By Doug Holliday

Indignant – adjective

feeling, characterized by, or expressing strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base. 

What makes me indignant? Do my feelings mirror those of Christ?

There are only two times in the gospels (NIV translation) where it speaks of Jesus being indignant. Certainly there were more than two occasions where Jesus felt this emotion. Wasn’t it indignation He felt when He turned the tables of the money changers over and chased them out of the temple… twice? Wasn’t it indignation He felt when He rebuked the Pharisees with seven woes? Yet only twice do the gospel writers say Jesus was indignant.

While Matthew and Luke use the word to describe the feelings of the disciples, Pharisees and synagogue leaders, only Mark records Jesus being indignant.

“Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!‘”

Mark 1:41

“When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.‘”

Mark 10:14

Two times we read of Jesus being indignant. Both times it is because people were being prevented from coming to Him.

The man with leprosy was a social outcast. He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Jesus. Timidly, but desperately, he asked, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” It says Jesus was indignant. Who was He indignant with? The man with leprosy? I don’t think so. The onlookers who stood there with disgust on their faces? Probably. The injustice of a system that would treat a person in need of grace and compassion with fear and rejection instead? Definitely!

Indignation drove Jesus to action. He reached out His hand and touched the untouchable. “I am willing. Be clean!“

Passover week was fast approaching. Thousands were making their way to Jerusalem for the festivities with family in tow. Parents were bringing their little children to Jesus for Him to bless. The disciples chased them away. In their minds, Jesus shouldn’t be bothered with little children, he had important Messiah stuff to be doing, right?

Jesus again was indignant. Don’t stop anyone from coming to me, especially the little children!

Indignation drove Jesus to action. He took the little children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.

Jesus became indignant when religious types shut out those who needed Him. When grace and compassion are needed, but instead fear, rejection or ambivalence are given, indignation is in order.

And when indignation is in order, it’s not meant to be bottled up. What’s bottled up turns sour. Indignation is meant to be a fuel for righteousness. Indignation must ignite action, or it will burn us up inside.

What makes me indignant?

Does my indignation drive me to action? Does yours? If we’re going to be indignant, let it be about those things that thwart the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His kingdom mission in this world.

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By Doug Holliday. Used with permission.

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By Doug Holliday:

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.‘”

John 20:21

This past weekend, we moved our daughter into her new dorm at the University of Florida. The weekend before that, we drove another daughter up to Long Island University for her final year as a musical theater major. And this coming weekend, we drop off yet another daughter at Word of Life Bible Institute in New York for her second year in Biblical studies. In the midst of sending off three daughters to college this month, I found myself thinking about the Biblical concept of “being sent” and how Jesus lived sent and prepared His disciples to live sent.

With each of our girls, there is the preparation to go. The shopping, the packing, the check-listing, the schedule-making, the car oil changing. After all that preparation, there is the commissioning to go. The conversations over “last suppers,” the instruction and encouragement on the long drive, and the hugs and prayers before we leave. Finally, after preparation and commissioning comes the sending. They are on their own, figuring out their way, learning to make wise decisions and follow Jesus even when those around them might be headed in a different direction.

Living sent is about following Jesus with an everyday, anywhere, anytime, with anyone intentionality. It’s about having a missionary mindset right where you’re at.

We see this Biblical concept of being and living sent throughout the Gospels.

Jesus made it clear that He was sent by the Father.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”

John 6:38

When you’re sent, you have an obligation to fulfill the purpose for which you were sent.

Jesus knew the purpose for which He was sent.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:17

When you’re sent, the primary purpose of your mission is the salvation of those who are far from God. You might be sent to a specific group, or focus on specific needs, but the primary purpose remains the same: make new disciples!

Jesus knew whom He was sent to.

“He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’”

Matthew 15:24

When you’re sent, having clarity on the WHO helps to focus your HOW.

Jesus understood that being sent didn’t mean He was now alone.

‘The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

John 8:29

When you’re sent, the one who has sent you, though maybe not visible, still provides encouragement and accountability.

Jesus knew that the mission He was sent to accomplish would require supernatural power.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…”

Luke 4:18

When you’re sent, you might feel like you’re in over your head, but when God sends you on a mission, He provides everything you need to accomplish the mission. The anointing of the Spirit is the divine enablement to finish the work you’ve been sent to accomplish.

