How to Create a Lifestyle of Discipleship
Is discipleship about gaining knowledge, or is it about a transformed life? Is it a series of classes or, like with Jesus and his pals, was it an all-of-life kind of a deal?
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re talking about true discipleship and looking at what a lifestyle of discipleship looks like when it is all woven into the normal rhythms of your everyday life in community.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- A working definition of discipleship that will reshape your thinking on this immediately
- How Jesus lived life with his disciples and what he then hoped/commanded them to do
- Why a series of 8-10 classes done in a classroom will never produce mature disciples
- Why an integrated lifestyle “apprenticeship” was Jesus’ model for us
From this episode:
“What I have found from speaking and training all over the world, and getting a zillion emails, is that the average Christian is looking to move their faith from just a weekly Sunday event to a daily, vibrant experience in the normal rhythms of everyday life.”
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others…
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Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Join Caesar for the free LIVE training September 16th
Coaching and Apprenticeship in Missional Living w/ Caesar and his wife, Tina
Resources for missional living and group training – Missio Publishing
Transcript
What I have found from speaking in training all over the world and getting a zillion emails is that the average Christian is looking to move their faith from just a weekly Sunday event.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:They're not trying to chuck that, but you know, here the whole thing here, don't tune out yet.
Speaker:They're looking to move their faith from just having a weekly Sunday event to a daily, vibrant experience in the normal rhythms of everyday life.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:They're searching for a more auth.
Speaker:Authentic, maybe even supernatural lifestyle with their faith lived out with family and close friends.
Speaker:And that's a good thing that, that people are starting to desire that that's not an, that's not a bang on the church or Sure.
Speaker:Like, oh man, church services suck or whatever.
Speaker:It's like, no, it's not that at all what they're desiring.
Speaker:God actually created him for that and it's good because that's how discipleship, true biblical discipleship actually happens as a lifestyle in the normal rhythms of life with others.
Speaker:Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast, where you'll learn how to live with greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of.
Speaker:Life.
Speaker:In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle.
Speaker:This is the stuff your parents, pastors and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
Speaker:And now here's your host.
Speaker:Caesar.
Speaker:Kalinowski.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Alrighty.
Speaker:Good to be back.
Speaker:Feeling really good.
Speaker:Tina and I just got back from a little vacation to Hawaii.
Speaker:That's my favorite place lately for just relaxing.
Speaker:I've even all over the world, been very fortunate in that sense.
Speaker:But when I really want to just ha relax my heart, now we go to Hawaii and we got to do that for a week and it was wonderful.
Speaker:We took our oldest grandson, Patton along with us, and we've been waiting years for these types of experience.
Speaker:When the babies are born, you're like, man, someday we're gonna take you to Hawaii.
Speaker:So last week was the time he was old enough to do that kind of traveling without his parents.
Speaker:This is actually a second trip with us to these kinds of things.
Speaker:Anyway, He's like the best traveler though.
Speaker:I used to be a missions pastor and I would have to drag a whole lot of folks from the church around the world on missions trips, sometimes 20, 25, I don't know, maybe more at a time.
Speaker:And it was just a constant series of people losing things, losing their backpack, losing luggage, losing their passports.
Speaker:One time we lost a person.
Speaker:Yeah, it happens, right?
Speaker:And you just get, ugh, you get so frustrated that Patton is six years old and he's like a rockstar traveler.
Speaker:He's got all of his stuff together.
Speaker:Whenever you know it's time to leave, wait, he's already ready.
Speaker:He's got everything outta the backpack.
Speaker:He's double check out of the back seat pack.
Speaker:I mean, he's double checked.
Speaker:It's on his backpack.
Speaker:He carries his backpack, he pulls his own roller board, like full adult size.
Speaker:I would take that kid anywhere and we had such a good time with him, man.
Speaker:Lots of exploring, lots of fun, and he had never seen Hawaii, so I loved it and he loved it.
Speaker:So anyway, feeling pretty good this week.
