I was at a men’s ministry mini-conference recently, and for some reason the discussion prompted me to write down the names of men that I needed to call.  Some were guys I don’t know very well.  Others were guys I knew I could learn something from.  I thought of a few that seemed ready to take some steps in their faith that I might be able to disciple in some way. Still others were guys I hadn’t seen around for a while.

Thought the context was men’s ministry, the concept seems equally applicable in almost every area of life and for everyone in the Kingdom.  So, here is a question for you to think about:

What would happen if just ONE time a week you pursued ONE of these roles with ONE person? How could it affect their lives? How could it affect yours?

• FRIEND (Romans 13:8): One person you don’t know very well…yet.  Someone new from church or your neighborhood or workplace that you know only casually.  Someone that might be waiting for someone to connect with.
• DISCIPLE (Romans 15:14): One person that can disciple you.  Someone that has experienced the successes and failures of life that you are in the middle of or can see coming.  Someone further along in their walk with Christ that could help you with yours.  Someone with a character quality you admire and would like to emulate.
• DISCIPLER (Romans 15:14): One person you can disciple.  Someone with a younger faith, younger kids, a younger career…someone you can help along in some way.
• SHEPHERD (Romans 12:10-13): One person you haven’t seen for a while.  Someone that would feel the power of a shepherd’s concern for his sheep.

I’ve already started calling some of the guys from my list.  Guys who fit in these four circles.  I can’t speak for them, but it has been a rich blessing to me.  What do you think?  Can you think of people?  How could you interact with them?  What are some good ways to initiate the conversation?

This came from a recent discipling email from Bill Mowry (with the Navigators) regarding our concept of "time".  I thought it might be helpful to someone else in addition to me.

Why does it take so long?  Time crawls when we wait for a friend’s salvation or for someone to grow as a disciple. We look for time saving methods and programs to speed up growth. It’s easy to become frustrated if change doesn’t happen according to schedule. Could we have a mistaken view of time?

The New Testament uses two primary words for the Hebrew concept of time, chronos and kairos. Chronos time is chronological time. It refers to quantity of time or the amount of time passed (Matthew 25:19). Kairos time is about the "right" moment (Mark 1:15). In teaching, we talk about the "teachable moment," the time when we’re open to learn. This is kairos time.

Here’s a kairos time example. Dan told me how a friend had moved from an atheist to an agnostic to a genuine seeker. "Do you know what he showed me the other day?" said Dan, "He showed me his ‘proof book.’" Dan’s friend is journaling how God is "proving" Himself in his daily experience.  "This is a divine moment!" I told Dan. Was this time predictable? Was it plotted on a calendar? No, it can only be seized in this moment. This is kairos time, the unpredictable moment when the Holy Spirit intersects with life. God’s timetable may not always be our timetable.

Time for the Hebrews was not only in kairos moments but it was also measured by the rhythms of life. Instead of points on a timeline, the Bible pictures time as a series of constant rhythms:

• seed time and harvest
• cold and heat
• summer and winter (Genesis 8:22)

The New Testament pictures spiritual growth as seasonal rhythms. There’s a time to sow and water, plant and harvest (John 4:35-38; 1 Corinthians 3:6-8). For the Jewish mind, life was wrapped up in these rhythms, rhythms which portray life as a journey rather than a time line.

When we disciple others, we must learn to think in kairos time, spotting the teachable moments, observing the rhythms of the Holy Spirit. We can only do this as we get close enough to people to discern how the Holy Spirit is shaping one’s life story.

When we think in a Hebrew way about time, we learn to:

• Spot the teachable moments in people’s lives. These moments may not be the result of my ministry timetable.
• Pray for wisdom. The time for a penetrating question, an appropriate verse, or a hug are not scheduled like appointments in a Blackberry.
• Hope for a future. If life is like a journey with rhythms of stopping and starting, the final chapter in someone’s life is not written yet.

As you walk alongside people this week, ask God to help you spot a kairos moment in a conversation. Be alert to the rhythms of the Holy Spirit in a friend’s life. This sensitivity to God’s view of time allows us to join in His timetable.

A transformed worldview is an important part of spiritual maturity.  But it is not nearly enough.  We all know people (including ourselves) that know a lot about God and the Bible that we would not label "spiritually mature".  Why?  What is the missing component?

The second level of transformation required in the race toward spiritual maturity involves changing the way we live.   Again, both Psalm 86:11 and Romans 12:2 speak to this:

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. Psalm 86:11 (NLT)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT)

A transformed worldview is only helpful to the extent it enables us to live a transformed life.  It is not enough to view life from a Christian worldview, we must strive to live life according to that transformed worldview.