Jesus accepted the fact that the mission given to Him was something that required God’s involvement to accomplish.

“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.“

John 5:30

When you’re sent, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, but just remember who sent you.

Jesus trusted God to give Him the right words to say at the right time.

“Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.’”

John 7:16

“For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

John 12:49

When you’re sent, ask God what specific message He is sending you to deliver.

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Jesus understood that being sent was time-sensitive.

“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

John 9:4

When you’re sent, it should be with a sense of urgency for the mission that needs to be completed.

Jesus found a great sense of fulfillment in living out His purpose.

“‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’”

John 4:34

When you’re sent, celebrate the great privilege and honor that you’re being given to know and live out your purpose.

Jesus made it clear that it’s impossible to follow Him and not accept the responsibility of being sent.

“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’”

Matthew 4:19

When you’re sent, see that this is a significant part of the journey for every Christ-follower. It’s an oxymoron to be a non-sent Christian.

Jesus’ presence with you prepares you for the inevitability of being sent by Him.

“He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach….”

Mark 3:14

When you’re sent, reflect on the intimate moments you’ve experienced with Jesus as He’s prepared you for this moment.

Jesus prepared His disciples for the inevitability of hardship when they were sent.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Matthew 10:16

When you’re sent, expect obstacles. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks, but rather, see them as set-ups for God to do what only He can do.

Jesus wanted His disciples to trust in God to provide for everything they would need as they were sent.

“Then Jesus asked them, ‘When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?’ ‘Nothing,’ they answered.“

Luke 22:35

When you’re sent, remember this: God’s vision never lacks God’s provision. He will provide everything that is needed to accomplish His work in His way.

Jesus saw the value in being sent with others.

“Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.“

Mark 6:7

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.“

Luke 10:1

When you’re sent, who is God pairing you up with for this mission? How do your strengths complement one another? How can you “spur one another on” in the mission?

Jesus prays for everyone He sends.

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

John 17:18

When you’re sent, know that you are the answer to Jesus’ prayer, the fulfillment of His mission that He was sent by the Father to accomplish.

By Doug Holliday

Used by permission. Originally posted here:

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By Jay Fast: I’ll never forget the moment when I was struck with the fact that Jesus intentionally used short-term, cross-cultural mission trips as part of his disciple-making process. It was the spring of 2013, I was sitting on a bench made from rough-cut logs on a beautiful day at the property of the Latin America Multiplication Center in Heredia, Costa Rica. I was living there as a missionary, overseeing FUSION, Sonlife’s short-term missions process for teenagers.

Consider What Jesus Actually Did

As I sat on that bench, evaluating the investment of time, energy, and resources that churches (and student ministries in particular) pour out every year toward short-term mission trips, I was struck with a frightening thought: What if I’ve moved my family overseas to invest our lives in something that Jesus never did? At that point in my life, I had participated in and led numerous mission trips, but I had never stopped to consider if this whole “short-term, cross-cultural mission trip” thing was something that Jesus had done. And if Jesus didn’t do it, I didn’t want to either.

Of course, I knew the impact that short-term mission trips have. Like many of you, I first participated in a short-term mission trip as a teenager. It had a profound impact on me, and God used that experience to change the course of my life. After college, I served as a youth pastor for 13 years. During that time, I took students on dozens of short-term mission trips. I had the opportunity to see God work in, and through, the lives of students over and over again. Most (if not all) of us would agree that short-term mission trips are generally good experiences, but maybe you’ve found yourself asking similar questions as those on my mind that day:

Are short-term mission trips worth all the hassle?
Is the work being done actually accomplishing anything?
Are the mission trips we plan actually just glorified exotic vacations for our students?
Is the money being spent really the best investment of Kingdom resources?
Do our mission trips teach and equip our students to engage with the mission of Jesus and live as disciples in their own culture and context, or just when they go overseas?
Would it be more beneficial if we simply wrote a large check to a missionary instead of taking up a week of their time and adding significantly to their workload, hoping that we make some sort of impact?
Does anything about the way we do short-term, cross-cultural mission trips need to change?
Did Jesus model taking his disciples on short-term, cross-cultural mission trips?

