Analysis Of God 's Grand Scheme Essay

Within the book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman, the author discusses why young Christians are leaving the church and rethinking faith. He gives us an overview of the trends within the mosaic generation. Through this overview, we as student ministers can better understand the generation in which we are ministering to. With this understanding, we can reach these students and bring them back to their home, that is the Church. In this report, I will discuss the book by chapter and finish with my reflection.

The book was very well put together with principal concepts, but it was not always easy to follow and some sections had to be read twice for clear comprehension. The message could have been portrayed using straightforward writing that would enable undergraduates and others that are not seeking higher levels of education to process the information. In simpler terms, this book can be essential to pastors, for personal relationships, and other professions if the language is simplified and made more user-friendly.

Discipleship is about engaging in the Word, following and obeying Jesus and going out to make disciples. An essential element in being a disciple is to be open to learning, to be teachable. It is a mindset to be continuously adopted and cultivated. For us to disciple others, we must be a better disciple ourselves. When making disciples, we are instructing others to be willing to be a discoverer. It applies to both spiritual growth as well as personal development, openness to new techniques, ideas and methods in all aspects of life. Our spiritual learning comes from delving into His

Bonhoeffer, Dietrick. The Cost of Discipleship, New York,NY 10022: The Macmillan Company, Published 1959. 344 pp. $1.95

While the goal of Christian education and discipleship is spiritual formation of the new believer into a true disciple who makes other true disciples, this concept has been watered down in the American church today by emphasis on programs instead of progressive spiritual growth in every member’s life. There are many

Hull, Bill. The Disciple-Making Church: Leading a Body of Believers On the Journey of Faith. Updated ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2010.

Discipleship students, or those who already have a faith commitment, tend to immediately join one of two categories. The first, or Stagnant, students are those who “made a decision to follow Christ at some time in life but never really grew in faith.” These students, from the outside, look very similar to the world as “the distinction between churched and unchurched students is rapidly shrinking.” These students require time to draw them into a

Christ is the central person in Christian discipleship. Without Christ, Christianity would not exist and there would be no followers of Christ. To be true followers of Christ, believers must be willing to learn of the ways and teachings of Christ. Christ is central to Christian discipleship because He is the teacher of His disciples. Through the Holy Spirit and Word of God, Jesus Christ calls His disciples to Him and then

Nearly two decades later, I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It would start with a simple but powerful statement, “We are called to make disciples, not members.” That statement would lead me to reflect on and seek out a better understanding of what it meant to be a disciple. That, in turn, led me to study and reflect on the concept of servanthood. I realized that developing a more personal and authentic relationship with Christ required more than just attending worship, working in the church and simply believing in Him. I realized that living a Christ-like life required a different way of thinking, a different way of living.

Servant-leadership is widely researched and discussed from a secular and Christian worldview (Fischer, 2010; see also Blanchard & Hodges, 2005). A Christian is called to follow God in all he does but life experiences can be conflicting in dealing with the spiritual and secular context; however, Christ wants his followers to operate within the context of the secular world. True servant-leadership is to emulate how Jesus led those around him - with complete selflessness and by serving others. Moreover, it is challenging for humans to be servant-leaders as they often desire

The goal of producing a healthy church environment will include elements such as a vibrant discipleship ministry, involving those that have become true Christ-followers bearing fruit for

So discipleship can be summed up; to follow, to learn, to preach, to believe, to serve. All factors are

A sentiment common to almost any organization is that the one fact that remains constant is change. As society changes, and human understanding grows, any organization that maintains a static posture, assures its demise. Churches and Christian organizations are no exception. The gospel may remain the same, but the method for communicating it must speak to the audience to assure understanding. The Christian leader must be prepared to meet this challenge by incorporating an effective model for change into his theology of leadership in order to keep the ministry relevant and effective. Searching for such a change agent can prove to be challenging as well. To aid in this search, four

The church is in need of major renovation when it comes to making disciples. The concept of making disciples to follow the Lord Jesus Christ seems completely foreign to the church today. In order to achieve the desired goal of making disciples for Christ, training others to go out and proclaim gospel, and helping others to train people to disciple one another, one needs to go back to foundation of the Word of God. It is in God’s Word where multiple examples are found of how to make disciples to follow Jesus Christ. It is my desire to see more people in the church have a passion for discipleship. Therefore, this paper will examine in detail how to make disciples in a ministry context. This will be accomplished by examining the 5 V’s of discipleship—vision, values, views, vehicles, and verifiers. It is my purpose to examine each area in order to have a detailed plan of discipleship that will be used in my own ministry context to make disciples for Christ. I hope that this plan can and will be used to train others in the church to make disciples, and disciple one another, for the glory of God.

In this paper, the student-writer will discuss the methods that are taught in In Effective biblical counseling: A model for helping caring Christians become capable counselors by Crabb (1977). The student-writer will also use what is taught in this book with the skills that are expressed in Creating a Healthier Church; Family Systems Theory, Leadership, and congregational life by Richardson (1996) and Blessed Connections: Relationships that sustain vital ministry, by Schwanz (2008). The student-writer will compare and contrast the skills that are mentioned in these books to establish a well maintained way in which to ministry to clients, and meet their needs as a counselor.