Speaker:Hey, I wanna read a review that came in recently on Apple, uh, podcasts.
Speaker:I think that's what they're calling it now.
Speaker:And this one's from, if I'm saying this, even close to right, you know, little handle names in there, casinos.
Speaker:So, thank you.
Speaker:It says, uh, leading from unbelief to belief.
Speaker:Exclamation, uh, love your work here, brother.
Speaker:Your motto of leading from unbelief to belief and what he's referring to is, is, uh, Discipleship, right, is the process of leading people to move from unbelief to belief.
Speaker:We're gonna talk a whole lot about that today.
Speaker:He says, it's so beautiful and it resonates with me.
Speaker:Thank you for your faithfulness to God and his call in your life.
Speaker:Hey, you're really welcome, brother and or sister, I don't know, casinos.
Speaker:And, uh, grateful for that.
Speaker:I hope that encourages others to also subscribe.
Speaker:And leave reviews wherever you can, depending on what platform you're listening.
Speaker:If you're listening on an Apple device, which is most people in the world when it comes to podcast, then you can do that.
Speaker:And I, I really wish you would if you've enjoyed the podcast and it's free, so pay it forward and encourage us by just leaving a review like, That.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:And if you need to, uh, find out where, you know, like I've been listening on your website, where, where else can I go?
Speaker:There are so many platforms out there for podcasts.
Speaker:We're on all of them, and you can go to everyday Disciple dot com slash listen to get a whole list of them and links right to them.
Speaker:That'll work on all kinds of devices.
Speaker:All right, and I also want to.
Speaker:Invite you to join me over at the Facebook page, the Everyday Disciple Podcast.
Speaker:We have our own group, over 5,000 people now, and you can, uh, always be updated on what's going on, new episodes, training free resources, ask questions, uh, just be a community.
Speaker:It's awesome.
Speaker:Join us over there.
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Speaker:It'll take you right there, or you can just search for it on Facebook.
Speaker:Just look it up and you'll find it real easily.
Speaker:We'd love to have you.
Speaker:All right, Heath, let's get her started.
Speaker:Today we're gonna get into discipleship pretty heavy.
Speaker:It's kind of the crux of what we talk
Speaker:about here on podcast.
Speaker:All of life really is discipleship and the way I see it.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:And and it's
Speaker:not necessarily a series of classes inside the church building before the service starts that has like a list of topics that need to be covered.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's not Sunday school, but I think what we're gonna head towards is you unpacking what it looks like to actually have a lifestyle where discipleship is woven and and fixed into the normal rhythms of our.
Speaker:Life and then the
Speaker:normal rhythms of our community.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:That's what I wanna talk about because it, it feels like, you know, Disciple show, like you said, it's not a series of classes.
Speaker:It's not, I mean, I guess it could be reduced to that, but that doesn't really get the job done.
Speaker:Um, but um, the reality is, is when it truly is woven into the normal rhythm of his life Yeah.
Speaker:Becomes the lifestyle.
Speaker:That's what we're looking for.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:And it's not like something to be added on.
Speaker:It's not additional.
Speaker:You just, you live it.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:And that's, I think that's what we're all looking for.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:So hopefully today will be, Uh, help with that for a lot of people.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:okay.
Speaker:When we start right here at the very beginning, let's start by defining discipleship.
Speaker:I know that you've given us cool, concise definition of this before in other episodes, but for those who are just tuning in, first time
Speaker:discipleship.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:So here's, here's how I define discipleship.
Speaker:Boom.
Speaker:Short discipleship is the process of moving from unbelief to belief in absolutely every area of life.
Speaker:So I'll put a little more meat on that.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:It's the process, discipleship's the process of moving from unbelief about what's true about God and what he's done and what's now true of us.
Speaker:So how we get to live, right?
Speaker:But in every area of life, we're moving from unbelief to belief.
Speaker:Some people call that sanctification.
Speaker:I think those are kind of interchangeable words in that sense.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Um, but yeah, that's, and that's it.
Speaker:See, discipleship isn't head knowledge.
