Bob Johnson has served as the executive pastor at Chapelwood United Methodist church in Houston, TX, for 14 years, where he has led lay and staff teams related to discipleship. He recently shifted focus to bring more attention to the church’s discipleship-related strategic goals. He has recently joined Ascending Leaders as an adjunct consultant/coach.
Bob and I have been acquaintances for years, but in the past probably six months, Bob and I have gotten to know each other very well. He has been part of one of Ascending Leaders’ DiscipleOn communities – which are virtual communities of people in churches of a variety of denominations around the United States who are working on discipleship.
We’re going to focus in on four stages of a disciple’s growth. You know, Jesus’ last words to his eleven disciples were, “Make disciples.” (Matthew 8:18-19) In other words, make more people like themselves. People who are growing more deeply in love with Jesus.
Why is this brown cardboard box that has “Kingdom of Me” and “My Little Cardboard Castle” written on the sides in Mike Johnson’s office? Join the expert webinar with Greg Hawkins and find out. Find out what it means and how it helps Mike flourish as a sacrificing disciple deeply united to Christ.
Our Guests for this Episode – Rev. Matt McClure and Rev. Peter Cammarano:
Rev. Matt McClure is the pastor of Prairie City Christian Reformed Church in Prairie City, Iowa. It’s a small farming community; Matt came there seven years ago after he graduated from seminary. This is a church that had a history before that of beating up pastors, one of those churches that almost closed, and then they went through a pretty remarkable recovery and looked forward to a better future. The church has been growing well under Matt’s leadership. I’ve been coaching with Matt and the church for about the last four years. We worked first on charting their next course as a church, and then around discipleship, and they’ve done a good job of this. I’m glad that Matt’s with us here for this episode.
Peter is the pastor of Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Lake Jackson, Texas. That’s a church of about 160 people on Sunday morning. Peter has been there seven years, and 260 on a Sunday.
Mike Johnson is about the intentional formation of people. Over the last fifteen years he has focused on the formation of people through innovating, creating, writing, coaching and teaching. Ten years ago he planted the ministry Ascending Leaders. In 2004 Mike received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Seminary. Prior to this Mike worked as a CR church planter and pastor in Missouri City, Texas. Mike and his wife make their home in Sugar Land, Texas. Their two children are married and live in the area. They are all employed in the field of education.
As you progress through the Stages of Faith, the Beyond Yourselfcollection is an excellent choice for furthering your spiritual growth. We recommend you start with Your Pathways, then the Spirit’s Fruit series, and then Christ Habits before jumping into Beyond Yourself.
Beyond Yourself challenges you with this question: Do you really own anything?
We complain that people are wasting our time, we are possessive of our money, and we get angry when circumstances upset our lives. But those things are not really ours at all; they are God’s.
Beyond Yourself teaches you to be a good steward of the things God graciously gives to you. This perspective of being a steward rather than an owner provides relief from the anxiety that a controlling attitude brings, and it enables you to use your resources more effectively and meaningfully. At the end of our lives, what will matter most will be to hear God tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:21).
There are five books in this collection, and we suggest you use them in the following order:
Receive, in concise and practical means, ideas regarding life stewardship
Gain a fuller understanding of what you uniquely bring to the situations God calls you to steward, allowing you to experience the satisfaction and joy that comes as you provide godly stewardship
Begin to experience recovery from past poor stewardship decisions
Build a plan for growth as a wise steward
“Scripture teaches that everything belongs to God. Ultimately, nothing really belongs to us. He created this world and everything in it. He made it. He gave it, and He can take it away.” From Handle With Care (pg. 4)
Christ Habits looks at perhaps the most crucial question for any Christ-follower: how can I open my life as fully as possible to the transforming grace of God, and so be ever more shaped into the likeness of Jesus? God has a deep desire to form us into the image of Christ–and as he does, so we find ourselves less and less thirsty for sin, and at the same time more able than ever to experience His love.
We are saved by grace, and we are remade by grace; there is nothing we can do to make ourselves more Christ-like. But we can learn from Christ how to order our lives so that rather than sipping grace cautiously from a teacup, we can drink deeply from it’s soul-refreshing stream.
There are nine books in this collection, and we suggest you use them in the following order:
Experience life change, even if in only a small way, from experiencing over forty different Christ habits (spiritual disciplines).
Discover some Christ habits that you would like to make a regular part of your life.
”My life is lived out in the tension between longing and reality. The longing of my heart is to be drawn ever deeper into intimacy with God: to increasingly celebrate his sacred presence in my everyday world. But the reality of my life is that my disordered character–the desires and drives, vices and behaviors form the root of my brokenness–drag me in the opposite direction, alienating me from God. My appetite for God and my appetite for sin are in violent and destructive conflict. If you share that tension, the may be about to take you on the the most important journey of your life. These are practical books. The disciplines and practices described here by Ascending Leaders have the potential to change our lives, our churches, and our communities–but only if we are prepared to live them, rather than simply discuss them.”
