WISE INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TITUS CONNECTION Volume 14, Number 7 – JULY, 2020
Greetings. Social media advances for WILD are happening. This informational leadership letter is now the Titus Connection. No changes other than the title. What is so great is God has answered prayers from people praying with WILD for a long time and He has raised up several individuals who came to us desiring to help in various capacities. Now and in the coming weeks you will be able to experience the fruit of their labor. Mike
IMPRESS OR IMPACT PART 2 Discipling a believer of Jesus can be thrilling and difficult at the same time because we are diligently attempting to be used by the Holy Spirit to help shape and develop another human being who has Jesus living in him/her. We want to disciple or train is to multiply (reproduce) this developing believer. Granted, not all who are being trained right now, will continue to reproduce their lives into others. Yet, you and I need to make it clear to our trainees, that they are to take what they learn and pass it on – 2 Timothy 2:2 model. If trainees take what is being given them, obey and serve, this WILL grow the Church and subsequently raise up new churches. Spiritual growth in the form of obedience is what we want to see. As you and I both know that carrying out that obedience can be very challenging because we all have free will. Training (discipleship) is not simply acquiring knowledge. It is taking that knowledge and being personally obedient, then sharing that wisdom to the next 2 Timothy 2:2 generation. This is how the Church becomes spiritually strong, as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. Christians are getting very spiritually fat. We gain a lot of knowledge but do not do anything with that knowledge. If Christianity was simply dependent on spiritual knowledge, Satan would have been defeated a long time ago. One of our major problems in the Church is even though there are many believers in the world, very few have a biblical worldview. Having Bible knowledge can be very impressive but has little impact on one’s own life and upon the lives of others. To impact our world, we need to think as Jesus thinks. This means taking the knowledge we are gaining from all the different ways we are attaining it and being obedient to what we are learning, then serve. This equals spiritual maturity. Thinking as Jesus thinks is this process. Biblical worldview is everything that enters our lives, we evaluate all of it through Scripture and then, are obedient to the way Scripture says. Our values and beliefs become biblical even when our cultures are screaming something else and to do things differently than what the Bible indicates. Handing out Bible information whether we are giving actual passages or offering biblical truths and principles is not enough. We need to put that information into action as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. We as trainers and our trainees have to be obedient to the Holy Spirit’s leading. That pursues biblical worldview thinking and spiritual maturity. As we obey the Spirit’s leading, a natural step will be to serve others, which causes more maturity. Building multiplying generations of trainers (disciplers) is the goal. Can you imagine what your churches would be like if everyone in the church was following this strategy? We would be reproducing new churches, impacting our cultures and reaching the lost for Jesus. We would be stepping into the worlds of unreached people groups, some of whom live not too far from you. People who consistently are involved in the discipleship process indicate quality spiritual growth for themselves and are more alive than ever being developed through the Holy Spirit’s direction. What you and I have learned, we need to automatically pass that on to others, so that they also grow and develop too. Let us change the world for Jesus!
YOUTH MINISTRY – SECRET TO BE A STRONG CHRISTIAN Are you ready for this, to know how to be a strong Christian all your life? It is not taking a pill or completing a Bible course or going to church every Sunday of your life. Would it not be so great if all we had to do was take that one special pill or send in some money for a lifetime subscription to The Secret of Being a Strong Christian? Well the secret is to spend time with Jesus and obediently carrying out what you are learning from Him. Learning and obeying from Jesus, you will flow into loving and serving others. That is it. Jesus often on a regular basis got off by Himself (Mark 1:35, Luke 4:42-44). He would to out into the wilderness to get alone with the Father. He would listen to what the Father would want Him to do (John 5:19-20). Jesus slowed down His schedule to listen to His Father. It is so easy to be involved in ministry opportunities and good things in life that we neglect God Himself, the source of strength and wisdom. Jesus took His cues from the Father. He did not do anything the Father did not tell Him to do. That right there is being completely sensitive to the Lord’s leading. With all the activities and noise in the world, the leading from Jesus through the Holy Spirit can be drowned out. That is why we need to develop consistent, focused time to read the Bible, spend time praying as we both talk and listen and allow wiser Christians to teach and encourage us. People wanted Jesus to do so many things as we read in the Luke 4 passage. Jesus kept His focus because His focus was His Father. Jesus kept His priorities straight. He was upfront with those who wanted Him to stay and be involved in ministry work that these townspeople felt Jesus should do. His purpose was foremost in His mind and how the Father led Him, would keep Jesus’ purpose the main thing. As you develop in your relationship with Jesus and learn how you are gifted both naturally and spiritually, you will gain understanding to what roles He wants you to be involved in. Keep following that direction until the Lord releases or gives you different directions. Encompassed in roles you have, is the loving and serving of others, just like Jesus did things. Unfortunately making time for Jesus does not come automatically. Many of us have to fight to make the time with Jesus a regular occurrence. As it becomes a priority in our lives, fitting that time in will be easier to place in our schedules. Still you cannot take any of this for granted as spending time with Jesus is a spiritual activity and Satan does not want you to have quality time with Jesus; so excuses and “opportunities” that would interrupt your Jesus time will result. Do not give in. Prioritize and plan your Jesus time as your number one responsibility for your day. Most people need to be somewhat secluded or have quiet spots available to concentrate well. Keep that in mind. Be like Jesus for He made sure He had His time with His Father as He spoke with and listened to God the Father. Then be obedient with what you are learning via the Word and prayer, as you serve and love others. Then see how you blossom in Jesus’ love.
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