This is us

This is us

As Colin Marshall and Tony Payne write in their book The Vine Project, “it seems too obvious to say that God’s people are the agency by which the word is proclaimed in prayerful dependence on the Spirit. Who else is it going to be?” But it’s a good thing to be reminded of. As it says in Ephesians 2:10, “we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”– good things like noticing others, praying for them and their lives even if you’ve never spoken to them...Read more …
On the Radio – Walk the Way

On the Radio – Walk the Way

This is Walk the Way. Brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. As I travel, speaking to churches to help them become better at making disciples who make disciples, one consistent theme continually emerges: we really don’t know how to move in a way that starts small, grows slowly, and builds deep. The church at large is so into their weekend worship experiences and big events that it rarely gets around to encouraging the simplicity and intentionality of people walking alongside people. Now, I’m not down on weekend worship or great events, but they will simply not create...Read more …
Who will your cross-country companion be?

Who will your cross-country companion be?

The lives of two Texas state congressmen intersected earlier this month when the they became stranded in the Lonestar State due to massive flight cancellations up and down the East Coast because of a huge late-season snowstorm. Meet Beto and Will That’s when the two men–representatives Beto O’Rourke (Democrat, El Paso) and Will Hurd (Republican, San Antonio)–decided they would embark on a 36-hour road trip–together–so that neither one of them would miss the important votes coming up on Capitol Hill. After securing a rental car, they headed to Washington, D.C.  Wouldn’t you have wanted to be a fly in that...Read more …
Sent

Sent

Perhaps we’ve somehow made fulfilling the Great Commission too hard? Too complicated? Too institutional? Perhaps we don’t see our individual responsibility as followers of Jesus to make disciples? Perhaps we are not noticing all the people around us who are searching for God but have not found him in the church building on Sunday? Perhaps we have relied too much on a telling approach that appears transactional and prescriptive to many around us? Sent Jesus reminds us in John 17:18, “As you [the Father] sent me into the world, I have sent them [believers] into the world” (emphasis added). We...Read more …
On the Radio – Walk the Way

On the Radio – Walk the Way

  • Posted on March 29, 2017
  • /Under General
This is Walk the Way. Brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. Say what you want about Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz—he has said some pretty insightful things regarding building a successful business: “For any consumer brand today, it is incumbent upon the company to create relevancy in all aspects of its customer’s lives.” Interesting. Now, forgive me if I stretch the concept. Have we—the Church—created relevancy in all aspects of our customers’ lives? I’m going out on a limb to say, no. Unfortunately, although Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life—in other words, He...Read more …
What is a disciple, anyway?

What is a disciple, anyway?

Everyone seems to agree that a disciple is not simply a person who prays the prayer of salvation and then goes to a church service on Sundays, although in actual practice this may be the definition that is most common. Churches may be full of people who have prayed a prayer of salvation, but does that make them disciples? Or is there more to it? How we define a disciple matters. Jesus clearly told His disciples to go out and make more of them, and anyone who desires to share the Gospel needs a starting point. Here is a working...Read more …
4 simple steps to building a small group for the spiritually curious

4 simple steps to building a small group for the spiritually curious

Jesus is our model for creating God-honoring, life-changing community. Yes, he spoke to the masses, but Jesus’ primary ministry here on earth came via an invitation to twelve ordinary Jewish men. As you well know, Jesus invited them into community with him to learn and grow together as they followed him. Rather than mass-producing disciples, Jesus chose to invest deeply in a handful of people, developing committed followers. We’ve identified four simple steps–or stages–that will help you start groups for spiritually curious people, stages that mirror what Jesus did in building his first group of disciples. Preparation Jesus spent focused...Read more …

On the Radio – Walk the Way

This is Walk the Way. Brought to you by Q Place. I’m Jeff Klein. This little book has been around forever: The Master Plan of Evangelism. It’s basically the story of how Jesus built a movement of the Kingdom through twelve ordinary lives. One of the principles He employed was selection. Jesus didn’t put out a general announcement asking who might want to follow him; He didn’t put out a general invite to the crowd. No, Jesus selected those He wanted. He prayed through the night, then went and found them those who God directed Him to, and invited them...Read more …
Why disciple in groups?

Why disciple in groups?

Today, the Western world is increasingly skeptical of institutional Christianity. But an invitation to explore God and the Bible with a few others is a great first step for people who are unlikely to step through the doors of a church. Facilitating these small group communities is an honor and privilege and is also a rich, holistic approach to evangelism that Jesus’ followers of all levels of maturity can participate in. And they have always been part of the church. Small group guru Bill Donahue notes: Small groups were an integral part of the early church structure. They were small enough...Read more …
What really makes people care about knowing your God?

What really makes people care about knowing your God?

Like a harsh word spoken without tact, or a fire burning outside a fireplace, missionality by itself can hurt the cause of Christ more than it helps. This is why missional has an inseparable twin. The word is incarnational. It means “to take on flesh.” If missional means “to go,” incarnation is about how you go and what people see as you go….Incarnation is critical because it will eventually determine whether or not people will want to know you or your God. – Hugh Halter               Incarnational living–the type of evangelism that Hugh Halter...Read more …
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