Posts

Showing posts from October, 2011

The High Cost of NOT Training Volunteers (A True Story)

Image
I finish preaching at a church and I am invited to attend a Sunday School class. Since one of the great passions of my life is to see Jesus-like transformational teaching happen in Sunday Schools and small groups, I say, “Are you kidding? I’d LOVE to.”  I’m escorted to a very nice classroom where about 20 energetic adults are milling around engaged in what seems like good conversation to me. I hear lots of laughter and see lots of smiles. Many of these folks seem to know and love each other. I’m able to meet the volunteer teacher and several other sharp, articulate, and fun-loving people before the class starts. I sense energy in the room. I grab my cup of coffee and donut and find a seat. The subject today: God’s Word on marriage. I think to myself:  This is going to be good. I can’t wait to see how this group tackles this. Ten minutes into the class, the energy, engagement, and enthusiasm that once was, is no more.  It feels like someone pulled the plug in a bathtub full of fun, rela

Consider the DIsciplemaking Genius of Jesus

Image
This triangle is a very general representation of Jesus’ time. Jesus invested a relatively small percentage of his time with the crowds. He invested more time with his disciples. However, Jesus intentionally and strategically invested the overwhelming majority of his time with the Twelve disciplemakers in his DLC. According to The Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, “the bulk of Christ’s time was not spent in public ministry (17 times) with vast numbers of people, but in private with his disciples, as recorded approximately 46 times in the Bible.” Yet, this triangle can be a bit of an oversimplification. Why? Often, Jesus was focused on his disciples while they were in the midst of the crowds . The main point I’m simply trying to make is that Jesus focused lots of time and energy on those in his Disciplemaking Learning Community (DLC). The question is:  Why would Jesus focus so much time and energy on those in his DLC?

Life, Cadre, and other stuff to make you smile

Image
Here are some pictures from our life/Cadre adventures last month. If you're over 40 like me, you might want to click on any of the images below to enlarge... so you can see them without your glasses.  Just saying.  :  )  Did I ever mention we love being your Cadre missionaries of encouragement? Look who is driving... no wonder I'm losing my hair... and the little hair I have left is gray!  (Ivy is in our 15 passenger van... which has almost 200,000 miles. This van is limping along badly... and costing us more money than the van is actually worth. Please pray for this van to truckin' until God provides our next 15 passenger van.  Thanks.) Love God, Love People, Make Disciplemakers training at The Oaks Community Church in Dahinda, IL. It's a little thing these two crazy kids call "Milkshake Monday!" With family traditions like this, no wonder I can't lose any weight. Encouraging and equipping pastors who gathered at South Sid

Disciplemaker's Guide to Grow, Minister & Lead

Image
(Click image to enlarge.) Here are ten disciplemaking adventures for following Jesus together! Each of these ten disciplemaking adventures includes application pages that will help you wrestle the Scriptures together. You'll learn how to be a disciple (grow), who makes disciples (minister), who make more disciples (lead). A note from our friend who oversees Moody Bible Institute's Distance Learning Program:   "I had such an incredible response to your book,  Disciplemaker ’s Guide to  Grow, Minister and Lead   from the students in my Moody leadership course . Some students in Australia needed to take a two hour independent study on Christian Education. They loved the  Disciplemaker's Guide ! They said the book addressed  the issues they were wrestling with in their church. Thanks for your partnership in ministry for all of these years! Thanks for all that you’ve poured into our lives! Thanks for letting me share  Cadre resources  with people around the world

Current conventional wisdom on leadership

Image
The more I study Jesus the more I question current conventional wisdom on leadership. Related posts: *  Jesus wasn't a leader. * The difference between leaders and disciplemakers . Get  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your Email Inbox! Let me encourage you and make you think 2-3x a week with a virtual  Cup O' Joe with Bill  in your email inbox.  Go here and submit your email . Then check your email inbox and click the Feedburner confirmation link. Note: You can unsubscribe anytime simply by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any email that comes from  Cup O' Joe with Bill .

Go and make disciples...

Image
Jesus said, “go and make disciples of all nations.” Many Christians in our country hear the word "go" and "nations" and they immediately let themselves off the hook for their responsibility for making disciples. Why? Because they are not going to other nations. They are staying in this nation. Thus disciplemaking in our country gets relegated to those who are in full-time ministry and those who serve as foreign missionaries. How is this working for us? Let's be honest. It's not . But all is not lost... yet. Consider this... If you're a follower of Jesus, you've been commanded by Jesus to "go and make disciples of all nations" —and that includes the nation in which YOU live . Before you worry about whether or not God might send you to another nation, why not first live as a Jesus-like disciplemaker in the nation in which you now live?  After all, if you don't live with Jesus' heart and passion for making discip