We Have a Model for Short-Term, Cross-Cultural Missions

In studying the life and ministry of Jesus, I’ve discovered that the answer to that last question is a resounding YES! Additionally, a careful study of Jesus’ use of mission trips actually informs all of these other questions as well. In our blog post entitled “Equipping Cross-Culturally,” we saw that Jesus took his disciples on short-term, cross-cultural mission trips on at least 6 different occasions. Not only did Jesus take his disciples on multiple short-term, cross-cultural mission trips, but as we study them, we find a model for how we can and should do likewise.

This study of Jesus’ model for short-term, cross-cultural mission trips and how he used them as a disciple-making tool has led to the development of Sonlife’s FUSION process. FUSION is a short-term mission experience that strategically partners churches in North America with churches in Latin America for the purpose of multiplying healthy, disciple-making student ministries. It’s a four-step process that’s specifically modeled after Jesus’ ministry strategy and how he did short-term mission trips.

Although there are four short-term mission trips throughout the process, FUSION is anything but a typical mission trip experience. The primary purpose of FUSION is not to construct a building, lead a vacation Bible school program, or do street evangelism. Instead, we ask our FUSION teams to incarnate, invest and multiply. This is a reflection of Jesus’ strategy of entering our world, pouring his life out into a few, and reproducing his character and priorities in them. Students on FUSION teams have the opportunity to enter the world of Latino teenagers, invest their lives in building relationships with those students, and help them build a healthy, disciple-making student ministry by reproducing the character and priorities of Jesus in them.

Jesus Used the Trips to Develop the Disciples’ Hearts

Looking at the short-term mission trips that Jesus did with his disciples, it’s clear that his focus wasn’t solely on the people where they were going. He used these trips as a tool to develop his disciples’ hearts and to teach them necessary skills in disciple-making. In the same way, FUSION is designed to be a tool that can be used by youth pastors to develop a disciple-making ministry. As students engage with the mission cross-culturally, they develop both the heart and skills necessary for making disciples back home in their own culture and context.

Throughout the process, there are a number of key ingredients that make the experience fruitful. FUSION is student-led, which means that once a team arrives in-country, the students are responsible to take the lead in building relationships, group training experiences, English classes in the local public schools, living as disciples in their host homes, and various outreach opportunities. The emphasis during the entire process is developing relationships between students in the partner ministries so that disciple-making DNA can be shared. The adults who are part of the team (youth pastor, volunteer leaders, etc) serve in the role of shepherds during the process, praying for, caring for, and encouraging the students by reminding them of the training they’ve received to prepare them for their cross-cultural disciple-making experience.

The FUSION Process

Each step in the FUSION process involves a short-term mission trip, and each step has a different focus.

STEP 1 focuses on the foundational priorities from Jesus’ life and ministry. Students lead the training, looking at how Jesus built a disciple-making ministry and what it looks like for us to do the same.
STEP 2 shifts the focus to targeted ministry training and outreach. Students equip their peers in the partner ministry to share their testimony and the Gospel with a spiritually lost friend, and then both groups go on an outreach retreat together where those lost friends hear the Good News.
STEP 3 is all about transmitting the DNA of cross-cultural missions and equipping a team of ministers. In this step, things are reversed and students are challenged in a new way as the student ministry from Latin America does a mission trip, traveling to their partner church in North America.
STEP 4 focuses on multiplication. The student ministry from North America returns and travels with their partner ministry to a third location where the students “pass the baton” and the four-step process begins again. In this way, both student ministries are learning to make and multiply disciples like Jesus.

Regardless of where your student ministry finds itself in the process of becoming a disciple-making ministry, we’d love to talk with you about how cross-cultural, short-term mission trips can play a significant role. If we’re serious about following Jesus’ example, we have to recognize that we can’t build disciple-making ministries without taking our students out of their comfort zones and across cultural barriers. That doesn’t necessarily have to be a trip to the other side of the world, which is why we’re currently developing the FUSION process domestically as well. We’d love to talk with you about what it might look like for you to engage in the process, and how we can serve you as you continue investing in students.

