Tag: commitment

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Christian Living

Discipleship takes the Long View: It’s a Marathon, not a Sprint.

The idea of being a growing disciple and a disciple-maker requires patience and a willingness for thinking long-term – like preparing to run a marathon. I like this illustration from Robbie Gallaty’s Rediscovering Discipleship:

    A student asked the president of his school whether he could not take a shorter course than the one prescribed. “Oh yes,” replied the President, “but then it depends on what you want to be. When God wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred years. But when He wants to make a squash, He takes six months.

Ha! Great point. Are you seeking to be a squash or a mighty oak?
photo of large tree symbolizing the idea of discipleship being a marathon
A mighty oak of course. So how will you get there? You need to be thinking of your Christian life as a marathon, which takes a very different type of preparation than a sprint.

For such a life-change, I keep encouraging you to consider joining a small discipleship group. Here’s why I’m sold on them… because they have been instrumental in changing my life.

First, through a one-on-one Paul/Timothy model with a Mr. R.G. who mentored & discipled me as a college freshman and sophomore. (As he is still doing this with others in various places around the world, we try to keep his name off the internet so as to not pose difficulty for him entering certain countries.)

Then at FBC Bay St. Louis, Al Green invited me to be part of a group of pastors including LaRue Stephens, Paul Crowley, and D. Broughton. This group had a huge impact on me! And from there, several men in my Sunday School class at BSL formed a group that provided great growth. And in Newton, I have been in several groups with men of all ages, and each has challenged me in unique ways.

God has changed me through D-groups and continues to do so through them. Wherever I am, I guarantee that I am going to find a small group of men to be in a d-group, so that they can encourage me, support me with prayer, and hold me accountable to walk more like Christ.

Robbie Gallaty:

    Are small groups indispensable for life change? Ed Stetzer and Eric Geiger think so. In their book Transformational Groups they provide evidence to support the indispensability of meeting in a smaller context. The findings revealed that people in a group read the Bible more attentively, pray more regularly, confess sins more frequently, share the gospel more freely, give more generously, and serve more faithfully than those by themselves.

Wow. The research shows that d-groups create mighty oaks for God. Isn’t that what you said you wanted to become?

I believe that the reason such groups are so impactful is due to the fact that the group members are holding each other accountable to reading God’s Word. God’s Word transforms lives. And yet too many of us are reading too little of it. We read a brief devotion that has 1 scripture verse, a ½ page of comments, and a prayer to recite. It is not that these don’t have some value, but the Bible is meant to be read in larger chunks. And a chapter of a day isn’t much. Make the commitment to read large chunks (at least a chapter a day) of God’s Word. It will transform your life.

“The Word of God contains all the practical, real world advice a man needs. When you get in the Word, you learn how to be a better father, a better parent, and a better follower of Christ.” (Robbie Gallaty)

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Categories
Christian Living

Embracing a Discipleship Commitment for Your Spiritual Growth

Part of the reason that I struggled with writing for my website in 2017 was my involvement in several discipleship groups during the year. At FBC Newton, we have been focused on developing these groups (D-Groups), and they have been my priority, so anything extra was relegated to the back-burner. But as the original groups have now split into multiple new groups, my time commitments are not quite as taxing as they were, and so I now have a bit more time to write. These D-groups have been a blessing to me, and I wanted to share with you the commitments of the groups, because I think they are important commitments for every Christian to embrace.

Each group consist of 3-5 people of the same gender who meet together regularly to

  • Pray for one another.
  • Discuss how to live out the teachings of Jesus.
  • Sharpen one another in Christian living.
  • Hold each other accountable in their Christian walk.

    • Don’t each of us need these things in our lives to aid us in our Christian discipleship?

    “But that means you are asking me to add something extra to my schedule. Do you know how busy I am?”

    I know, we are all extremely busy. But…

    Do you not have time for something extra if it will help you grow significantly with Jesus Christ?
    If your answer is “No, I do not,” then that may mean that you need to give something else up.

    a pocketwatch to symbolize the need to make time for discipleship
    Will You Make Time For Discipleship This Year?

    Commitments to one of our Discipleship Group Include:

  • Meeting with your group regularly.
  • Reading at least 1 chapter of the Bible each day, Monday thru Friday.
  • Writing down what God is teaching you through your reading.
  • Sharing during the group.
  • And the final commitment is that at the end of no more than 2 years, the group will divide to start at least one additional group to do the same thing again with more people.


    • That’s It. Pretty simple commitments. Read God’s Word every day and get together with others to tell them how God is transforming you through it.

    So, if you know that the Great Commission of Jesus commands you to “Go and Make Disciples,” then how are you being obedient to His command?
            Who is discipling you?
            Who are you discipling?

    If you do not have a clear answer to these final questions, then something needs to change in your life to make space for obedience to a key command of Jesus!

    And let me just say… You can do this!

