“Church size matters to us far more than it should. From the pride it brings when the numbers are up to the shame and frustration it causes when the numbers are static or down, none of this provides a healthy … Continue reading How and Why to De-Size the Church
The Greek word for Christian appears three times in the New Testament, while the Greek word for disciple appears 261 times. And though Christian seems to have been coined by outsiders (Acts 11:26), insiders used disciple to describe themselves. Indeed, … Continue reading How to Become an Apprentice of Jesus
“In the United States, we are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in the history of our country, as tens of millions of formerly regular Christian worshipers nationwide have decided they no longer desire to attend church at … Continue reading How to Respond to the Great Dechurching
Those of us who grew up in church are familiar with the children’s song about Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.” What we often forget is that Zacchaeus’ encounter with the Lord … Continue reading To Seek and to Save the Lost
The words of the Great Commission are well known: “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 … Continue reading Following Jesus in All of Life | Influence Podcast
“All of us long for Easy Street,” writes Stephen Blandino. “It’s paved with comfort and lined with safety. It travels through the trouble-free hills of security, and its road signs point to a pain-free destination where blessings abound.” There’s only … Continue reading Trading Easy Street for a Life That Counts
Early in his ministry, Jeff Leake faced a problem common to growing churches: He needed a new larger building but didn’t have enough money. So he prayed, “God, we have a problem, and it seems that You are not offering … Continue reading How Churches Can Multiply Themselves | Influence Podcast
The mission Jesus gave the Church extends to “all nations” (Matthew 28:19), meaning ethno-linguistic people groups, not countries. In the modern period, missions involved going from the West (Christendom) to the Rest (the Majority World). Today, however, the nations are … Continue reading Effective Intercultural Evangelism | Book Review
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) includes three elements: authority, mission, and presence. The authority and presence are Christ’s, but the mission is Christians’. Christ commands us to “make disciples of all nations,” incorporating them into the Church through baptism and … Continue reading Change the Map
“What troubles me is that much of the modern evangelical movement in America does not seem to grasp the priority of the call of apprenticeship to Jesus,” writes Ryan Post. “Rather than teaching people to obey everything Jesus has commanded … Continue reading How the Beatitudes Shape Discipleship | Influence Podcast
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