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Centered Hearts&

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up

with wings like eagles

CENTERED SOARING

Soar by Growing

Adult Discipleship

Missional(Endeavor(

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Koinonial Missional

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TheActs16:5Congregation

©2013E.StanleyOtt:TheVitalChurchesInstitute|901AlleghenyAvenue|Pittsburgh,PA15233|412.246.4847|www.vitalchurchesinstitute.com

Engaging

Discipleship

“Americans are stupefyingly dumb about

what they are supposed to believe.”

Historian R. Laurence Moore

”Canadianians are smarter.” E. Stanley Ott

Religious Literacy – What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn’t.

Stephen Prothero

1. Fewer than half of us can identify Genesis as the first book of

the Bible.

2. Only one third know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the

Mount.

3. A majority of Americans believe that the Bible says that Jesus

was born in Jerusalem.

4. When asked whether the New Testament Book of Acts is in the

Old Testament, one quarter of Americans say yes. More than a

third say they don’t know.

5. Most Americans don’t know that Jonah is a book in the Bible.

6. 20% of Americans believed that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.

7. 60% of Americans can't name five of the Ten Commandments

8. Only 50% can name one of the four gospels

9. 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were

married.

10.75% believe the Bible teaches "God helps those who help

themselves.”

And that’s the thing about trellis work: it tends to take over from vine work. Perhaps it’s because trellis work is easier and less personally threatening. Vine work is personal and requires much prayer. It requires us to depend on God, and to open our mouths and speak God’s word in some way to another person… Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that in many churches, maintaining and improving the trellis constantly takes over from tending the vine.

Is there a the difference between caring

for disciples of Jesus and growing

disciples?

If so, what is it?

What processes does your

congregation OR ministry use for

growing disciples?

Do you personally have an approach

to growing disciples?

If so, with whom do you do it?

If so, with whom do you do it?

Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV

And he gave the

apostles, the prophets,

the evangelists, the

shepherds and teachers,

to equip the saints for the

work of ministry, for

building up the body of

Christ,

Ephesians 4:11-1 KJV

And he gave some,

apostles; and some,

prophets; and some,

evangelists; and some,

pastors and teachers;

for the perfecting of the

saints, for the work of

the ministry, for the

edifying of the body of

Christ:

Discipleship is

all about spiritual growth

Q: Why focus on growing disciples?

A: You know the love of Jesus,

hear the Word of Jesus,

receive the eyes of Jesus.

Know the Love of Jesus:

transforming love

“Jesus comes right to your seat and says, “I have

a word for you. I know your whole life story. I

know every skeleton in your closet. I know every

moment of sin, shame, dishonesty and degraded

love that has darkened your past. Right now I

know your shallow faith, your feeble prayer life,

your inconsistent discipleship and my word is this,

‘I dare you to trust that I love you just as you are

and not as you should be because you’re never

going to be as you should be.’”

Brennan Manninghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQi_IDV2bgM

Hear the Word of Jesus:

make disciples

And Jesus came and said to

them, “All authority in

heaven and on earth has

been given to me. Mt 28:18

19 therefore [with audacity] Go [having

gone, while you are going, MOVE OUT]

and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey

everything that I have commanded you.

The Prime Directive

VS

The Great Commission

The Prime Directive

Go therefore and

do not interfere…

The Great Commission

Go therefore and make

disciples of all nations…

Receive the People Eyes of Jesussee through the eyes of Jesus for people

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to

bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release

to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the

oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Jesus’ eyes saw the true needs of the people in front of him:

Bartimaeus

Widow of Nain

Canaanite woman’s daughter

Woman at the well

The Centurian’s Son

Wedding in Cana

Lepers

Receive People eyes – in your own head

– seeing through the

eyes of Jesus for people

“My little children, for whom I am

again in the pain of childbirth until

Christ is formed in you.”

Galatians 4:19

Odino

What does it mean to grow disciples?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN

TO GROW DISCIPLES?

NOT

The Double Focus of Ministry

The church, the Body of Christ, has two aspects: the person and the group

The Double Focus of Ministry

(The Individual and the Group)

Growing Disciples Begin with the end in mind (Covey).

The “end” in mind is not:Sunday School classes

Bible classesseminars

small groupsmentoring

spiritual direction

These are MEANS not ends!

Growing disciples with the end in mind

The Food Groups

Doxological

Koinonial Missional

The 3-D Image of Jesus

Dimension One: A Growing Commitment to the

Triune God. (doxological)

The Great Commandment: "You shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart, and with all

your soul, and with all your strength, and with

all your mind.” Luke 10:27a

Dimension Two: A Growing Commitment to the

Body of Christ (communal/koinonia)

The New Commandment: "That you love one

another even as I have loved you.” John

14:35

Dimension Three: A Growing Commitment to the

work of Christ in the world (missional)

The Great Commission: "Go into all the world

and make disciples…” Matthew 28:19-20

The Great Commandment: "And thy neighbor

as thyself.” Luke 10:27b

A Profile of a Disciple

Doxological - Know, love and Experience the God who loves us

(Experiencing God)

Faith in Jesus

Weekly worship

Daily devotional life

The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

Koinonial - Equip and care for the people God gives us

(Equipping the People of God)

Private meals with friends and strangers

Participate in a face-to-face group

Commit a percent of my income to God’s work

Serve my church with specific ministry

Missional - Engage the World to which God sends us

(Engaging our world)

Complete my work with excellence

Offer the compassion of Jesus

Bear witness to Jesus

Stand up for what is right.