Speaker:It's not acquisition of.
Speaker:A ton of Bible verses.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Or like if you read through the whole Bible like three times and you, you know, you do a study in Romans at a men's group.
Speaker:I guess I'm discipled.
Speaker:I don't, you know.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Discipleship is the process of moving from unbelief to belief.
Speaker:In absolutely every area of life.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And I think that's a lifelong journey because um, you know, you hang out with me enough to know I'm not exactly like Jesus in every area of my life.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, and my thought, and you know, deed and language and alt right, it's like sure, like we're all in process, but we're in the process of moving from unbelief to belief.
Speaker:And the reason I say that is cuz the Bible teaches really clearly that all sin.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:There's things that aren't like God, don't please him.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Separate us from God are all connected to our unbelief.
Speaker:About what's true of him.
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:And or our, our restored identity.
Speaker:So discipleship then again, is the process of moving from unbelief to belief in every area of life, not just in the belief about our atonement, you know, and someday, we'll, you know, be sure Christ forever in heaven.
Speaker:But, but in like, what about our parenting?
Speaker:What about.
Speaker:Our marriage.
Speaker:What about our budget?
Speaker:What about how we spend our time on our vacation, our generosity?
Speaker:What about our attitude?
Speaker:What about literally
Speaker:how we tip literally every area?
Speaker:Yeah, exactly right.
Speaker:So that's, that's what I'm talking about.
Speaker:A lifestyle now of discipleship would be a lifestyle where we.
Speaker:And I'm gonna make the case for why it has to be with others.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Um, where we are in the process of ourselves and helping others move from unbelief to belief in every area of God.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So the
Speaker:distinction is, uh, when I was a kid, raised in a little Wesleyan church in Southern California.
Speaker:Um, way to go.
Speaker:Yeah, they did.
Speaker:They tried.
Speaker:But one of the things that you just said that was super helpful is my discipleship, uh, unspoken was the information, it was a transformation of knowledge.
Speaker:It was.
Speaker:Bible study.
Speaker:It was Wednesday night, uh, AWANA's or, or whatever it was that they tried to get us to, but there was no interest.
Speaker:Did you crush the
Speaker:AWANA's stuff?
Speaker:Yeah, the uh, sword drills.
Speaker:You ever Yeah, I did that.
Speaker:I
Speaker:was king.
Speaker:Eighth grade winner in my school.
Speaker:Sword drill.
Speaker:Yeah, I was fast,
Speaker:man.
Speaker:I'm gonna think of some good questions maybe for another episode.
Speaker:Do some, they scared to me sword drilling for you,
Speaker:but, um, so discipleship, what we're saying is it's not that, that acquisition.
Speaker:Of information that is downloaded by us studying harder or longer
Speaker:on a specific and then go try harder to change your behavior Yeah.
Speaker:Or something.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Hoping it just naturally will catch up to you.
Speaker:So if it's not this series of classes or 10 topics to be covered, because I didn't even get that growing up.
Speaker:If people are not getting that, then what is, uh, Sunday morning's purpose, is it ever gonna get the job
Speaker:done?
Speaker:Well, I don't, I mean, I'm all about getting together on Sunday and I love preaching.
Speaker:I'm a preacher, right.
Speaker:I love it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But no, I, it will not get it done alone.
Speaker:It, it can be a part of it because you know, the renewing of our minds, right?
Speaker:Learning things is part of that, but it will never get to the point of.
Speaker:Making mature disciples in every area of life because sitting there in silence, you don't get to address every area of life.
Speaker:And then someone gets to walk and watch and Yeah, speak into it.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And you know what I have found from speaking and training all over the world and getting a zillion emails, is that the average Christian I.
Speaker:Is looking to move their faith from just a weekly Sunday event.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:They're not trying to chuck that, but they're, you know, here the whole thing here, don't tune out you.
Speaker:They're, they're, they're looking to move their faith from just having a weekly Sunday event to a daily, vibrant experience in the normal rhythms of everyday life.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:They're searching for a more authentic, maybe even supernatural lifestyle.
