All in Discipleship

This week I'm featuring the first of two podcasts I was privileged to be a part of with Pastor Jeff Jackson and Bryon Mondok of Shepherd's Staff Mission Facilitators whom I've worked with for many years. Shepherd's Staff has also been and still is our agency for handling our missions support for many years.

You might want to check out Part 1 for some background to this podcast– Orality Movement Part 1

I hope it's an encouragement to you and gives you some insight about orality—what it is—and biblical storying and how it became one of the ministry tools I gained in the process of doing ministry overseas and at home in the US.

How can anyone resist the pull of peer pressure? It's easy to say, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything!" But resisting the influence of others is often not so easy.

At times, the forcefulness of other people intimidates us. Some people sound so convincing when they present an opportunity or plan as an adventure or a sure bet that we need to get in on.

Discipleship isn’t about mimicking others, but following the example of those who follow Jesus.

If a person’s example doesn’t match that of the Lord, then don’t follow it or them. But if it does, it’s the wise path. This is how the Lord Jesus trained His disciples to be disciple-makers.

How do we know if it's the right example and path? We need both discernment and guidance from the Holy Spirit that lines up with the truth of God's Word (1 Cor 2:12-14).

No spiritual leader, pastor, or teacher has all the answers, and no denomination or church has a corner on the truth. We are called to follow Jesus, not personalities or policies or pet theologies.

The same year President Obama and his family went to Hawaii for the holidays, Susan and I celebrated Christmas and New Years in the Philippines. No white Christmas for us! But living there for fifteen years, we're familiar with celebrating Christmas in a tropical setting.

However, when we travel and the president travels, it's very different. We pass through various security checks. He and his family have a security team to protect them.

Why all the security? We live in a time when trust is scarce.