The Seven Habits of the Burning Heart

Develop a Culture and a

Strategy for Making Disicples

“Nebby” questions:

What strategy do you personally

use for growing disciples? With

whom?

What strategy does your

congregation use for growing

disciples? With whom?

(what people groups?)

“At heart, growing disciples is a relational experience, not an instructional or classroom experience.

It is the influence of life on life in the midst of the difficulties of life, an influence that helps us get to know Jesus and one another, helps us face our personal darkness and helps us grow in our reflection of the image of Christ.”

growing disciples

“Growing disciples is

reproducing in others

what the Spirit of God

is producing in you

and enabling them to

reproduce it in a third

generation.”– Chuck Miller

© 2004 E. Stanley Ott

Growing yourself as a disciple.

The “Reveal” study of Willow Creek

http://www.revealnow.com

Layers of Disciple-Making:

1. Growing one’s self

2. Growing others interpersonally – life on life

3. By means of shaping programs with the

Defining Practices (witness, prayer, care…)

4.By means of small groups

5. By means of ministry teams

6. By means of teaching (classes/seminars)

7. By means of discipleship communities

8. By means of the “transforming moment”

Growing as disciples with others:

We grow disciples as we

focus on a few

no matter how many

our many may be.

Growing as disciples with others:

Face-to-face personal lifestyle

(spontaneous and intentional)

One-with-one intentional dyads

One-with-two intentional triads

(or quads)

One with a small group (<15)

Three ingredients for growing disciples:

Relationships

Content

Time

WORD

SHARE

PRAYER

Send to ministry and mission

© 2004 E. Stanley Ott

4-7 weeks 90 Days of Prayer Discipleship Essentials (Ogden)

WSP Destiny series Unbinding Your Soul (Reese)

Increasing Level of Commitment

1: Focus on a few – no matter

how many your many may be

2: LIFE ON LIFE

3: The Principle of Multiplication

Multiplying Triads

(or dyads, quads and quints)

(The Principle of Multiplication)

And why start here and not the Sunday School, VBS or

other church programs?

Build Slowly Build Solidly

The Principle of Multiplication: start large end small – start small

end large.

Decide on population groups

Adults (men, women, mixed)

Youth – two adults leads triad = five

Who are the potential leaders and triad/quad

members (early adopters)

Recruitment, training, deploying (Be in or lead a triad yourself)

Follow through – sustaining the multiplication of new groups.

Launching a Triad (quad or quint)-based system of

growing disciples

Just wanted to tell you that I have started several groups

using the Discipleship Essentials books. It took me a while to

decide to pull the trigger on something with such a

commitment attached to it. But I have 3 groups I am leading.

Two have 3 other guys in it (which feels like the perfect size)

and the other has 2. I can't tell you how excited I am about

this and they are. In one of the groups, the guys are almost

giddy with their excitement about this sharing and growth

opportunity. In all of them it appears to be, after 3-6 weeks

(some groups started earlier than others), one of the most

important things I am doing. I am certainly gaining a great

deal from this method of making disciples with a deep

conviction and commitment. And they are very moved by the

experience so far. I am also excited about the possibilities

for the next permutation, when they start to lead others.Bob Bohl Central Presbyterian

Church, Athens, GA

WORD

SHARE

PRAYER

Send to ministry and mission

© 2004 E. Stanley Ott

4-7 weeks 90 Days of Prayer Discipleship Essentials (Ogden)

WSP Destiny series Unbinding Your Soul (Reese)

Increasing Level of Commitment

Make a Prayer CovenantPray for a partner for 30 days

Touching Jesus

People Eyes

Devotional Life

Triads and Quads –

Word/Share/Prayer

Growing Disciples in larger groups

(15 +)

OR

the meeting

© 2003 E. Stanley Ott

GROWING DISCIPLES

A Profile of a Disciple

Doxological - Know, love and Experience the God who loves us

Faith in Jesus

Weekly worship

(Experiencing God)

Daily devotional life

The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

Koinonial - Equip and care for the people God gives us

Private meals with friends and strangers

Participate in a face-to-face group

(Equipping the People

Commit a percent of my income to God’s work of God)

Serve my church with specific ministry

Missional - Engage the World to which God sends us

Complete my work with excellence

Offer the compassion of Jesus (show up)

(Engaging our world)

The Seven Habits of the Burning Heart

Growing My Passion for God

Caring for Myself

Deepening My Relationships

Spending Time with Other

Christians

Managing What God Has

Given Me

Giving Myself in Service

Offering My Work to the Lord

The Habit of Devotion

The Habit of Well-being

The Habit of Family &

Friendships

The Habit of Fellowship

The Habit of Stewardship

The Habit of Ministry & Mission

The Habit of Work

© 2004 E. Stanley Ott