Speaker:With their faith, lived out with family and close friends.
Speaker:And that's a good thing that, that people are starting to desire that that's not an, that's not a bang on the church or Sure.
Speaker:Like, oh man, church services suck or whatever.
Speaker:It's like, no, it's not that at all what they're desiring.
Speaker:God actually created him for that.
Speaker:And it's good because that's how discipleship, true biblical discipleship actually happens as a lifestyle in the normal rhythms of life with others.
Speaker:And let, let me just say why it has to be that way.
Speaker:Like you'll never, you'll never get to full.
Speaker:I don't believe you'll get to full maturity.
Speaker:With just learning stuff.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And self-study or even on a one-to-one because no one's Jesus alone.
Speaker:Okay, sure.
Speaker:So for one, they'll just say that you, you can't one-to-one Disciple somebody to maturity because you are not Jesus.
Speaker:You have unbelief in your life.
Speaker:You've got areas, and you might be able to help me with certain things, and that might be an aspect of it, but I think it.
Speaker:It takes these three things.
Speaker:It takes the Gospel in community lived together on mission to make a mature Disciple.
Speaker:Here's why.
Speaker:The Gospel is what sets us free.
Speaker:It's what transforms us.
Speaker:It's what we're moving from unbelief in the Gospel to belief in the Gospel in every area of life.
Speaker:So it's gotta be Gospel centered.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:Not knowledge centered.
Speaker:Bible literacy isn't Bible fluency.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:We talked about that.
Speaker:Has to be done in community because that's when we get rubbed on.
Speaker:That's when my preferences and my likes and dislikes and sin comes out.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And, and you know, sitting on the couch watching tv, no one gets to see me sin.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Or what my thought life is or what.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:But in community, That's when it comes out and I need someone to speak the truth back to me.
Speaker:Remind me of my own belief, or show me my own belief and help me move to belief.
Speaker:And then on mission, because it's, it's that outward expression.
Speaker:It's that moving out mission, by the way, is discipleship, but it's the outward movement towards those who are not yet in the family.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, they're not yet living with dad and, and his kids.
Speaker:And it's when we start to.
Speaker:Sort of serve the least of these and give our life and our preferences and reorient our life around their life and needs that they're, again, a lot of our unbelief surfaces.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, my unbelief doesn't surface, you know, with a bowl of popcorn sit on my lap and a cold beverage and the remote in my hand.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:It's when I'm out.
Speaker:With people who don't necessarily agree with me or see the world the way I do.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Or when I'm serving 'em and they're not that thankful or they're smelly or dirty or weird or have a different worldview, or they hate my worldview, that's when my own unbelief and sanctification needs sort of show up.
Speaker:So it takes the Gospel in community on mission to actually, I think, make 'em mature.
Speaker:Disciple, which
Speaker:sounds opposite almost, almost exactly opposite of everything that we're currently used to.
Speaker:So you got the Gospel.
Speaker:Not necessarily a big community, typically even the phrase, but in a small group, closed off group of the same people that kind of meet all the time where we get together and study the Bible, but we don't really know how to apply it to each other's life.
Speaker:And so like we've talked before, I can show up on Sundays and even Wednesday night and I can fool people for a really long time and for years I have.
Speaker:Oh yeah.
Speaker:But it's when.
Speaker:We're actually in community and people are in my house going, dude, I'm noticing a pattern of the way you're so short with your wife or Exactly.
Speaker:Your kids are coming up to you and it takes them like, you know, you're, you're, you're harsh with them what's going on there and that's when Yeah.
Speaker:That's when you're able to Gospel some
Speaker:unbelief.
Speaker:Exactly.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Now some of some folks are listening right now going like, Hey, exactly why I don't do community.
Speaker:That's true.
Speaker:So, you know, preface, sanctification, preface here, this is God's desire and design for us, but it might not be ours all the time.
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Just being honest.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, and that was the biggest leap for me is that hurdle of
Speaker:initially
Speaker:diving here, but it really has to happen in a Gospel centered community living together on mission.
