Greenhouse Christianity: Creating Spaces Where People Grow

What does the discipleship process look like?

What does the discipleship process look like?

What does the discipleship process look like?

If people understand the truth, they will do it. Educational Model Preach. Teach. Study. If people understand the truth, they will do it. Head Hands

What did Jesus have to say about it? A student (disciple) is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. Luke 6:40 (NIV) How is the American church doing at producing people—and church families—that are like Jesus?

How did Jesus go about it? He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with Him and that He might send them out. Mark 3:14 (NIV)

How did that work out? When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (NIV)

Matthew 28:19-20 GNT Making disciples=___________ + ________________ Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. Making disciples=___________ + ________________ It’s not about how many people “get saved.” It’s about how many are living the way Jesus taught.

How did that work out? When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (NIV) Why didn’t Jesus start a seminary?

SCHOOLING VS. DISCIPING “The formal school setting itself defines certain relationships and certain kinds of sharing (of ideas, not feelings) as appropriate, and thus rules out the kinds of relationships which are significant for discipling!” “Strikingly, it seems that when we adopted from our culture the formal school approach to nurture, we in fact set up the conditions under which discipling and growth in likeness are least likely to take place!” Lawrence O. Richards A Theology of Christian Education, pp. 113-114

What’s missing? The Heart of discipleship. Educational Model Preach. Teach. Study. If people understand the truth, they will do it. Head Hands What’s missing? The Heart of discipleship.

Rethinking Disciple-Making (Why the schooling approach falls short) Whole Person Change Head Heart Hands The heart of discipleship is heart change.

3 Levels of Conversation Mouth-to-mouth Head-to-head Heart-to-heart Heart change takes place at this level.

What would that look like? What kind of disciple-making process would make heart change, rather than head knowledge, the heart of the process?

What would that look like? It might look like this.

…or this

…or this

Four Marks of a Disciple-Making Relationship The disciple needs frequent contact with the discipler over time, leading to an open, caring relationship between them. The disciple must observe the discipler in various settings and situations, giving the disciple opportunity to see into the heart of the discipler. The discipler’s actions must be clear and consistent and line up with the church’s values. The discipler needs to explain his or her lifestyle, with instruction accompanying shared experience. Adapted from Lawrence O. Richards Christian Education pp. 84-85  

If anything but relationships is central, the church gets sick. If teaching truth becomes central, the church becomes arrogant and judgmental: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Cor. 8:1) If doing ministry (tasks/programs) become central, we burn out. The primary condition for making disciples is not “teaching truth,” not doing, but creating safe spaces for regularly doing open heart surgery—”teaching to obey.” Without this, the church is just a religious organization.

CREATING SAFE SPACES FOR REGULAR OPEN-HEART SURGERY

Heart Operating Rooms House Churches Ministry Teams Important: Get the teaching right. More important: Safe places for open-heart surgery. House Churches Ministry Teams Discipleship Triads

Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thess. 5:11 NIV

James 5:16 The Message Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.

Pastor Dennis In the first 18 months after we started house churches, we saw more life transformation than in the previous 21 years I had pastored at Hilltop.

We believe this way of life to which Jesus calls us can ONLY be lived out in community.

How has your house church or triad created a safe space for you to grow and be transformed?