Jojo Agot

Discipleship Notes: Shepherding

As you lead victory groups, keep these in mind:

1. Learn to see things through the lens of eternity. Life is too short to be spent on trivial matters. Prioritize things that have eternal implications. Find the place where you could make the most impact and aim for it. Spend your life doing the things that could bring God the highest honor. Or put another way, spend your life in a way that could do the most damage to the kingdom of darkness.

Acts 20.24: I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

2. Never mind who gets the credit. As you do discipleship, you might come across people who would only be there for a season. Some of them move to other places or transfer to other Christian churches. It would be a lie if you tell me it’s not frustrating. Of course it’s frustrating, but only if you are more interested in building your “own” group than the Body of Christ.

In God’s Kingdom, you just need to be faithful with what is given to you. If you have one person to disciple, be faithful with that one. Pour out your life to helping that one person grow. In the end, it’s not the parade of numbers that matter to God but the faithfulness of your heart in embracing what has been entrusted to your care. And if that one person moves out, rejoice at the role you played in his Christian walk.

In the book of Acts, Paul was faithful in preaching the Word to the Ephesians even if he knew he will never see them again. He played his role and moved on gracefully. “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.” (Acts 20.25)

3. Keep watch over yourselves. When you do discipleship, do not forget to take care of your own spiritual life. Don’t you ever buy into the delusion that just because you are fruitful, you are automatically holy. Successful ministry is not measured by numeric indicators. When Christ addressed the seven churches in Revelation, he did not commend the larger churches and rebuked the smaller ones. Instead, he hit at the heart of character, faith, endurance, compromise, idolatry, and immorality.

Acts 20.28: Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…

4. Be shepherds. Don’t treat your victory group members as statistics to feel good about. They’re humans. They’re flesh and blood who need encouragement, prayers, friendships and a tangible expression of the love of Christ. Shepherd them. Know their names and their stories. Bind their wounds and mend their brokenness. Go to lunch with them and listen to their corny jokes. And while you do this, don’t forget that they’ll know when you’re faking it.

Acts 20.28: …be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

5. Raise true disciples. In the book of Acts, Paul warned about people rising up from within the church who will want to distort the truth and lead others astray. Be on guard against this men. But more importantly, before that could even happen, make sure you are raising up true disciples who will take leadership roles in the church. Create a culture of discipleship and honoring God. It may be tedious and would take a lot of time and hardwork but it will save you from a lot of trouble in the future.

I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Acts 20.29-31)

You Can’t Teach a Frog to Fly

Once upon a time, there lived a man named Clarence who had a pet frog named Felix. Clarence lived a modestly comfortable existence on what he earned working at the Wal-Mart, but he always dreamed of being rich. “Felix!” he said one day, hit by sudden inspiration, “We’re going to be rich! I’m going to teach you to fly!”

Felix, of course, was terrified at the prospect. “I can’t fly, you twit! I’m a frog, not a canary!”

Clarence, disappointed at the initial response, told Felix: “That negative attitude of yours could be a real problem. We’re going to remain poor, and it will be your fault.”

So Felix and Clarence began their work on flying.

Continue reading You Can’t Teach a Frog to Fly

What’s a Kids Church?

I got this question via text message tonight: What’s a Kids Church?

In Victory, Kids Church is a “main” ministry. It’s not a side issue, it’s not an afterthought, it’s not to a place to entertain kids while their parents are having church and it’s certainly not a glorified baby sitting service.

In the School of Church Planting, we are taught not to start regular church services (in a new church plant) until we have a decent Kids Church. I was a bit surprised when I heard this. I thought Kids Church is just one smart way to rid the church aisles of screaming children.

Continue reading What’s a Kids Church?

No Friends

[5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” [7] The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” —John 5: 5-7

This is probably one of the saddest passages in the Bible. A man has been paralyzed for 38 years and he was hoping to be miraculously healed in the pool of Bethesda. According to some Bible manuscripts, “from time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.”

The problem was that there was no one to throw him to the pool when the water is stirred. The guy was there for 38 years and he never even made any friends, not even some who simply had to push him to the edge and probably watch him drown.

Contrast this with the paralytic who was carried through the roof by four of his friends just so he could get near Jesus. These four guys must have cared a lot for this sick man that they were willing to get arrested for destroying private property in order for their friend to be prayed over by the Master. Mark 2: 2-4 tells the story:

“And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. [3] And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. [4] And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.”

Both people could not walk, they both needed other people to take care of them. Their only difference is that one had close friends, the other, zero.

We don’t need anybody to tell us the moral of these stories.

Why Are God’s Commands a Delight, Not a Burden?

1. Understand that when Psalm 119 was written, the whole Bible was not yet complete. The writer may have only been reading the first five books of the Old Testament which are technically called The Law. When he said that he loved God’s commands, he was actually saying he loved the WORD OF GOD. Keep this is mind as you read the entire chapter and you’ll see the fresh meaning of the verses right away.

2. God’s laws (or God’s Word) were given to give us the freedom to become what God wanted us to become. They restrict us from doing what might cripple us and keep us from being our best. God’s guidelines (words) help us follow his path and avoid paths that lead to destruction (quoted from Life Application Study Bible). If the Word of God has this saving power, I don’t see any reason why anyone would consider it a burden.

3. Obedience is a burden only to servants. To sons and daughters, it is a delight.

4. The reason we rejoice at the Word of God is because this same Word is the Word that became flesh and lived among us. The writer may have written about the first five books of the Bible but for us in the New Testament, we know that eventually the psalm points to Jesus.

5. I would rather hear a word of command from God than not hear from Him at all. Too many people complain that the Word of God is difficult to obey. Would they rather have a silent God? During the time of Exodus, the Israelites foolishly asked that God would only speak through Moses because they tremble at His voice. They didn’t want to hear him speak.

Malice

Malice needs nothing to live on; it can feed on itself. A contentious spirit will find something to quarrel about. A faultfinder will find occasion to accuse a Christian even if his life is as chaste as an icicle and pure as snow. A man of ill will does not hesitate to attack, even if the object of his hatred be a prophet or the very Son of God Himself. If John comes fasting, he says he has a devil; if Christ comes eating and drinking, he says He is a winebibber and a glutton. Good men are made to appear evil by the simple trick of dredging up from his own heart the evil that is there and attributing it to them.

—A. W. Tozer, We Travel an Appointed Way