Practices of Disciple Making Churches: Obedience-Based, Reproducible Models | Bobby Harrington & Josh Howard

Practices of Disciple Making Churches: Obedience-Based, Reproducible Models | Bobby Harrington & Josh Howard

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/obedience-based-reproducible-models/ [https://renew.org/obedience-based-reproducible-models/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] Imagine a disciple making model so simple a teenager could lead it in a school cafeteria, a new believer could start it in a living room, a prisoner could lead it in his prison unit, and a recovering addict could reproduce it in a halfway house—with no staff, no budget, and no special training. If your model can’t do that, it may be good ministry—but it’s not multiplication. If it isn’t reproducible by teenagers and new believers, it’s not disciple making; it’s a dependency factory. Jesus never asked his disciples to master theology before they could make disciples. He sent them out while they were still learning. He taught them through doing, not just hearing. And when he commanded them to make disciples of all nations, he expected them to pass on what they’d received—immediately, simply, and practically. The early church understood this. They didn’t require seminary degrees or a complex curriculum. New believers turned around and made disciples. Ordinary people—fishermen, tax collectors, former prostitutes—reproduced what they’d learned because the model was simple enough to pass on. Somewhere along the way, we made it complicated. We turned disciple making into programs requiring trained professionals. We created systems so complex that only the educated could navigate them. We made disciple making a class to attend instead of a life to imitate. And then we wondered why multiplication stopped. Level 5 churches have recovered something the early church never lost: the power of simplicity. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

5 Sources of Endurance | Debbra Stephens

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/5-sources-of-endurance/ [https://renew.org/5-sources-of-endurance/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] 5 Sources of Endurance – Building Strength in Faith * 5 Sources of Endurance emphasize that God, Scripture, and prayer provide the foundation believers need to persevere through trials. * Hope in Christ inspires endurance, allowing Christians to press forward even when challenges seem overwhelming. * A heart grounded in joy and trust helps believers endure hardships with resilience and grace. Endurance is the ability to withstand difficulties. Endurance can be defined as the “continuing commitment in the face of difficulty” (Baker Evangelical Dictionary). Boy oh boy, do we ever have our share of difficulty! Have we seen “continuing commitment in the face of it”? Well, we’ve heard many inspiring, heroic stories of people enduring extreme situations on the historical world stage. And we also have the witness of those believers in the New Testament who endured spiritually. When I think of endurance, my mind often goes to the world of sports, because of the intense training athletes undergo in order to compete. How as Christians can our capacity to endure increase? Let’s allow Scripture to answer our probing questions. From Scripture, we learn 5 sources of endurance: Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

A Meditation on Ephesians 4:29 | Chad Ragsdale

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/a-meditation-on-ephesians-429/ [https://renew.org/a-meditation-on-ephesians-429/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] Before launching into this post, I need to acknowledge that I struggle with my words. In my writings, I wrestle publicly with ideas in the hopes of arriving at some clarity. That doesn’t mean that I have everything figured out. In the case of “taming the tongue” I have a long way to go. My favorite author is G. K. Chesterton, who possessed the unique ability to lay waste to a mountain of foolishness with one razor-sharp aphorism. For instance, he once said, “Tolerance is the virtue of people who do not believe in anything.” This is true, but it also bites. This is why Chesterton is revered by many but reviled by some. I will never be Chesterton, but in my juvenile attempts to emulate him, it is tempting for me to put the bite over and above the truth. I’ve always been drawn to those who are eloquent in the language of irony and sarcasm, to those who are skilled at fighting with their words. Venkman in Ghostbusters. Stark in Avengers. Solo in Star Wars. I know that doesn’t make me special. Those are most people’s favorite characters. I’m merely recognizing that to actually live like these characters will invite trouble. It is with that necessary preface, then, that I offer this brief meditation on Ephesians 4:29. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

10 Tools for Biblical Interpretation | Dyron B. Daughrity

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/10-tools-for-biblical-interpretation/ [https://renew.org/10-tools-for-biblical-interpretation/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] Biblical interpretation is a virtual science these days. Many PhDs are granted each year in this impressive academic discipline. Scholars study genre—looking at forms, styles, and particular audiences. They look at the context of texts. They examine authorship. They construct chronologies to determine the precise dating of texts. These are just at the tip of the iceberg of an enormous body of scholarship that is collectively known as biblical hermeneutics, also known as biblical interpretation. But you don’t need a PhD in order to use hermeneutical tools to understand the Bible better. Here’s a quick “top ten” list of hermeneutical tools we can all use: Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]

Addiction: Understanding the Brain and Neuroplasticity | Marcus De Carvalho, M.D

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/addiction-understanding-the-brain-and-neuroplasticity/ [https://renew.org/addiction-understanding-the-brain-and-neuroplasticity/]  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org * Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ [https://renew.org/articles/] What is our answer as Christians to the problem of addiction? Before I even attempt to provide an answer, I find it very helpful to start with providing a solid understanding of what happens in the brain of an addicted person. As human beings, we experience pleasure from what keeps us alive: we eat a meal and feel good; we sleep and feel good; we work out and feel a rush of goodness. We are rewarded in our bodies, so we continue certain behaviors, which is how God designed our bodies to work. He understood that we needed rewards to complete behaviors and achieve goals. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ [https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/] Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ [https://renew.org/resources/events/] Get the RENEW.org App -- https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/ [https://renew-app-page.bolt.host/]  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork [https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork] Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW [https://rumble.com/c/RENEW]