The Spirit’s Fruit collection was the second set of books Ascending Leaders published for small group use, after Christ Habits, but we recommend you start with these as soon as you’ve gone through Your Pathways and before you dive into the spiritual disciplines found in Christ Habits.
There are nine books in this collection, and we suggest you use them in the following order:
Each book has six sessions for your small group. In general, each session is divided into three unique learning experiences.
Personal preparation: Each participant should read the session material and do the short exercise at the end of the reading. If you are ever short on time, you will be better served if you skim the reading and do the exercise, than if you skip the experience of the exercise.
Small-group discussion: The group discussion questions follow the exercise page for each session. You are NOT expected to have answers for these questions before you meet. Join in the discussion and share your thoughts and insights.
Hiking Partners: The last question on the group discussion page can be most effective in smaller sub-groups of 3-4 people, which we call “hiking partners.” This is a time to step out and apply the principles from the session. If it is feasible to keep the same “hiking partners” each week, the encouragement experience is even stronger.
Our desire is that this is not simply a learning experience, but an opportunity for the Spirit of God to work in our hearts to make our natural behaviors be more like Jesus.
Becoming like Jesus is what the Christian walk is all about. And becoming like Jesus requires us to change how we live, think, talk and love. And this is where the Spirit’s Fruit collection is so meaningful: It challenges us to not only discover the truth about who we really are, but it takes us on a “journey of sanctification.” It helps us cultivate the Spirit’s fruit in every part of our being. It is my privilege, therefore, to commend this resource to all readers.
Look Inside
Once you’ve completed the Spirit’s Fruit studies, you’ll be ready for Christ Habits! Stay tuned for more information next week…
One of the questions we hear a lot is where to start with our small group studies. To answer that question, we’re starting up a series of blog posts to give you a peek inside each of our study collections! If you want to dive in, the best place to get started right away is with Your Pathways: Strong Connection with God.
The core idea behind this study is that the most meaningful way that one person relates to God may be very different from the way another feels closest to or best communicates with their Maker. What works for one person may not work for another. That is the beauty of our diversity and the majesty of our God.
As a participant in this study, you will:
Become more aware of the unique features of your pathways as a first step to experiencing life change, even if in an elementary way.
Begin to understand the pathways and how they impact your life.
Grow closer to God your Creator by gaining greater understanding of your personal primary pathways.
Develop discernment into your primary pathways.
Gain insight into how to use your pathways to deepen your love for God.
The single most important and powerful body of information a leader possess is self-awareness. Please take this study seriously. Do it for you.
Look Inside
Once you’ve completed Your Pathways, next up we recommend jumping into the Spirit’s Fruit collection. Come back next week to learn more!
In a continuing effort to improve our support of discipleship in churches, we recently asked the members of DiscipleOn! to complete an end-of-season survey. Here’s just a sample of the congregational impact stories shared in the survey:
”Our staff and the discipleship team have a much greater understanding of how to review our programs and we seek to make our classes and programs cover all of the stages as a core planning tool.”
”It kept me focused on developing the spiritual pathway.”
”We were able to learn from the community and the vault about a team charter for our discipleship team – which was timely and wonderful for renewing the team’s commitment.”
We are also taking some of the feedback on where we can improve and making some important changes for next season. The biggest change is that we’re offering a “BASICS” community for people who are newer to the concepts of the stages of faith and a discipleship continuum approach. This group will have access to everything the other groups have, but will have a set series of topics for their monthly catalytic gatherings. Our desire is for this to address the needs of those who felt overwhelmed and unsure about where to start.
Our favorite takeaway from the survey?
100% of respondents agreed (or strongly agreed) that “I am likely to recommend DiscipleOn to others!”
Spiritual guides are not experts at talking and giving opinions; they are experts at listening.
1 Samuel 3:1-18 illustrates the role of a spiritual guide in a disciple’s life. In this passage, the young Samuel hears a voice call his name three times, and each time, he runs to Eli – but the voice is not Eli’s. Although his eyesight is failing, Eli sees what Samuel does not; he understands that God is trying to speak and instructs the boy to listen.
Eli provides excellent spiritual guidance; as a priest who has studied God’s word longer than Samuel, he recognizes that the voice could be from God. He does not make assumptions about what God wants to tell Samuel, but rather he instructs Samuel to simply listen and obey. He also encourages Samuel to be honest and report exactly what God has told him, even though it is difficult. And finally, he confirms spiritual truth to Samuel, telling him, “He is the Lord. He will do what He thinks is good” (3:18).
Samuel, for his part, persistently comes to Eli and shows eagerness to listen. The Bible says that “the boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence” (3:1); his whole spiritual life lies before Eli, and he remains open to correction, unlike Eli’s notorious sons.
Ask yourself, how would you have responded to Samuel’s persistence? Identify the “Eli’s” in your life who have listened to you with patience and helped you name your experience of God.
A spiritual guide will not replace God’s voice in your life but will help you to better discern His voice in your daily life.
