Year: 2017
Listening Together: Gaining Spiritual Direction
Spiritual friends are as essential to our individual following of God’s directions as close trusted friends are to life in general. In holy listening, we can serve each other by truly being present and asking probing questions – while trusting the Holy Spirit to do His work, and respecting the spiritual journey of your friend. In this setting, you are not the teacher, advice giver, or counselor; this requires humility and a deep trust of God to do His work without your input. Spiritual direction focuses entirely on the relationship between God and the person seeking direction. Become for your friend a mirror in which can be seen a more accurate reflection of his or her beliefs about God and his or her discipleship.
Even though God’s direction for us is unique and personal to each of us, the norm for the directing process includes a community of like-minded followers of Jesus.
- Grab two friends, open up your calendars, and schedule a 30-minute block of time to go through an exercise of holy listening for spiritual friends.
- Print off our free guide and follow the instructions for a wonderful experience of intentional practice.
- Remember that you and your friends meet in the company of God, who is the true guiding presence of this time together.
When we intentionally grow through spiritual guidance, whether we use groups, friendships, or individuals…we will grow in our connectedness to God.
This group exercise is adapted from Listening Together: Gaining Spiritual Direction in our Christ Habits collection of small group studies. Read more…The quarterly publication of Ascending Leaders, for churches, leaders and disciples. Read more…
DisciplePaths – Behind the Scenes or Out in Front?
Coaching Question:
“In your experience, is it important that we name each of our discipleship studies (boulders, rocks, pebbles) by which stage it’s in for people in the congregation to see, or is that more for our discipleship staff and team in a ‘behind the scenes’ sense?'”
Mike’s Answer:
I suspect you and I agree on this statement–the best answer is the one that will clearly and simply encourage people into growth opportunities that will move more people at each of the four stages of a disciples’ growth forward in their love for Jesus.
Using stage names publicly will only help if the majority of the congregation understands discipleship by stages because of various means of communication over months and years and recognize the titles you have given to the stages.
If that is not yet the case, then do not confuse people by putting it out there. Rather, simply describe a growth experience by what may be true for them. For example, you could say ‘If you are trying to grow in Christ and sense you need to take one step forward in growing more intimate with Christ, this group may be just what you need.’ And take more steps over coming months to help people understand discipleship by stages and what it can mean for them.
If you want to be a part of this work, please consider making a donation today.
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The 2016 Mission Progress Report is available now!
Each year we pause and look back to assess progress toward our mission of helping churches, leaders and disciples flourish. In 2016, our focus was on expanding and concentrating on:
- Our Staff Team… to multiply our ministry.
- Our Audience… so that we have a stronger interdenominational impact.
- Our Revenue Base… to respond well to the large need for better discipleship.
- Our Deliverables… so we can more clearly communicate our mission.
How did we do?
Well, one of our exciting takeaways from the report is that with only a 40% increase in staff hours, we led over 60% more workshops, coached 70% more churches, and taught nearly 150% more people!
You can read the full report online or request a print copy by emailing us at info@ascendingleaders.org.
Read the Full Report
If you want to be a part of this work, please consider making a donation today.
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Cross Connection: Chapelwood United Methodist Church
According to Associate Pastor Kate Walker, the Discipleship Pathway helps take people from where they are to where they want to be, in a spiritual sense. Cathy has helped Chapelwood set up a 12-18 month process that defines what the church will offer people in each of the four key faith development stages. “I thoroughly enjoy working with different churches and denominations to determine what is needed to help members grow as more committed disciples,” notes Cathy.
Read the full article in the Cross Connection.
If you want to be a part of this work, please consider making a donation today.
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What are we reading now? Lottie Moon edition.
In this edition of “What are we reading?”, Megan shares a quote from Lottie Moon.
Q: What’s the book?
A: The New Lottie Moon Story
Q: Why did you choose it?
A: I’m wanting to learn more about church history, from the early church to recent church history. I’ve never known Lottie’s story, and reading this book has deepened my admiration for this bold missionary woman. Her passion for the Great Commission was pure and raw. I want that.
Renovated Coaching page!
We just renovated the Coaching page on our website! Our goal is to make the process, the purpose, and the pricing more clear. If you can check it out and let us know if there’s anything more we can do to answer your questions up front, that would be a lovely gift to us today!
A challenge to YOU, discipleship leaders…
Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend the live IF:Gathering in Austin, TX. If you’re unfamiliar with “IF:Gathering”, the short of it is that it’s a movement of women in the church, across the globe, to help each other live out God’s calling. This year’s conference focused on discipleship in the early church. I left with one clear message: the world isn’t going to be changed by books, events, or platforms. Transformation of the next generation happens on the living room floor, Bibles open. It happens when someone opens the door of their home over and over, with offers of coffee and maybe some chocolate chip cookies, and then God shows up at the doorway of their guests’ hearts. Jennie Allen (founder of IF) credits her mentor from her college years, who did just that, with the existence of IF:Gathering — which this year alone reached 2,200 live-stream locations around the world in over 120 countries. Jennie’s fear is that the relationships that fostered our generation’s spiritual growth and deeper love of Jesus will be missing for the next generation.
I couldn’t agree more that discipleship happens best in authentic communities of believers “doing life together”. I was challenged to look for more opportunities to “give what I’ve got, where I’m at.” What I want to add to that conversation is that the church, in all the various forms it can take, has a crucial role in nurturing those discipleship relationships. At every Ascending Leaders event, workshop, or webinar I’ve been a part of, I’ve been heartened by seeing church leaders who are earnest in doing that, and doing that better. These leaders…they CARE. They are all-in with this discipleship thing! And I know that after the workshop, after the event, they are in the trenches, tools in hand, covered in sweat and grime, building paths for disciples to move forward on. Rejoice in this! God is at work.
Now I have a challenge for you, leaders. If you’re feeling alone in this work, pause right now and find a community of fellow path-builders. Registration for DiscipleOn, our very own online learning community for discipleship leaders, is open through Monday (02/13/2017). It might not be the community for you. It may not be for you for right now. If that’s the case, keep looking and keep praying for God to bring you your tribe. If you think it might be your community for the next six months, you can:
- Join us for a live Q&A session this Thursday (register here).
- Watch the super-condensed recording of our “Inside Look at DiscipleOn”.
- Register for DiscipleOn today.
- Do nothing and keep pressing forward alone.
I hope you’ll join us. DiscipleOn communities are full of those amazing church leaders I get to meet at our workshops, and I just know that you’d like them too!
