Seven old-fashioned church-growth ideas, item by item
- Can old-fashioned church methods still work today?
A host reads a Christian Post article by Chuck Wallace listing seven old-fashioned church methods: friend day, the 24-hour prayer wall, an annual January Bible study, the telephone prayer chain, care-group shepherding, weekly small-group-leader training, and weekly contact groups. The hosts react to each: friend day is reframed as intentional discipleship rather than inviting people to be church attenders; they are warm on the prayer wall but skeptical the annual Bible study's bar is too low; the prayer-chain discussion lands on checking in on missing people with care rather than guilt. Blog comments on the article are read and discussed.
More on Discipleship
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Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
- Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
A host asks whether following Jesus should feel more comfortable as time goes on — noting the low-level tension many feel around am-I-doing-enough and the stigma that contentment equals laziness.
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Confetti and lasers: what should God's people be known for?
- Do we want to be known as the confetti and lasers people?
- What should God's people be known for?
Ben redirects to the docket's denomination question: when someone hears Silas's church described as 'the confetti and lasers people,' should that sting?
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
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Recovery ministries, charismatic experience, and sustainable faith
- Can recovery ministries replace a chemical high with a spiritual high, and is that sustainable?
A long pastoral discussion starting from recovery ministries, which tend to come from charismatic backgrounds: the risk of trading a chemical high for event-driven spiritual highs.
From No. 555 · The Aslan Wears Prada
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What does it mean to make disciples
- What does it mean to make disciples — is it just giving information, or does it involve accountability and structure?
The hosts take up the third topic: two extremes of disciple-making. On one side, being only an information provider and leaving everything to the Spirit; on the other, running…
From No. 545 · By Invitation Only