I don’t know about you, but I’m determined to build a thriving small group ministry that makes disciples. That is the light at the end of the tunnel for me. It is the end in mind. It’s not just to connect unconnected people. That’s important, but only a beginning. My objective is to make disciples. And I suspect—since you are still along on this journey with me—that is your objective too! And if your objective is to make disciples in small groups … you must know what it is you are trying to make (i.e., What is a disciple?). Once you know that little detail, you will be able to lay out a path that leads to that preferred future.
Are you with me?
And to that end, I love this paragraph from Dallas Willard. In my mind it informs what it is that I need to do in laying out the path.
As a disciple of Jesus I am with him, by choice and by grace, learning from him how to live in the kingdom of God. This is the crucial idea. That means how to live within the range of God’s effective will, his life flowing through mine. Another important way of putting this is to say that I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live life if he were I (emphasis mine). I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner in which he did all that he did. How to Be a Disciple