By Jay Fast

Originally posted here:

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By Doug Holliday: Last week I was in Denver for meetings with our ministry partner, Dare 2 Share, when the words of a respected Christian leader blew up social media. As we all have seen in the past month and even recent years, the words of leaders have an effect on the people they serve and ultimately reflect on the One they represent. James’ words to those of us who teach and lead are as timely now as they’ve ever been.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

James 3:1

As pastors and leaders, our words carry weight. We’re accountable for what we say. We’re in positions of influence. We will be judged more strictly.

In these days of heated debate on emotionally charged issues, it’s hard to win with our words. No matter what we say, we will offend some. And if we don’t speak, we offend some with our silence. What we say, how we say it, when we say it, and to whom we say it matters.

Here are a few principles I’m trying to allow to guide my conversations on these critical issues.

1. Listen with Humility

The words I speak will be more helpful when I’ve taken the time to listen first. Out of love, I listen intently with a desire to understand. I’m not trying to prove I’m right. I’m trying to build a bridge with Christ honoring communication.

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

James 1:19

2. Value People over Positions

We all have opinions. Yours and mine might differ substantially on specific issues. Certain positions might be very important to us, but are they important enough for us to allow them to create division between us? Hopefully, the answer for both of us is no.

“Live in harmony with one another… If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Romans 12:16a, 18

3. Ask God for Wisdom

There is a very real temptation we as leaders face to try and sound like the smart one in the room. We want to say something novel and powerful. We want our words to carry weight. We want our proclamations to be tweet-worthy. My prayer is, “Father, if I say anything, let my words reflect Your wisdom and not my own. May Your Spirit give me the words to say, speaking Your truth and Your heart through me.” I’m reminded of when Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law, who were trying to entrap Him with His own words. It was no doubt a reflection of the Spirit’s wisdom when Jesus replied, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” In these days when others are trying to lay a trap for us, let’s allow God’s wisdom to deliver us from these snares.

“…do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

Matthew 10:19b–20

4. Speak Truth and Love

This is easier said than done. Apart from the Holy Spirit’s help, our words will tip the teeter totter in one direction or the other. We’ll use the truth as a weapon to bludgeon others, trampling on their hearts with utter disregard for the damage that will be done. We’re right. They’re wrong. Deal with it. Or we so value the relationship and want harmony at all costs that we allow someone to cling to their sin regardless of the consequences. I have to recognize that we all have biases shaped by our upbringing, experiences, and cultural influences. If I’m going to speak the truth in love, I have to recognize my biases and honestly evaluate if they’re biblical and Christ centered, always allowing the words I speak to be motivated by a love for God and a love for people.

“ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Ephesians 4:15

5. Always Point to Jesus

With the words I speak, I’m always asking this question. “Will these words be a barrier or a bridge to the gospel?” Am I, through what I say and how I say it, lifting up Jesus and making Him more visible for those who need Him? Or am I, through what I say and how I say it, elevating another message above the gospel of Jesus Christ and making Jesus less visible for those who need Him? If I speak on prejudice, the poor, or injustice, can I do so and elevate Jesus in the process? If I don’t bring Jesus into that conversation, I’ve missed a moment to allow others to see Him for who He is, because Jesus was “anointed to preach good news to the poor” and He “saw the crowds were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, and had compassion on them.”

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Colossians 4:6

6. Do Something

While in Denver, I was speaking with Jerrod Gunter, a youth pastor from Memphis who had a white police officer shoot a black teenager in front of his youth building a few years ago. Jerrod and I are sharing the stage this summer at Lead The Cause, and he made a statement that resonated with me. He said, “We’ve got to get beyond the hashtag.” If all we’re going to do is make statements on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever, then we’re just trying to make ourselves feel better because we’ve taken a stand, whatever that stand might be. Enough with our hashtags. It’s time to hash out solutions. It’s time to do something. It’s time to be the change we speak about. Knowing that his students could be pulled into other’s demonstrations and riots, Jerrod took the bold step to organize what he calls a righteous riot. Jerrod organized a prayer march. Jerrod gathered other youth ministries in his city together to pray for the change that they knew only God could bring. They are still praying, and they are seeing God bring change in their city.

