The Disciple Maker‘s Podcast
The Disciple Makers Podcast exists to tell stories about disciples of Jesus who make disciples. Discipleship.org, who sponsors the podcast, exists to Champion Jesus‘ way of disciple making. Episodes are published in thematic seasons. To learn more, visit www.discipleship.org or email us at info@discipleship.org.
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Episodes
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
Christian parents know they need to disciple their children, but they are often distracted, passive, and swept into the culture rather than being “transformed by the renewing of their minds” (Romans 12:2). Seeds Family Worship wants to equip ministry leaders with a call to action for parents to not “miss this critical moment” in their children’s lives, but to set the spiritual foundation for them to create a God-centered culture in their homes. If parents will step into their role as defined by Deuteronomy 6, they can significantly impact their child’s teen years, young adulthood, and ultimately their eternity. The greatest voice in the life of any child is their parents — and the greatest opportunity for discipleship is in the context of their family and home. Let’s listen to Jason Houser encourage us today to impact the discipleship of the next generation.
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Our kids get most of their information through viral videos and addictive apps like TikTok... As ministry leaders, how do we keep up with that?! Kids today are being fed an influx of ideas leading them in the opposite direction of the Bible, but research shows that if we can help them develop a strong understanding of the Bible by age 13, they're more likely to make a decision to follow Christ and stick with their faith, even after high school. Shawna from Awana gives us five key ways we can develop strong, biblical values in the next generation and plant seeds for lifelong faith.
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Most parents just don't know where to start when it comes to discipling their kids. Sometimes they just need a few good ideas to get going. Shawna from Awana shares proven ideas you can pass on to your families to help them get real traction with at-home discipleship. We know that biblically, parents are responsible for training up their children in the way of the Lord, but most don't do it on a regular basis. That's where ministry leaders need to fill in the gaps, but they don't always know how. Shawna gives us practical ideas that can be shared with parents to help them form consistent, doable discipleship habits in the home
Monday Jul 24, 2023
Monday Jul 24, 2023
The letter "X" is the western symbol for multiplication. In the Garden, Man is called to be fruitful and multiply. From the beginning of the church, she has grown by multiplication. That happens in the context of community as we disciple others toward becoming more like Christ in all areas of life. Ann Spangler says, "To emphasize salvation and neglect discipleship is to miss the point of why Jesus came to earth and lived as a rabbi." We are called to be disciples who make disciples who make disciples.
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
Wednesday Jul 19, 2023
Disciple and disciple...same root/different engagement in your spiritual walk. Often, the meanings of words have been changed many times that they no longer resemble the original root word; so it is with these two words. God's Word is clear about our command to make disciples. He also showed us that discipleship is a long game, and that we must be patient as we disciple others. In order to experience the abundant life God has planned for us, we must experience whole person discipleship.
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Sandy Mason (Director of Regional Representatives for The Bonhoeffer Project) continues teaching us to examine the real meaning of the Gospel that we find in Scripture
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
The Word of God clearly specifies the Gospel we are to preach as we make disciples. Sadly, many in today's Church have twisted and distorted the Gospel of Jesus to create a gospel that more adequately fits the need to build the church by "butts, buildings and bucks." In this episode, Sandy Mason (Director of Regional Representatives for The Bonhoeffer Project) takes us on a journey upstream, back to the headwaters of Scripture to examine the real Gospel of the Kingdom.
Monday Jul 10, 2023
Monday Jul 10, 2023
Disciple making comes in many shapes and sizes. How do you determine what is right for your church? Michelle Eagle (Discipleship and Women's Minister at Harpeth Christian Church) helps us discover the nuts and bolts of several types of disciple making strategies and the pros and cons that go with them along with the must' haves of every disciple-making ministry.
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
What are the ramifications within your church of women being discipled into maturity? We say that we want (need) mature disciples of Jesus within our churches but are we willing to make the sacrifices in our "we've always done it this way" mentality to truly focus on disciple making? Michelle Eagle (Discipleship and Women's Minister at Harpeth Christian Church) explores how to focus your ministry on creating a culture of disciple making while maintains a strong biblical foundation.
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
As we step into Scripture, we find Old Testament shadows alluding to New Testament realities and old covenant truths holding up new covenant promises. Whenever a text is cryptic or concealed—whether in the Pentateuch, the Prophets, the Parables, or the Apocalypse, we can look to the neighboring testament for clarity and revelation. These connections across books and testaments expose the overarching story that God is writing through his Creation—to transform us so that we don’t just bear his image, but we also reflect his glory.
New Resource on Disciple Making Culture!
A disciple making church culture is what your church actually does in disciple making; strategy is your plans on paper. Unfortunately, while we have good intentions to make disciples, our strategy and church culture do not always line up.
Read this 10 minute book – a visual summary – and share it with your leaders so everyone can better understand what it means to have a disciple making culture.
Watch the recordings from our most Recent National Disciple Making Forum
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
The Harvard Business Review describes it this way: “The values, beliefs and behaviors practiced in an organization formed over time because they are rewarded or punished (i.e. by formal or informal rules, rituals, and behaviors.”
The McKinsey Institute put it more simply: “culture is how we do things around here …”
That statement, often attributed to the most influential management guru of our time, Peter Drucker. What Drucker meant by “culture eats strategy for breakfast” was that lasting change in an organization comes only when the culture of an organization changes. Applying this to church, if you do not change the culture of a church, the church will not change.
Many leaders fail to account for this reality.
This gets at the root of why our disciple making plans can so easily fail. We try great strategies—preaching on disciple making, small groups, D-Groups, etc. But our churches will not change—indeed cannot change—because “culture” easily defeats the strategies we adopt.
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