Speaker:That's, that's, that's sort of the.
Speaker:Primary organizing structure.
Speaker:That's the bed that discipleship happens in.
Speaker:It's not gonna happen in a classroom alone or listening to sermons alone.
Speaker:It's just, it won't.
Speaker:If it could've, Jesus would've done it that differently.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:He did it that way.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So this sounds probably new to people.
Speaker:It sounds super exciting and elusive, but it also sounds super rare because there's not too many people that I know that have really even ever experienced discipleship.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:I'm one of those.
Speaker:Even in their Christian faith in this sort of manner or this depth.
Speaker:And so most Christians that I know are typically stuck in this loop of Sunday to Sunday.
Speaker:We'll see you next week.
Speaker:And that's all the ask
Speaker:we have of people.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And I don't, I don't even think most Christians go to church services mean
Speaker:every
Speaker:week anymore.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:No, I think 1.7 times a month, uh, or 2.3 times.
Speaker:Like, it's like the national average,
Speaker:it's weeks a month.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:For the committed Christians.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:For members.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So, um, What are your thoughts on this?
Speaker:Is that, that on that loop of Sunday to Sunday
Speaker:and, well, I think you're right.
Speaker:I think, I think that's what we're taught and I think that's kinda what we get stuck in that.
Speaker:And um, I wanna tell you a little bit of my own story coming up here in a minute, but, you know, the only people I've seen consistently end this cycle and breakthrough to live one, like integrated life versus living like my real life over here and then fitting their Christian life Sure.
Speaker:And service and all that stuff.
Speaker:Uh, in over here are those that have experienced a pretty rare but very real.
Speaker:Lifestyle apprenticeship.
Speaker:That's what I wanna call it.
Speaker:Like you can't study your way in books to this.
Speaker:You can't sit in enough sermons or conferences or seminars to get this.
Speaker:The people I know that have broken that cycle, I'm not saying they won't go to church, I'm saying, but they've broken that.
Speaker:That's it.
Speaker:That's their kind of level of spirituality and experience of it.
Speaker:But for themselves and their family, the ones I know that have actually done this, where they have an integrated life, have experienced literally a lifestyle apprenticeship form of discipleship.
Speaker:It was, it was about all of life.
Speaker:And it was, like I said already, it has to be lived with others in community that see all of life and they see all of your life in turn.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:So you had just mentioned a moment ago getting into some of your story, and one of the things I appreciate is, oh boy, you're down.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You're down the trail a little bit.
Speaker:You've, you've been in this lifestyle for quite a while.
Speaker:How did this start out for you and Tina?
Speaker:Uh, were you guys discipled in this way, like a lifestyle of dec of apprenticeship or is it something you just discovered?
Speaker:Well eventually, but well long before I sold a ton of books on this topic or helped plant churches and apprentice thousands of people into this lifestyle of mission and discipleship in like a dozen countries, my family and friends, we were all trying to figure this out too.
Speaker:Just like everybody.
Speaker:And I started hearing this term that described the life of Jesus in his disciples.
Speaker:You know, those first ones and those who live like missionaries today.
Speaker:And there's this term was Missional.
Speaker:Now we've probably all heard that everybody listens.
Speaker:Probably heard Missional.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But that, I remember back when I was hearing this, I was like, oh my gosh.
Speaker:Like people live like missionaries, you know?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's how Jesus lived.
Speaker:And it carried with a, this idea that our lives should be radically oriented around the same mission that Jesus was on, and in turn he sent his disciples to replicate, you know, making disciples to make disciples.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:As a family of missionaries together.
Speaker:So my wife and I, Uh, Tina and I, we decided that we were gonna begin to gather up some of our closest Christian friends to eat meals and discuss what it would look like for us to start living like as a Missional Community.
Speaker:We heard that term we're gonna do this, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, start to try to treat each other like family, like really inviting those that God would hopefully call us to Disciple, to also hang out with us and walk more closely with Jesus.