“If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

James 2:16–17

We need to ask ourselves what kind of a leader we’re going to be. Will we be known as leaders who make eloquent statements, or as leaders who take bold action? In this moment, what are we doing to lead #beyondthehashtag?

By Doug Holliday

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For I have given you an example, you should do just as I have done for you. (John 13:15)

By Katie Yates: Different seasons in life have brought about opportunities to grow in my friendships with others. In my years as a youth pastor, it was always clear as to whom I was to invest my life in… our middle school and high school students. However in latter years, it has not been as clear-cut to me. In many cases, I’ve had to look outside the walls of the church, to connect and invest into others. Relationships have been struck naturally and unintentionally through parents of school friends, employees and random ways like when we sold a fridge on Craigslist, no joke!

Mentoring and discipling these days is not as formal as generations before. It speaks to the differences of a younger mindset, that mentoring, if we even call it that, is way more organic and less structured but rather a processing of life together, sitting over a cup of coffee, naturally just sharing our lives together.

C.S. Lewis referred to mentoring in this way, “Think of me as a fellow patient in the same hospital, who having been admitted a little earlier, could give some advice.”

This quote highlights a relationship between two individuals as they face the same world and influence one another, one just maybe has a little more experience. It also beautifully highlights that we are far from perfect, if we had it all together we wouldn’t be a patient in the hospital to begin with… rather both of us, in our brokenness, are figuring out how to wholeheartedly seek God and fully grow up in Him. And this is what the younger generation is looking for… a mutual relationship where both benefit and learn.

This organic, do-life-together model is also Jesus’ model. In John 1:14 it says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling (his home) among us.” Jesus came to do life with us.

Initially, Jesus invites a small group of people to “come and see” (John 1:38-39). It was not an immediate call to drop their nets and follow Him. Jesus simply invites two ordinary people to come and be with him. Jesus was using his energy and resources to build an atmosphere of love, trust and acceptance with a few. He spent eighteen months of his ministry to build relationships and shape the heart values of his future disciples.

Jesus was relational.

This is such a beautiful picture of  disciple-making that we often miss. We may feel more comfortable with curriculum and structures yet Jesus modeled an organic process of sharing life together. It’s the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4-7, in action.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Walking along the way, when you lie down, when you get up… Jesus lived this Old Testament way of discipling with his followers. And what was he instilling in them? What was Jesus’ purpose as he walked along the way? He was showing them in word and action to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor.

Each one of us young, mid-life or seasoned, all long for a community, a place where we are loved for who we are, good and bad and where we may also extend love. A few years ago I read a book, The Cure by Trueface, that wrecked my life. It expressed a divide I had felt for many years, of this desire to please God and which would lead me to live with good intentions. However, the book explains a different path… a path of trusting Him which leads to the room of grace. The room of grace may be messier than the room of good intentions. However, the room of grace is real, honest and full of love. The room of good intentions is filled with masks and shame from when we fail.  Jesus was modeling to his disciples the path of trusting God that would lead them to God’s grace and as they experience God’s grace, they could offer grace to one another. “Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”

Jesus was intentional.

After a year and a half shaping their hearts, came his second call to “come follow me and I will make you fishers of men”(Matt. 4:18-20). It’s after the second call that Jesus begins teaching his followers directly. Due to the time Jesus’ invested, their hearts were prepared for the seeds to take root. He teaches them through the sermon on the mount, through parables through experiences.

I think of the same for us, following Jesus’ model, we are to guide and lead others to the reality of following Jesus and to fully grow up in him. Jesus intentionally built a community of love and trust so that as the disciples learned and failed, learned and succeeded, they had the room of grace to return to. That’s what is beautiful about a trusting space where you are offered grace to learn how to follow Jesus in the messiness of this world.

Jesus invested in a few.

We all might think if Jesus reached the masses for three years, how many more people could he have reached? It might seem backwards to the culture of today that’s all about productivity and mass impact. Even though Jesus was capable of reaching the masses, he didn’t spend most of his time with them. I wonder if part of his strategy was to give us an example we could follow. Only a few people in this world have the platform to disciple and mentor the masses- Jennie Allen, Francis Chan, Beth Moore, Billy Graham. We, the ordinary people, have a smaller platform, the few around us, the community God has placed us in. However, a smaller platform does not mean less impact. The advantage of Jesus’ strategy of relationally investing in a few? It resulted in deep, real impactful relationships that multiplied through the generations. His disciples lives were utterly transformed all of which prepared them to carry the mission on after Jesus left.

