“If you’re holding the hand of Jesus and walking close with him as a disciple following Jesus, where does Jesus go? He’s always going to the lost, to the broken, to the sheep that are wandering. His heart breaks for them. So if we’re actually growing as disciples and we look in the mirror and we’re not drawing near lost people with the heart of Jesus, then let me dare to say this then: We’re not really growing that deep as a disciple.”
“Pastors, leaders, you can disciple your people as long as you understand that a disciple moves toward the lost, because we move with Jesus and he’s always going there.”
“We actually see people…who are far from God, who put their faith in Jesus, who begin growing and they start reaching other people. It can happen. This is the desire of Jesus. This is the heart of pastors and leaders. It can happen, but it’s not going to happen by accident. We have to partner with the Spirit of God and we have to work hard at this because there’s spiritual resistance.”
Key Quotes From Sherry Harney
“I found, being the spiritual formation and discipleship director at my church, that there are still a lot of people who limit discipleship to a one-on-one experience where you’re coming with an idea of studying the Bible, praying together…And so that’s been interesting because we understand it as just following Jesus.”
“In this day and age, we’ve got to get a hold of that, that the family is one of the most important places that we’re going to be discipling and helping the next generations to grow, to be more like Jesus.”
RELATED: Kara Powell and Brad Griffin: How to Answer the Faith Questions Teens Are Actually Asking
“Being a disciple of Jesus means that we share about his message. You can’t separate discipleship and evangelism…If we’re going to be a true disciple, then that has to be our mission as well.”
“We have seven markers of spiritual growth, and it’s Bible engagement, passionate prayer, wholehearted worship, humble service, joyful generosity, consistent community and then organic outreach.
“When a Christian is spending time in the Word, if it’s just for them, their time in the word isn’t having the impact that the Lord desires in their life.”
“We have to make sure that these practices that we’re engaging in, that they’re not just for us. If they’re just for us, the Lord can just take us up to heaven now.”
“I’ll talk with people one-on-one about how they are reaching out. And they’ll say, ‘Oh, I really don’t have time right now. I’m with my grandkids so much. I really don’t have time to reach out into the world.’ And I’ll say, ‘Stop, wait a minute, you’re with your grandchildren. This is one of the best places for you to be doing this.’”
“I think that’s one of the places that the church has to address right now—get back to having dinners together where there’s open time and playing together more so that those opportunities [for discipleship] can happen.”
Mentioned in the Show
Assessment Tools from Kevin and Sherry
“Organic Disciples: Seven Ways to Grow Spiritually and Naturally Share Jesus” by Kevin and Sherry Harney
Organic Outreach
Check out Kevin’s website
Follow Kevin on Twitter
Check out Sherry’s website
Follow Sherry on Facebook
Kevin Harney in Outreach Magazine