Speaker:Sounds good, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Our, our friends thought so too until, okay, yep.
Speaker:Until things progressed to where we were gonna actually move beyond a weekly meal.
Speaker:And just talking about it, you know, talking about being Missional to actually going out and building new relationships, and that takes time.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:And serving those in need in our city and actually going to make the disciples.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And that's when everybody recoiled a bit.
Speaker:You know, I started hearing like, oh man, that's, that all sounds good.
Speaker:See?
Speaker:But that means my schedule's gonna like, Really have to flex for that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, and I'm too busy, you know, or like maybe in the winter after all this, you know, soccer and school programming and stuff, maybe we'll see then, you know, or whatever.
Speaker:Mm-hmm.
Speaker:And that's kinda when it all fell apart and we pretty quickly, unfortunately, we pretty quickly ended up disbanding our little, you know, band of brothers and sisters, so to speak.
Speaker:Oh man.
Speaker:And kind of discouraged.
Speaker:We decided, I guess this Missional thing just doesn't work here in the suburbs.
Speaker:You know, we lived in the suburbs of Chicago, but Sure.
Speaker:You know, they just doesn't work where you live.
Speaker:Now there's good news though.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:The story didn't end there.
Speaker:It did for a moment.
Speaker:You know, it did for a season, right?
Speaker:But I've learned a lot since then, and that's probably why we're talking about this today.
Speaker:And we, we've now like God's grace man, like lived a really rich experience of our faith in community with friends and neighbors for years and, and guess what?
Speaker:So do our now grown kids.
Speaker:They love God.
Speaker:They love people really well, and like have an open table and it's, and they do this right?
Speaker:And it turns out that trying to jam a bunch of, you know, quote Missional stuff into our schedules wasn't really the answer.
Speaker:And, and what we discovered was that like we, we kind of landed on this unique combination of like kind of innovative teachings that kind of tweaked a bunch of ideas, like I said, how to unlearn, learn some stuff, you know?
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Um, some heart transformation that had to take place and then like immersive training experiences where people like kind of do life together Yep.
Speaker:Um, in real time.
Speaker:And, and that creates what I, you know, referred to early as like an integrated lifestyle apprenticeship.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:And you know what, by the way, that's pretty much what Jesus did with his folks.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So, um, and, and let me just say this right now.
Speaker:You, you're not gonna wanna miss our next episode because I'm gonna tell you the kinda the rest of that story and what we learned and how we started to change everything starting with ourselves.
Speaker:But everybody just keep listening here today.
Speaker:I'm not done.
Speaker:I'm gonna tell you, you know, more about.
Speaker:How this type of apprenticeship works and how you can maybe even get engaged in something like that with me real soon.
Speaker:So anyway,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:So I can actually speak into that from a real life experience.
Speaker:The, the way that I fell in love with this concept, like when you said you hear the term Missional and you were gonna put your band of brothers together.
Speaker:It happened for me after hearing, uh, it was you speaking at a conference and, uh, oh man, you spoke with, actually you spoke with Hugh Halter.
Speaker:Uh, Jeff Vanderstelt was there and it was, uh, a bunch of different churches coming together trying to figure out what this.
Speaker:Gospel and community and mission look like and the the biggest question was that we were all so excited cuz it's such an a normal way of living.
Speaker:We got back and we're like, okay, where do we start?
Speaker:And we all had different viewpoints on where to start and we couldn't figure out a happy like foundation to start living this way out together.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So, and I, I get that email or question every day.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's like pretty much, Hey, this sounds
Speaker:great,
Speaker:but where Yeah.
Speaker:And especially if you're trying to work it out with people who do have schedules that are busy, but we promised at the beginning to tell people how they could get started living, uh, this lifestyle discipleship, um, themselves.
Speaker:And so my question is, What would be your answer to those who want a square one first thing to do to get this sort of thing going?
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:Well, Heath, like I said, you know, the average Christian is looking to move their faith from just a weekly event.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:To a more daily, vibrant experience of, you know, their faith in the rhythms of everyday life and,
Speaker:First off, you have to want that.