Who is the Holy Spirit challenging you to make the bold move and invest your life in? Who is the one person to make an honest, transformative, discipling relationship with?

By Katie Yates of Sonlife

First published on Sonlife’s blog here. Used by permission.

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by Doug Holliday: My dear friend Michael Titus serves as the country Director for J-Life Tanzania. Michael grew up in a Muslim home, yet Christ miraculously appeared to him in a dream. The next day, a Sunday, he walked almost 15 miles to the nearest church. When he arrived, the worship service had already started. Fearing the intentions of this young Muslim man, the pastor approached Michael in the back of the church. When he heard of Michael’s dream, he fully explained the gospel to him, and Michael placed his faith in Christ before the message was ever preached. That day, everything changed, including Michael’s relationship with his parents. He was only 18 years old, but he was dead to his family. He had been kicked out of the house and was living on the streets, gathering wood from the forest to make charcoal to sell for survival. A pastor took Michael in, became his spiritual father and discipled him. By the age of 19, Michael had planted his first church. By the age of 30, he was training other church planters who together had planted over 3000 churches across Tanzania, many in Muslim regions.

A few years ago, when I was serving as J-Life’s East Africa Regional Coordinator, I traveled to Tanzania to encourage Michael and his leadership team. We prayed. We dreamed. We cast vision. We did strategic planning. On that trip, Michael and I boarded a boat to head to the island of Zanzibar. Sounds exotic, right? It was amazing. I had no idea of Zanzibar’s history involving slave trade from the east coast of Africa. Zanzibar is a part of Tanzania. The island has one million inhabitants, but only 16,000 Christians. Zanzibar is 99% Muslim. Four days after my visit, three churches were burned down by radical Muslims.

Michael had gathered 10 young leaders that day who were being discipled to lead a disciple-making movement on Zanzibar. I was honored and humbled to meet with these young men and women. In the African context, everyone wants to be a great preacher, the next TD Jakes, Reinhard Bonnke, or Billy Graham. In fact, one of my pastor friends in Kenya has named his two sons Billy Graham and Reinhard Bonnke. With that understanding, I asked these young leaders if they would like for me to train them to be great preachers.

“Would you like for me to train you to be a great preacher? Can you imagine if I could train all ten of you to preach the gospel so powerfully that each of you could lead one thousand people to faith in Christ each year? Would you like that?”

Of course, they all agreed that would be a great idea, so I began to do some simple math with them.

If all ten of you could preach so powerfully so that you could lead one thousand people to Christ every year…

…after one year you would have 10,000 Christians.
…after two years you would have 20,000 Christians… more than Zanzibar has right now!
…after three years you would have 30,000 Christians.
…after four years you would have 40,000 Christians.
…after five years you would have 50,000 Christians.
…after ten years you would have 100,000 Christians.
…after twenty years you would have 200,000 Christians.
…after thirty years you would have 300,000 Christians.

It would take 100 years to reach all 1,000,000 people on Zanzibar.

Then I said to these young leaders…

“Instead of training you to be great preachers, imagine if I was able to train each of you to make one disciple a year. Then the disciple you made was capable of making one disciple a year, and their disciples would also make one disciple a year.”

…after one year, there would we twenty disciple-makers.
…after two years, there would be 40 disciple-makers.
…after three years, there would be 80 disciple-makers.
…after four years, there would be 160 disciple-makers.
…after five years, there would be 320 disciple-makers.
…after ten years, there would be 10,240 disciple-makers.
…after fifteen years, there would be 327,680 disciple-makers.
…after seventeen years, there would be 1,310,720 disciple-makers… more than the population of Zanzibar!
…after twenty-two years, there would be 41,943,040 disciple-makers… more than the population of Tanzania!
…after twenty-seven years, there would be 1,342,177,280 disciple-makers… more than the population of Africa!
…after thirty years, there would be 10,737,418,240 disciple-makers… more than the population of the planet!