How do we transform our lifestyle?  In many ways, but primarily through being with other Christians who can model it for us.  While a transformed worldview can be taught by others, a transformed lifestyle is more likely to be caught from others.  We need to be around people who can intentionally (and unintentionally) show us how to live the Christian life.  We need to learn how to live out the answers to these questions:

• What does it look like to live in a Christian marriage? 
• How do I act and react as a Christian parent? 
• How do I make decisions about work and finances and relationships as a Christian?
• How do I respond to life from a Christian perspective?
• Etc, etc, etc.

At Grace Point, our Life Groups are designed to help people live transformed lives in a close family of other Christians trying to do the same thing.  Life Groups are a place to learn to live the Christian life together with others who are doing the same thing.

As our worldview and lifestyle is transformed, God will transform us in even more amazing ways.  That is the subject of the next post.

How about you?  Does your lifestyle reflect your worldview?  If so, how?  If not, why not?  How has your lifestyle changed over the years?

It is time again for our annual “Life Group Olympics” sponsored by Hans and Franz.  This is a time to have some fun together as a community of Life Groups and is a great time to invite someone new to join your Group for the afternoon.  It is an absolute blast!

When: Sunday, June 28th from 12:30 to 3:00pm.

Where: Grace Point.

What: food, fun and useless prizes!

Who: YOUR Group and as many guests as you like.  Kids are welcome and expected!  All the events are family-friendly.

Here is the video from last year’s event.  We had 7 Life Groups and 70 people.  This year we are shooting for 12 Groups and 120 people.  COME JOIN US!

Each year during Lent Grace Point focuses on a common, Church-wide theme.  This focus has included our Sunday services and Life Groups, and this year it will also include our Thursday morning Band of Brothers gathering and the EPIC Student Ministries.  It is always a powerful 40-day journey together as a church, and we are excited to get started this Sunday!

During these next 40 days, we are continuing to focus on Jesus’ command to us to be on a "Mission to Multiply" by looking at living lives that overflow with God’s love.

Outflow: outward-focused living in a self-focused world. Here is a sneak peek at what Outflow is all about:

There are several ways you can make this Outflow focus a life-changing 40 days:

• Sunday mornings: For the next six Sundays, the morning messages and EPIC gatherings at Grace Point will be centered around a particular theme of Outflow.  If you miss a Sunday, remember that our Sunday messages are always available on iTunes (search for GPCC) or on our web site.

• Life Groups: We are encouraging everyone to try out a Life Group for this 40 day journey.  Our Life Groups will be reading and discussing an Outflow book that follows along the same themes as the Sunday morning messages.  We will have tables set-up this Sunday (3/1) so that our Life Groups can introduce themselves to you.  Take a few minutes and see if there is a Group that fits your family!

• On your own: If you can’t join a Life Group right now and Thursday mornings don’t work for you, you can still follow along in the Outflow book by picking up a copy at the Welcome Table after each service this Sunday (3/1).  The books are $11.

• Band of Brothers: Our regular Thursday morning Band of Brothers gatherings will focus on how men can be on a mission to multiply.  This would be a GREAT time to try us out.  We meet every Thursday morning from 6:30 to 7:30am.  We’ll have Outflow books available for $11.

• Via the web: By subscribing to this blog, you’ll receive regular emails that follow along the Outflow series with thoughts and challenges along the way.  Just fill out the "Subscribe to this Blog" section in the upper right-hand corner of the site.

We will be praying for this series to be a life-changing time for us all as we consider how to multiply our lives into the people around us!

I’m in the middle of of a class called “Contemporary Evangelism”.  Rather than have us read and interact on a traditional textbook, they are having us read six different books with six different approaches to evangelism in the 21st century.  I have particularly enjoyed the one I just finished reading called Concentric Circles of Concern by W. Oscar Thompson.

Concentric Circles of Concern defines “lifestyle evangelism” and explains a strategy for living it out. Thompson defines lifestyle evangelism using the concept of seven concentric circles: circles of different sizes that all have the same center. Each circle represents a category of relationship: 1) self; 2) family; 3) relatives; 4) friends; 5) neighbors and associates; 6) acquaintances; and 7) person X.

The Gospel, Thompson argues, flows most naturally and effectively along these lines of relationships that are already established, starting with the people we are closest to and ending with those we know the least. He challenges the reader to consider this natural order when approaching evangelism. We ought to begin with ourselves and our family rather than focusing our attention on how to reach someone we may meet only once. It is hypocritical to think we can effectively share the Gospel with strangers when we cannot first tell those closest to us. On the other hand, once we have reached those closest to us, reaching the next set of relationships will be more natural, effective, and "honest".

I would HIGHLY recommend this book if you have trouble figuring out how to live, work and pray in such a way that you can eventually introduce Jesus to the people closest to you.