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:Like if you don't, you know, you're probably just turn the podcast off now.
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:Because some people don't.
Speaker:People would you say
Speaker:also they need to be willing to sacrifice to get that right?
Speaker:Because I know a lot of people
Speaker:that want that, but they just don't.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:But I'll be honest with you, like, like everything, that's God's grace and it's beautiful.
Speaker:Like you might think you're sacrificing until you actually do, and then God blesses the heck how you are.
Speaker:Like that was no sacrifice.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:It's like you lose your life to gain it kind of thing, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So, so like I said, most people are already, I think, are looking for this.
Speaker:I don't know too many people when you talk about would you like to have a, a vibrant faith that touches all of life, not just like when you're sitting in the pew and getting your mind blown by a killer sermon.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Like, nope, I'm just happy with that.
Speaker:There are those folks though, and probably not even listening cause they wouldn't have found us and stuck on this, but, but what they haven't though found is a way to break.
Speaker:Out of that Christian cycle of like, you know, American life or whatever you're listening from.
Speaker:I know people listen to all over will but like this Christian cycle of really busy of you know, in life and work.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:You know, and kids and all and then you just kind of a little bit of Sunday church or maybe a weekly small group jammed in when it fits.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And most people though, they might want it.
Speaker:They don't like you said.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I don't know how to break the cycle though, cuz I still got home from that conference and.
Speaker:I was busy as heck.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And everybody had a different opinion.
Speaker:A little bit of the blind leading the blind.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:And so what I find is they end up kind of doing the same things year after year, but hoping for a miracle.
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:You know, hoping for something to magically change, but it doesn't.
Speaker:So, you know, you read another book on Missional or you, you know, you hear Sure.
Speaker:A podcast, you know?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Or you, you know, something else and you just, but it, right.
Speaker:So, Yeah, that,
Speaker:yeah, I, I agree with what
Speaker:you're saying.
Speaker:So let me give you, let me give you this week's big three as a way of giving everyone the takeaways, like that starting point.
Speaker:Okay, cool.
Speaker:So the big three is something that we do in each episode.
Speaker:These are things that you, uh, you're gonna want to know and believe things you can get started with right away.
Speaker:In light of today's discussion
Speaker:and every week, you can also get a printable PDF of the week's Big three as a free download.
Speaker:We always do that by going to everyday Disciple dot com slash big three b i g three, before I give you those though.
Speaker:I wanted to tell y'all that in just a few weeks, we're opening up only 12 spots to begin working with a limited group of dedicated Disciple makers who are gonna join us in our everyday Disciple makers coaching experience.
Speaker:With our everyday Disciple framework, you'll find clarity on what discipleship really is, what it looks like, and how to Disciple others to maturity.
Speaker:It's all the stuff we've been talking about today.
Speaker:We'll teach you exactly what to do and how to do it with the confidence to keep moving forward at a sustainable pace, something that fits your life we'll help you find a work ministry family life balance while making discipleship part of your normal life.
Speaker:If you feel like your current Disciple making process or lack thereof is not producing transformation, freedom and maturity in your people, our proven discipleship framework will help you change that.
Speaker:We've helped thousands of people in every imaginable context and age and stage of life do that, and like we said, they're finding greater spiritual freedom as they are released from a discipleship model.
Speaker:That's sort of week to week and based on behavioral modification and sin management, they're seeing the relationships healed that have been broken sometimes for years and years.
Speaker:And all of this flows from gaining a deeper understanding of the Gospel in all of life and then growing in our gospel fluency, the ability to see and speak and experience the good news in every part of our lives and relationships with others.
Speaker:If you wanna get more information on exactly how this coaching works, maybe you're just kind of wondering.
Speaker:Scratching your head.
Speaker:I'm thinking about this.
Speaker:You talk about it pretty often.
Speaker:You wanna find out more if and see if it's a good fit for you.
Speaker:You know, let's just do that.
