Jesus Journey Cohort

The question that will be asked is, “What does the gospel you proclaim naturally lead to?” There are many false or incomplete gospels taught in America today. Each have a DNA, and each creates a product. Participants will work through curriculum provided by The Jesus Journey that will help them to understand these incomplete and false gospels and work through scripture to discover the kingdom gospel and how to apply it to his or her context.

The question “What does the gospel you proclaim naturally lead to?” will continue to be asked, answered and understood in his or her context. Participants will work through curriculum provided by The Jesus Journey that will help them to understand these incomplete and false gospels and work through scripture to discover the kingdom gospel and how to apply it to his or her context.

Everyone called to salvation is called to discipleship, with no exceptions and no excuses. This belief underlies much of the work and discussion that will take place. The challenge is to rebuild and reteach the gospel so that it naturally leads to discipleship. The reality is that only some congregational members believe they are called to a life of serious discipleship. The assignment will focus on communicating and leading others through the redefinition process and a general call to follow Jesus.

What does it mean to be saved? As Dallas Willard once concluded, “Simply put, as now generally understood, being saved – and hence being a Christian – has no conceptual or practical connection with such a transformation.” This session will review the comprehensive nature of salvation and detail the salvation vocabulary (i.e., faith, belief, grace, repentance, conversion, justification, sanctification, etc.). The purpose is to ensure we know their meaning and how this impacts a disciple’s teaching. The assignment will be connected to the grand sweep of salvation that reaches all of life and personal transformation.

This session will examine the biblical material on how people change. It will break down the working parts of the human being and how the will, mind, soul, spirit, and body work together to develop a heart for God. Various traditions and streams will be discussed and how spiritual formation, discipleship, and sanctification intersect.

This is a continuation of Journey 5. Dr. Michael Wilkins states that discipleship and spiritual formation are different sides to the same coin – and that coin is sanctification. The assignment will help guide the participants to a plan for those they disciple in light of these biblical realities.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “The problem in the world is not just bad people doing bad things, it is good people doing good things badly.” This area is primarily a focus on how Jesus went about making disciples. A neglected area of studies concerning Jesus is how he trained and prepared his key followers. A template for Jesus’ ways and means will be identified and each participant will be able to develop those same principles in their work. The assignment will be to craft a plan to learn from, and emulate, Jesus’ methods.

Jesus’ command was to make disciples, not to start churches. If you make disciples, however, churches are the result. They are the result because they are needed. The church is for discipleship, and disciples are the church’s gift to the world. Disciples are the delivery system for spreading God’s Good News to the world. The church takes them in, loves them, equips them, and sends them back into the world to be salt and light. The church is evaluated by its success in preparing and sending mature, Christlike people into the world. The assignment will be to understand how making disciples relates to this concept and how a plan can be implemented.

The biblical role of the pastor/leader is examined from Scripture how a leader’s work is radically separated from the most common forms of measuring success. The development of a disciple-making leader’s DNA and the dangerous distractions that spiritual leaders face are covered. Developing the leader’s soul will be a significant part of the community’s work. Four essential roles will also be presented and discussed. The assignment will be to decide if the leader desires and is willing to commit to learning how to be a disciple-making pastor/leader.

The main thesis of The Jesus Journey is that all who are called to salvation are called to discipleship, no exceptions, no excuses. It is at this point that the thesis is connected to expected results. If the church did everything that Christ commanded and it filled the earth with Christ-like disciples, what difference would it make? Would it trigger the return of Christ? Would it improve the quality of life on earth? Would a larger number of people enter heaven? Just how critical is it that we do better at making disciples? The assignment is to struggle with the urgency and importance of our obedience to Christ’s command. What really is at stake? This is sending out into the pastor/leaders context to follow the command of Jesus, equipped with a plan, in Matthew 28:19-20.