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    Categories
    Christian Living

    Jesus Wants You To Own Nothing

    A photo of sunlight breaking through the clouds symbolizing God and His desire for us to own nothing and to turn everything over to Him
    My last post was about the fact that Jesus is worth everything. And I used an illustration from R.A. Torrey to help show how Abraham had learned this truth. Today, I want to share with you the rest of what Torrey said about what happened in Abraham’s life. I want to tell you that Jesus wants you to own nothing and for you to give Him complete ownership of everything you have. If you missed the previous post and want to read the first half to “catch up,” click here: Brian’s Previous Post

    At this point, Abraham has followed God’s commands, he has taken Isaac to a mountain, and he has prepared to sacrifice his son, believing that God could somehow raise him from the dead. He has raised his hand to kill Isaac, but at the very last moment God stopped Abraham. He tells him:

        I never intended that you should actually slay your son. I only wanted to remove him from the temple of your heart that I might reign unchallenged there…. Now you may have the boy, sound and well…seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

        The old man of God lifted his head to respond to the Voice, and stood there on the mount strong and pure and grand, a man marked out by the Lord for special treatment, a friend and favorite of the Most High. Now he was a man wholly surrendered, a man utterly obedient, a man who possessed nothing. He had concentrated his all in the person of his dear son, and God had taken it from him. God could have begun out on the margin of Abraham’s life and worked inward to the center.

        But He chose rather to cut quickly to the heart and have it over in one sharp act of separation…. It hurt cruelly, but it was effective. I have said that Abraham possessed nothing. Yet was not this poor man rich? Everything he had owned before was his still to enjoy: sheep, camels, herds, and goods of every sort. He had also his wife and his friends, and best of all he had his son Isaac safe by his side.

        He had everything, but he possessed nothing. There is the spiritual secret. There is the sweet theology of the heart which can be learned only in the school of renunciation. The books on systematic theology overlook this, but the wise will understand. After that bitter and blessed experience I think the words “my” and “mine” never again had the same meaning for Abraham. The sense of possession which they connote was gone from his heart. Things had been cast out forever. They had now become external to the man. His inner heart was free from them. The world said, “Abraham is rich,” but the aged patriarch only smiled. He could not explain it, but he knew that he owned nothing, that his real treasures were inward and eternal.

        There can be no doubt that this possessive clinging to things is one of the most harmful habits in the life. Because it is so natural, it is rarely recognized for the evil that it is. But its outworkings are tragic. We are often hindered from giving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety. This is especially true when those treasures are loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save.

        Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.

    Abraham committed all He had to God. He retained ownership of nothing – not even the life of His own precious child. No matter what God commanded, Abraham was willing to do. Am I a person who has committed everything to God for safe-keeping? Have I turned all that I possess over to Him so that I am now one who owns nothing and yet find myself rich in Him?

    What are the things that you have refused to give to Him?

    Categories
    Worship

    I’m Just Too Busy. So Are You.

    a close-up of a watch signifying that we are too busyWe sure do stay busy around here. Work takes up a lot of our time. And then, of course, the commitments to our family require us to block out additional time each week. And then if I own anything, then that house, yard, car, etc. will “own” me as well, as I’ll have some things that I have to do to maintain the upkeep of these items – more time needed. That doesn’t leave much time for me to do the things I was wanting to do this week, but I’ll find a way to carve out a few hours for exercise, recreation, entertainment, and relaxation here and there. And all of that will fill up the hours of my entire week. And so what I find is that I am busy. And what I have found out, is that since I am so busy…

    I’m Too Stinking Busy to Pray
    You probably are too.

    I mean, where can I find extra time to do that “devotional” that my pastor keeps telling me to prioritize? Where can I find a few extra minutes to stop and have some real prayer time with God? I don’t have an extra minute, and I am already tired from all that I am doing. It seems that here in America we have become so busy that we’ve “elbowed” out the possibility of having any time left for a serious relationship with God. So I give him a minute here to read a quick Bible verse attached to a devotional. And I’ll spend a little time telling Him what I need for the day as I drive into work, in between thinking about how to get the kids to their after-school activities and what I need to pick up from the grocery for dinner.

    It seems we have forgotten that God desires a relationship with us. Instead I seem to just give him my leftovers. Leftover minutes here and there. Not enough for a real relationship with a human… much less the God of this universe.

    The great reformer Martin Luther has been attributed with stating: “I generally pray two hours every day… except on very busy days… On those days, I pray three.”

    When I read the first part of my sentence, I think, “Sure, but Martin Luther wasn’t busy. That’s why he had the time to pray. Back in those ancient days, he didn’t have much to do but to contemplate on God.” But that is not the truth. Martin Luther was a very busy man – defending his theology, translating the Bible into German, writing books, preparing sermons, teaching students, leading a Reformation – certainly no less busy than I am today… and probably even busier. However, instead of following Luther’s example and spending MORE time in prayer during the busy days, I tend to pray less. He believed he was too busy NOT to pray.

    Instead of coming to the recognition that “I am too busy not to pray,” I sacrifice my time with God for getting all these other things in my life accomplished.

