Discipleship in the Gospels is more than “being a Christian.” Putting it this way grants a notion of being a Christian that falls short. I don’t see a better way to speak about Christianity today. The reality is, many consider themselves Christians who have never been discipled, never considered the difference between discipleship and churchContinue reading “Discipleship in the Gospels: Following Jesus”
Category Archives: Discipleship
The Language of Discipleship: Some Basics
Words for Things I believe in arguing about words. The quest for understanding and the discovery of meaning—dialogical endeavors from beginning to end—require a certain verbal contentiousness. The truth is logos and not just any logos. With these stakes, semantic naïveté will not do. The struggle to say what we mean is too important. ButContinue reading “The Language of Discipleship: Some Basics”
Discipleship: A Theological Problem (Toward a Theology of Discipleship 1)
I recently gave a lecture titled “Discipleship in a Secular Age: Toward Missional Community” at Harding University’s annual lectureship, which focused this year on “Culture and the Crucified Christ: Studies in 1 and 2 Corinthians.” My present ambition is to repurpose the research and reflection that went into preparation for that lecture in order toContinue reading “Discipleship: A Theological Problem (Toward a Theology of Discipleship 1)”
On Discovery Bible Study: A Conversation with John King
This video records a long-form conversation in which John King tells his story as the lead developer of the Discovery Bible Study method (see additional resources below), and I air some of my doubts and concerns about DBS, especially in view of hermeneutical issues that face our shared tradition as members of Churches of Christ.Continue reading “On Discovery Bible Study: A Conversation with John King”
How Millennials Can Reach the Church
There has been a flood of advice in recent years aiming to teach churches how to “reach Millennials.” I think there is a better question: how can Millennials reach the church? On the one hand, churches are way harder to reach than Millennials. It’s going to take some real intentionality to help the church hear theContinue reading “How Millennials Can Reach the Church”
Enneagram? Meh.
“Do you know your Enneagram number?” Me: “I’m whichever number thinks the Enneagram is [nonsense].” I know there are some people (none of whom likely read my blog, or will continue to in any case) who feel the Enneagram saved their life or marriage or whatever and might be hurt by my opinion. In suchContinue reading “Enneagram? Meh.”
Discipleship Leads to Mission?
Mike Breen is wrong about missional ecclesiology. Here’s his claim: Now one of the buzzwords around today is the word “missional.” People want to create missional churches or missional programs or missional small groups. The problem is that we don’t have a “missional” problem or a leadership problem in the Western church. We have aContinue reading “Discipleship Leads to Mission?”
Scripture & Mission 