How Jesus Made Disciples (from theResurgence)

A great series on discipleship from the folks at the Resurgence:

Posts in this series:

Hospitality

Mission

Emotion

Monologue & Dialogue

Stupid Questions

The Heart

Testing

Object Lessons

Discomfort

Sending & Praying

Pointing to the Father

Pointing to the Spirit

Dying

Jesus Equips

Jesus’ Teaching Methods

Additional Resources
"Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." - A message on Luke 5:1-11.(Discussion Questions)

The Trellis and the Vine - I'll mention it again... it is worth your reading!

Building The Church or Making Disciples
Why We Prefer Church-Building
The Downstream Effects of Church-Building
The Downstream Effects of Making Disciples v. Building Churches - Part 1
The Downstream Effects of Making Disciples v. Building Churches - Part 2
The Downstream Effects of Making Disciples v. Building Churches - Part 3
How does a church change from "church-building" to "disciple-making"? - Part 1
How does a church change from "church-building" to "disciple-making"? - Part 2

Andy McKee's "Drifting": See why it has been viewed 27 million times

You may have seen it before but it is so worth your 3 minutes:

Leadership Fridays: Leading Yourself (from theResurgence)

A helpful post by Mars Hill Pastor Dave Kraft to generate some healthy self-examination among leaders:

"When most leaders think of leadership, they think of downwardly leading those for whom they’re responsible. But you really lead upwardly (with those to whom you are responsible), horizontally (with those who are your peers), and, perhaps most importantly, inwardly (you lead yourself). If I am not able to lead myself, how can I lead others?

...
A Checklist For Self-Leading
Here are a few areas to consider that are consistent with 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 as you reflect on leading yourself.

1. My gifts. How am I doing at leading myself to know my gifts, stay within my limits, and develop those gifts to their highest, God-pleasing potential?
   
   
2. My character. How am I doing at leading myself to be a person of integrity who follows through on promises made and is a person that others can trust?
   
   
3. My purity. How am I doing at being careful of what my eyes see, my ears hear, and my mind thinks about? How are my relationships with members of the opposite sex? Do I have guidelines, safeguards, and appropriate and honest accountability?
   
   
4. My pride. How am I doing at keeping Christ at the center? Am I the hero of my own stories? Do the words I speak communicate an attitude of arrogance and superiority, or am I characterized by humility and teachability?
   
   
5. My pace. How am I doing at leading myself in the use of my time? Is my schedule writing checks my body can’t cash? Am I going at an unbalanced pace that is digging myself, and those whom I lead, an early grave? Do I have a biblical view of work and leisure, or am I a workaholic who gets a sense of self-worth based on my work?
   
   
6. My finances. How am I doing at leading myself in the money arena? Do I have healthy protection and checks and balances built-in regarding organizational funds that don’t belong to me? Are there healthy audits over all financial dealing with which I am associated? Do I resist the lusting and grabbing lifestyle of my culture, choosing instead to be content and satisfied with God’s provision? Or is my happiness at the door of the next purchase?
   
   
7. My anger. How am I doing at leading myself emotionally? Do I have a reputation for being a hothead and having a short fuse? Do I keep score regarding perceived slights, insults, and put-downs? Do resentment, bitterness, and lack of forgiveness characterize me? One survey I came across revealed that bitterness is the major cause of burnout for men between 38 and 50 years of age.

Read the whole thing here.

Additional Resources
Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft
A survey (Based on 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) to get the input of those around you.

Talking to your kids about sexual abuse with "The Swimsuit Lesson"

A few years ago my dear friend Jon Holsten began a mission to help parents address a very difficult subject, namely, child sexual abuse. This mission led him to develop a fantastic tool, a children's book entitled "The Swimsuit Lesson."

From his site:

His experiences on the front lines of law enforcement have led Jon to seek new ways to protect children from predators. His research and passion led him to create the wildly popular children's book: The Swimsuit Lesson. Beautifully written and illustrated, The Swimsuit Lesson helps parents talk to their young children about privacy, modesty, and those who might do them harm. The book has been featured on ABC's Good Morning America, numerous local media outlets and even caught the attention of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Jon has written articles on child sexual abuse and prevention for Focus on the Family, Children's Ministry Magazine, and other publications. In addition to his international speaking audiences, he has become a very popular speaker for local MOPS (Mothers' of Pre-Schoolers) groups.

The Swimsuit Lesson has been a simple, effective tool to instruct our kids on appropriate touch and to make them wary of sexual predation. My kids love the beautiful watercolor illustration (by another dear friend Scott Freeman) and they understand the simple message. I highly recommend it.
A great promo-trailer:

Sally Jenkins (Washington Post) on Tim Tebow

(HT: Josh Harris)

Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins writes about the controversial pro-life commercial Tim Tebow helped make for the Super Bowl:

I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.

Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn't be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't.

Read the full article