    And anyway, does prayer really even make a difference?

    Well, we say that it does. But our lack of doing so may be “telling” as to what we really believe about the answer to that question. Why do we take these two things that we say make a difference (reading the very Word of God and talking to Him about it), and yet spend so little time doing them?

    Perhaps…
    “Our failure to think of prayer as a privilege may be partly due to the fact that we can pray at any time. The door to prayer is open so continuously that we fail to avail ourselves of an opportunity which is always there.” We know that if we don’t pray today, then there is always tomorrow. We know that if we decide we are too busy to read the Bible today, then there is always tomorrow. But if we are too busy for prayer and Bible study today, then guess what? It is likely that we’re also gonna be too busy for it tomorrow.

    Do I really believe that my prayers could actually make a difference in this world and in my life? do you? We agree that we should pray, but we don’t talk about the fact that our prayers can actually change things. Jesus did.

    In regard to the work to be done in “the harvest,” Jesus indicated that there are so many people that need the Father’s love. And that there is a shortage of compassionate disciples. But instead of telling people to Go out and Work Harder. Jesus said… So Pray About It! Pray that the Father would send out more workers.

    Our model is “Do More.” Jesus’ model is “Pray More.”

    Jesus believed that prayer mattered. He knew that by praying to the Father, the Father would work on peoples’ hearts and would move them to desire to serve.

    God’s Word says that prayer makes a difference. Jesus said the prayer makes a difference. Do you really believe that “your prayers will determine anything?” If you do, then make a commitment –
    Parents, that you will begin to have a regular time of prayer and Bible reading with (and for) your children. If it is really a priceless book and prayer can change their lives, then your children need you to share that with them.

    Spouses, that you will begin to have a regular time of prayer and Bible reading with (and for) each other. This is one way to help “divorce-proof” your marriage.

    Carve out the time in your busy day to take time with the King of the Universe. You need it.

    You are too busy NOT to pray.

    And it will change the world.
    It will change your family.
    It will change you.

    Categories
    Worship

    Developing Your Personal Worship Plan

    “Private personal worship is an effective tool of grace in the hands of God to kill those things in you that must die in order that you may be what you have been called to be.” –Paul Tripp

    praying hands on top of a bible symbolizing personal worship

    The last two years at FBC Newton where I pastor, we have provided people with a simple guide to use as they think through a personal worship plan. It is a list of some key spiritual areas that each person should consider strengthening and it provides some examples that can be used to determine new spiritual commitments for the year.

    At the end of the post is a link that will let you download a pdf file that can be printed on a regular sheet of paper and then folded and placed in your Bible so you can refer to it throughout the year.

    Here are the areas we ask people to consider praying through with examples of some possible commitments that could be selected or adapted:

    Reading of God’s Word
    I will commit to a daily Bible reading of ___ minutes per day.
    I will commit to reading ___ chapter(s) per day.
    I will commit to reading through the New Testament, Old Testament, or Entire Bible this year.

    Prayer Life
    I will commit to a daily prayer time of ____ minutes daily.
    I will commit to pray daily with my spouse & children.
    I will commit to pray with others outside of “church time.”

    Personal Praise
    I will commit to listen to only Christian music in my vehicle.
    I will add personal praise into my daily devotion time.

    Financial Giving
    I will commit to tithe this year.
    I will commit to increase my giving by ________ this year.
    I will be a better steward of my remaining money.

    Church Attendance
    I will commit to attend a small group Bible study such as Sunday School regularly.
    I will commit to participate in Sun. / Wed. Night services at my church.
    I will commit to attend all services of the church.

    Ministry Involvement
    I will commit to find a ministry service so that I am using my spiritual gifts and abilities to serve my church and/or community for the Lord.

    Scripture Memory
    I will memorize _____ verses that are important to me.

    Reading Christian Literature
    I will commit to reading at least one Christian non-fiction book each quarter of the year.

    Accountability Partnership(s)
    I will commit to finding someone of the same gender to start an accountability group.
    I will meet with my account. partner ____ times per month.

    Mentoring & Discipleship
    I will commit to finding someone to mentor me this year.
    I will commit to finding someone to disciple this year.

    Obedience – acting on God’s promptings
    I will commit to say “yes” to all God asks of me.
    I will commit to find and attempt at least one “action” to take each week from Sunday School/Worship.

    Sharing My Faith
    I will commit to writing out my testimony this year.
    I will commit to sharing my testimony in Sunday School.
    I will have the goal of turning every conversation I have toward Jesus.

    Family Devotions (and praise)
    I will commit to leading my family to have a devotional time together ____ time(s) per week.

    Other Commitments God Wants Me To Make
    Perhaps to cease a behavior/habit

    Personal Worship Plan Booklet Link Just click on this pdf image link to open or download the file.

    (if you are reading this on facebook or another source that doesn’t allow you to download the file, you will need to go to www.brianrushing.net to download it)