Speaker:Let's just talk.
Speaker:Go to everyday Disciple dot com slash coaching to set up a discovery call.
Speaker:You and I will hop on, get to know each other, find out a little bit about your current discipleship process, and see if we can help you accomplish your Disciple making goals, either as a family or for your entire church.
Speaker:So just go to everyday Disciple dot com slash coaching and let's get this ball rolling.
Speaker:Now, Heath, back to the big three.
Speaker:Caesar Big three for this week.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:And there again, this is, this big three will serve as like, here's where I think it starts.
Speaker:Like you're trying to live a lifestyle this, you know, like what do we do, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So anyway, big three head, heart, hands.
Speaker:Discipleship is meant to be an all of life activity.
Speaker:A lifestyle.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I hope you know that we've said that enough today that people start to believe that it's all in.
Speaker:Yeah, it's all in.
Speaker:It's not a series of classes.
Speaker:It's not like I turn it on, I turn it off like I'm doing discipleship.
Speaker:It's a lifestyle.
Speaker:Um, and without intentional effort to both be discipled and to live with and then Disciple others, there is no way to really make mature disciples that look more and more like Jesus.
Speaker:Remember.
Speaker:Man, I told you GC and M like Gospel centered in community and out on mission together.
Speaker:That's great.
Speaker:So I hope people will, will know that.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Now second of the big three, believe that the discipleship model that Jesus practiced with his disciples is the same one he calls us to today.
Speaker:I. He didn't say, Hey, I did it this way and I taught them to do it this way.
Speaker:And I sent them out to do exactly what I told 'em to do and modeled.
Speaker:Yeah, but you'll just make up something else.
Speaker:Maybe sit in rows, take some notes.
Speaker:You know, it's like he, he sent 'em out to do it.
Speaker:Life on life, life in community and life on mission.
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:And, and remember this, Jesus was a carpenter and he was far more likely to think of his disciples as apprentices.
Speaker:Not as students.
Speaker:Yeah, it's good.
Speaker:Like I'm gonna get a bunch of knowledge in your heads, guys.
Speaker:No.
Speaker:Their apprentices, what's apprentice do.
Speaker:That's why I call it a lifestyle apprenticeship.
Speaker:They learn the skill from there.
Speaker:The one who know better, watch, they try,
Speaker:they suck, they learn, they ask questions, hands on.
Speaker:Exactly right.
Speaker:And then the third of the big three.
Speaker:Stop hoping for a miracle to happen and change things.
Speaker:Without some new intentionality in your life, you won't all of a sudden somehow magically produce mature disciples and children who grow up to love the Lord and live a healthy Missional lifestyle.
Speaker:It's not gonna just magically happen.
Speaker:Hm.
Speaker:Um, get the training you need.
Speaker:Invest in your life and in the lives of your children and your friends and your neighbors.
Speaker:Alrighty.
Speaker:And remember, if you wanna learn more about the coaching that we offer, how it works, and see if it's a good fit for you, go to everyday Disciple dot com slash coaching.
Speaker:Let's set up a discovery call.
Speaker:There's no obligation or anything, just want to talk to you, get to know you a little bit, find out about your current Disciple making process, see what's going on, see if we can help you move things forward, either for you and your family, or if you're leading a church or a bunch of small groups, or whatever it be.
Speaker:Missional communities.
Speaker:Just go to everyday Disciple dot com slash coaching and we'll get you started.
Speaker:All right?
Speaker:Or at least see if it's a good fit.
Speaker:Okay?
Speaker:I sure hope you'll do that, and I sure hope you'll join us again next week.
Speaker:We'll tell you what we've learned about how to jumpstart or restart your Missional communities or small group.
Speaker:It'll all naturally flow out of today's talk as sort of a part two, and you won't wanna miss it, and I'll talk to you soon.
Speaker:Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker:For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit everyday Disciple dot com and remember, you really can live with the spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.
Speaker:How to Create a Lifestyle of Discipleship | https://EverydayDisciple.com/441