This is the incredible difference between a ministry that adds believers through preaching and one that multiplies disciples through disciple-making. This is why Jesus’ plan from the very beginning has been one of multiplying disciple-makers.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

In Luke 6:40, Jesus tells us that “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” If the student is going to “be like” their teacher, and their teacher discipled them, then what does that mean they will do? A disciple can only “be like” the one who discipled them if they in turn disciple others. Built right into the definition of being a disciple is the necessity to make disciples.

The 4 Chair Discipling process sees us take someone from Spiritually Lost to Believer, then from Believer to Worker, and then from Worker to Disciple-Maker. And how do we know when we are a disciple-maker?

Look behind you. What do you see? Who is following you, and what are they doing? Is their life producing spiritual fruit?

We know that we are a disciple-maker when we have disciples who are making disciples.

For Further Consideration:
– What does the math look like in your ministry? Is your ministry growing by addition or multiplication?
– What do you see when you look over your shoulder? Who is following you? Who are your disciples?
-What do you think needs to happen for your disciples to begin making disciples? What’s the next step in your disciple-making journey?

By Doug Holliday of Sonlife

The post The Power of Multiplication appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: The Power of Multiplication

The post The Power of Multiplication appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Doug Holliday, Years ago, I heard Dr. Howard Hendricks make this statement.  “The day you stop growing is the day you start dying.”  Don’t we all want to grow?  The alternative doesn’t sound so appealing, does it!  But what does personal growth look like?  What does spiritual growth look like?  How do we define genuine growth?

Does growth mean that we know more?
Does growth mean that we do more?
Is a mature Christian one that has been around a long time?
Is a mature Christian one that shows up all the time?
Is a growing church one that is adding people to the pews?
Is a growing church one that is expanding its facilities or programs?

I think we have to make a connection here.  Healthy, growing disciples produce healthy, growing churches.  And when you have a healthy, growing church it will naturally produce healthy, growing disciples.  But which comes first?

Look at the prototype, the first century church in the book of Acts.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” —Acts 2:42-47

Here in Acts 2, we see a community of growing believers, and what’s the result?

Sonlife’s Foundations Seminar focuses on the initial 18-21 months of Jesus’ ministry and six foundational priorities that Jesus both modeled for and established with His disciples.  When we look in Acts 2:42-47, I believe we see all six of these priorities forming the foundation of the early church.

HOLY SPIRIT DEPENDENCE

God has given us a secret weapon, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit indwells us, fills us, empowers us, guides us, anoints us, grows us.  Without the help of the Holy Spirit, living the Christian life would be an exercise in futility.  How do I know?  Because I’ve tried.  It’s like trying to use a cell phone with a dead battery.  No power.

We read of “many wonders and signs performed by the apostles” in the early church.  This is clear evidence of dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit, without whom this would not be possible.

PRAYERFUL GUIDANCE

We can really tell how dependent we are upon the Holy Spirit by how much time we spend praying.  Does the effectiveness and impact of our ministry depend upon God’s power or upon our dedicated effort?  Another way of looking at this is, do we put prayer in a glass box with a little hammer dangling below the sign, BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.  Is prayer used as a last resort?  “Well, we’ve done everything else.  Nothing has worked.  Maybe we should pray.”  It’s time we make prayer the engine and not the caboose in our lives and ministries.

These new believers “devoted themselves… to prayer.”  This conveys a sense of gathering together to pray, and to say that they were “devoted” to this kind of prayer means it was a hallmark of their fellowship.  They spent a lot of time praying together.  You would have to think that this kind of devotion also carried over into their families and their private lives.

OBEDIENT LIVING

Just as prayer is a key indicator on how dependent we are upon the Holy Spirit, obedience also serves as a key indicator on how much we’re experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit.  God’s power accompanies each step of obedience we take.  For far too long, churches in North America have taught truth with no expectation of obedience.  We offer good suggestions, helpful hints, wise counsel.  Jesus gave commands, and then He said, “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  Instead of acting surprised when someone obeys and celebrating their obedience as exceptional, shouldn’t we be surprised when people fail to obey.  What are we expecting?  And then, are we willing to inspect what we expect?  We have to ask the hard questions and hold others accountable to obedient living.

