Posts Tagged disciple
LEAD! B.9 From Sloth to Fruitfulness
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on February 24, 2009
In Which We Abide Fruitfully Instead of Vegetating Slothfully
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” — Matthew 5:6
Sloth may seem like an archaic sin in our busy modern world, but our frenzied activity is itself a sign of sloth, which can be defined as a lack of vigor in pursuing God’s name — His character and purposes. In fact, the self-centered pursuit of our own “name” — especially under the guise of religion — is actually the worst kind of sloth! (cf. Matthew 23)
The antidote is to empty ourselves of worldly pursuits so that we become truly hungry for faith, hope, and love. Only when we abandon slothfully seeking our own comfort — which merely results in restlessness — can we experience the divine dynamism and peace that comes from abiding in Him…
-
Peter Kreeft: Back to Virtue
- 11. Hungering for Righteousness vs. Satisfied with Sloth
- Dick Hockett: Foundations of Wisdom
- 3.5 (Trustworthy) Example: Proverbs about the Tongue
LEAD! Part C: Skills for Service
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on February 19, 2009
As mentioned earlier, the LEAD! Bible Study is a tripod, built on three legs:
- theological education
- character formation
- skill development
We are over half-way through, so Part B will be ending soon — and Part C starts a week or two after that, so I need to get ready!
Here is the initial outline I used:
- Personal Bible Study: Understanding Scripture for ourselves
- Warfare Prayer: How to shake the heavens.
- The Slow Fast: Emptying ourselves to be filled.
- Memorizing the Word: Sharpening the Sword for battle.
- Daily Journaling: Tracking God’s activity over time.
- Cultivating Spiritual Gifts: For what has God made us?
- Failing Courageously: Taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from them.
- Good Things in Small Groups: Building missional communities.
- Constructive Criticism: ‘Tis as important to receive as to give
- Counseling and Discipleship: Helping people reflect God’s glory and grace.
- Friendship Evangelism: How to get Jesus into people’s hearts.
- Public Speaking: Communicating clearly and concisely.
Here’s the list the church originally proposed:
- Daily Journaling
- Devotional Prayer & Bible Study
- Fasting
- Bible Memorization
- Relating to Spiritual Authority
- Developing Spiritual Gifts
- Spiritual Warfare
- Dealing with Failure
- Sharing Your Faith
- Counseling
- Public Speaking
- Leading a Small Group
The challenge is to find a book or two to use as background reading that covers (or at least is relevant to) most of these topics. Any suggestions from my loyal readers?
Read more for a review of some possibilities, after the break…
Read the rest of this entry »
LEAD! A.11 Christ’s Body
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on November 12, 2008
In Which We Become the Church, As We Grow Into Christ Our Head Via His Gifts
Continuing the theme of Sanctification, we explore how we are discipled into the name of Christ through His body — the Father’s principle vehicle for forming His Kingdom, by His Spirit. Specifically, we see how the fact that we serve One God requires us to worship Him as One Church.
[Note: I am now using the New King James Version for my interlinear; hopefully this will increase the readability.]
LEAD! A.9 Spirit’s Conviction
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on October 26, 2008
In Which Jesus Sends the Comforter, and We Are Convicted By Him
This week we move from the Father and the Son to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This also continues our theme of God restoring His Image by saving us from our rebellion. And as usual, there is a heavy price to be paid…
LEAD! A.8 Christ’s Salvation
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on October 21, 2008
In Which We Receive the Gospel, And Are Saved By It
Our series so far — indeed, the first half of human history — is but a prelude to the coming of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have the word of God made flesh, the perfect revelation of God’s character, a tangible representative of the Trinity, and a reminder of what we were created to be.
Yet even more glorious than all that: Christ is Our Lord, and has become our much-needed Savior…
LEAD! A.6 Father’s Kingdom
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on October 2, 2008
In Which We See God Creating His World, and Our Place In It
The overriding theme of our journey has been exploring what it means to be “baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Having dealt (however superficially) with the ontological aspects of that “name”, we now focus on the narrative aspects. In particular, we will focus on the arc of “creation corruption and redemption” found throughout scripture (and literature), as manifested through the persons of the Trinity. Starting with the Father, and Creation…
LEAD! A.5 God’s Tri-Unity
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on September 16, 2008
In Which We Discover The Persons Who Make up the Godhead, and How They Relate to Us
We believe in one God, consisting of one substance — one name, one identity, and one character — sometimes called the Godhead. Yet, that name is expressed through three distinct persons, as illustrated by the classic diagram on the left. Theologians use the term “Trinity” to describe this paradoxical mystery, which is explicitly described in the New Testament and often alluded to in the Old.
In this lesson, we will be focusing primarily on the Economic Trinity (“How God Acts”) rather than the Essential Trinity (“What God is”). See the “Explore” section for other perspectives.
LEAD! A.4 God’s Character
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on September 10, 2008
[Renumbering so we can start at 1, instead of 0]
In Which We Discover What God Looks Like, And Why Moses Wants to See More of Him
Continuing our discussion of God’s name — which we are supposed to be baptized into — we turn from the incommunicable aspects of His identity to the communicable aspects of His character.
LEAD! Syllabus for “Theological Foundations”
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership, Transformation on August 26, 2008
[NOTE: the official syllabus is now on the "Lead" page; this post is obsolete, but kept for the sake of historical continuity].
[Yes, I should probably have written this before the first lesson, but better late than never...]
In thinking about it, I ought to take my Curriculum one step further, and actually identify the passages and key learnings for each lesson. Not only will this help ensure I’m on the same page as my pastor, but it would enable others to write some of the lessons (since class starts on September 4th!).
I’ve also cross-referenced these lessons against two common systematic theology books:
- Wayne Grudem‘s condensed Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings (under “Doctrine“)
- R. C. Sproul‘s classic of Reformed systematic theology, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith (pdf) (under “Essentials“).
In addition to providing a sort index to the topics covered, this allows students and teachers to use those as supplementary textbooks.
- Draft 1 – Sunday, 24th August
- Draft 2 – Tuesday, 26th August: Added “Doctrine” “Essentials” chapters for each lesson
- Draft 3 – Friday, 29th August: Added “Doctrines” chapters for each lesson
LEAD! A.1 God’s Word
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on July 29, 2008
[Based on feedback, this study will actually become the first lesson, prior to God's Commission]
In Which We Discover How God Speaks to Us, and Why We Ought to Listen to Him
[Updated Sunday, August 3rd]
LEAD! A.2 God’s Commission
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on July 1, 2008
In Which We Discover God’s Call For Us As Leaders, And What Theology Has To Do With It
ESS is More: Essential Skills for Serving
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership on May 28, 2008
For the third part of my trilogy on leadership development, I want to focus on practical skills. Here’s my short list (twelve, again) of the key abilities I believe leaders need to cultivate. Anything you would add or subtract?
Keys to the CTE
Posted by Dr. Ernie in Leadership, Transformation on March 7, 2008
Even though I haven’t posted for a while, I’ve been thinking a lot about Comprehensive Theological Education. In particular, I’ve been trying to identify the key “success factors” necessary to improve upon traditional methods. Here’s my current list. Any thing you’d like to add, Gentle Reader?
[Updated March 9th to use "over", based on Andrew's comments on Pressing In]
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