we are dealing with a very significant religious phenomenon. If the role of religion is to offer a sense of identity, purpose, meaning, and community, then it can be said that consumerism is a type of religion. Much that goes by the name of advertising is an explicit offer of identity, meaning, purpose, community, and significance. Most marketing strategies appeal to one or more of these religious impulses. " The challenge for the church in this situation is that it is forced to compete with the other invitations for our allegiance and in the end can become just another vendor of goods and services. The church operating in an attractional mode, primarily run by professionals, has always been susceptible to this lure. Furthermore, under the influence of church growth practice, consumerism became the driving ideology of the church s ministry. Its proponents taught us how to market and tailor the church to suit target audiences. By failing to intentionally focus on making disciples, we inadvertently cultivated religious consumerism."

what are idols Every self exists in relation to values perceived as making life worth living. A value is anything good in the created order - any idea, relation, object or person in which one has an interest, from which one derives significance These values compete In time one is prime to choose a centre of value by which other values are judged. When a finite value has been elevated to centrality and imagined as a final source of meaning, then one has chosen a god. One has a god when a finite value is viewed as that without which one cannot receive life joyfully. Thomas C. Oden: Two Worlds: Notes on death of modernity in America and Russia

discipleship practices and habits The Bible affirms Jesus was communion-seeking and kingdom-seeking in relationship and partnership with the Father and the Spirit. To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, Where is the Father? Don t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren t mere words. I don t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act. 11-14 Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can t believe that, believe what you see these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I ll do it. That s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I ll do. " John 14: 11-14

discipleship practices and habits He taught his disciples to be communion-seeking and kingdom-seeking in relationship with the Father, himself and the Spirit. If you love me, show it by doing what I ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can t take him in because it doesn t have eyes to see him, doesn t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! " John 14: 11-14"

Group work!!make a list of the instructions Jesus gives his disciples What surprises you? Luke 10:1-9, 17-19 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace to this house! 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you " I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power (exousiai) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power (dunamis) of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. "

Group work!!make a list of the instructions Jesus gives his disciples What surprises you? Luke 10:1-9 " Jesus appoints his disciples" Jesus sends them out to the places he intends to go" Pray for workers (not the harvest)" Harvest is plentiful: missional opportunities are already present all around them" They are to take nothing with them (lay aside earthly means/possessions/host status/become vulnerable and depend on host for food, somewhere to stay, protection, hospitality." Look for the person of peace and stay with whoever welcomes them" Immerse themselves in the life of the host culture: stay with, eat with, heal any sick among the people they are hosted by, proclaim the kingdom has come near." They went in the power (dunamis) and authority (exousiai) that Jesus had given them. They brought the kingdom into people s lives in this way."

Luke 10:1-11 People of Peace are: Prepared by God Receptive to the gospel Influential (gate-keepers / insiders ) to an Oikos (greek = household, extended family, social circle. 40-60 people). 24

Luke 10:1-11 Oikos is the New Testament word for extended household or family who functioned together with a common purpose. Every new believer has a circle of influence including family, friends, coworker and neighbours. The Person of Peace is the doorway into an oikos. 25

Luke 10:1-11 David Watson observes that dependence on outsiders makes it almost impossible to rapidly replicate new churches. There is no reason to reproduce leaders since the outsider stays in charge. Church planting movements require insiders (people of peace), whom the outsider (pioneer) equips, teaches, trains, coaches and mentors. These insiders then do exactly the same with their people (DNA) 26

Jesus strategy for disciple-making Break into different groups of two to three people. Each group will read a passage from the table below and identify the person of peace, the pioneer, and the outcome? Scripture Who is the person of peace? What does the person of peace do? Who is the pioneer? What does the pioneer do? What was the result Shift from outsider to insider? Jn 4:7-42 Acts 10:1-8, 24-28 Acts 16:11-15, 40 Mt 9:9-13 Mk 1:29-34 Lk 19:1-10 Lk 10:38-42 Acts 18:1-4, Rom 16:1-5 32

Jesus strategy for disciple-making In twos or threes: What are the advantages of finding a person or house of peace for reaching a social group or community? Share a significant insight from this study 33

Simple steps Pray and Go in 2s! Presence - being sent to those Jesus intends to go means we bring the kingdom near to others and incarnate it amongst others Proximity - in their and our homes, at work, socially and in our day to day encounters Proclamation - sharing the good news in conversations Power from the Holy Spirit - healing, deliverance, spiritual warfare, endurance 33

Consider your oikos. On the map place a coloured dot to represent: Home Place and sphere of work e.g. Business, Politics, Education, Health, Law, Family, Media, Technology, Non-profit, Church People of Peace Mapping Places you regularly socialise in Places you go to pursue hobbies or interests Places God has put on your heart to pray for 34

Oikos Artists Homeless shelter guests Young families Students Work colleagues

Musicians BBC Artists Oikos Homeless shelter guests Overseas Students Local Cafes Young families Students School Work colleagues New neighbourhoods

Your Oikos (5 mins) Consider your relational worlds family, work colleagues, friends, church and local community. Draw a diagram that captures them. Add in any ties that connect people and groups across them. Circle any People of Peace Simple steps In 2s & 3s, discuss what your drawing says to you about how the gospel could spread through your relationship networks. How will you begin looking for or responding to a person of peace in your relational world this week? Pray together that God would lead each of you to a person of peace this week. 34

Simple steps Finding people of peace Ask God to reveal a PoP in your work place through a natural conversation Prayer walking - recruit a partner, pray and ask God to lead you to a group or area, be open to the Holy Spirit s leading and see who/where he leads (day and night) Visit homes and wherever communities gather, to look for people of peace Offer to pray for people - If God would do a miracle in your life, what would it be? Listen for challenges/problems and turn them into prayers Respond to a community need/passion- english classes, homeless shelter, food bank, art/music/dance classes - offer discovery bible study to people of peace Train new followers of Jesus to make disciples- best evangelists! Your own ideas... 36

#freshexpressions" #RobYackley" The journey of a fresh expression of church"

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