In the early church, the people “sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”  Obviously, they felt prompted by the Spirit of God to make dramatic sacrifices.  They followed through.  The early church was marked by radical obedience.

WORD-CENTERED

When we are dependent upon the Holy Spirit, He will use the Word of God to shape our character, sharpen our gifts, and steer our decisions.  God’s Word is the Spirit’s primary tool for accomplishing the Father’s work and the Father’s will in our lives.  There are five primary ways that we consume God’s Word.  READ IT.  STUDY IT.  MEDITATE ON IT.  MEMORIZE IT.  LISTEN TO IT.  Growing believers learn how to feed themselves and aren’t solely dependent upon their pastor or favorite Bible teacher to spoon feed them God’s Word.

These new believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.”  They were hungry for truth.  They were committed to hearing and obeying the Word of God.

EXALTING THE FATHER

Jesus continually said that He wanted to bring the Father glory.  Even as a twelve year old, we read that Jesus “grew… in favor with God.”  Jesus didn’t take credit for the miracles He performed.  He deflected men’s praise, telling them it was really His Father at work.  In John 15, Jesus told the Twelve that if they lived as true disciples, that would bring the Father glory.  Jesus exalted the Father both privately and publicly.  He said the Father was looking for true worshipers, those who would worship in both Spirit and truth.

These believers were “devoted to… the breaking of bread,” the celebration of the Lord’s Supper together.  They were also “filled with awe” and “continued to meet together in the Temple courts” with “glad and sincere hearts, praising God….”  Worship was a priority, but it was more than merely singing songs.  Worship was a way of life as they continually exalted the Father for who He was and what He had done.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH INTEGRITY AND TRUST

The Christian life is lived out in the context of relationships.  Ultimately, our dependence upon the Holy Spirit is reflected through prayerful guidance and governed by God’s Word, which we must obediently follow so that the Father is exalted.  And when we exalt the Father through our obedience, where do we see the immediate impact of that?  You guessed it.  Our relationships.  We grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  When we’re growing in all of those areas, it will have a dramatic effect on the way we treat people.

These new believers were “devoted to… fellowship.”  “All the believers were together and had everything in common…”  “They continued to meet together…”  “They broke bread in their homes and ate together….”  The early church described in Acts 2 was one where the people really loved one another.  They wanted to be together.  They knew one another’s families.  They shared meals together.  I imagine there was a lot of laughter, a lot of tears, a lot of grace and a lot of encouragement.

All six of these foundational priorities are found in Jesus’ life.  He modeled them, so it’s no surprise that His disciples would also practice these same six priorities in their own lives and in the early church.  When we read Acts 2:42-47, we see a growing community of believers.  They were growing individually.  They were growing corporately.  And what was the result?

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

The church wasn’t just growing by numbers as people left one church to go to another.  That would be Transfer Growth.  The early church was growing because people were being saved.  That’s what we call New Conversion Growth.

We need to look at growth differently.  Is our ministry growing because our people are growing spiritually?  Is our ministry growing because lost people are being saved?  The two are connected.  Healthy things grow.

For Further Consideration:

1 – How do you define spiritual growth?  I’ve listed out six foundational priorities that are a part of spiritual growth.  If you had to list five or six qualities present in a person’s life who is growing spiritually, what would they be?

2 – Is the “Lord adding to your number those who are being saved?”  What is your ministry’s New Conversion Growth Rate?  (Calculate NCGR by dividing the number of new believers added to your ministry in the past twelve months against your average attendance)  Sonlife suggests that a healthy ministry will have 10% New Conversion Growth Rate.  What does your New Conversion Growth Rate suggest about the health of your ministry?

3 – Of the six Foundational Priorities we’ve outlined from Jesus’ ministry and Acts 2, which do you personally need to give the most attention to so that you experience significant personal growth?  Which does your ministry need to give the most attention to so that your ministry is strengthened and your impact is deepened?

By Doug Holliday of Sonlife

The post Growing Mature Disciples appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Growing Mature Disciples

The post Growing Mature Disciples appeared first on Passion for Planting.