This has been quite a productive week. After being sick last week, I had a lot to catch up on. However, this was not a week of mere tasks but relationship and facilitation. I began leading two new groups with Women’s Discipleship Concepts. I had the refreshing opportunity to meet with women who have had a lot more life experience than me. It is a joy to hear the stories and see the wisdom and dependence on God that come after heartache and joys and perseverance through life. The groups have been formed in order to equip these women to disciple other women on the journey.
I have been reminded that we all feel inadequate, but God is faithful. In the preparation for these groups, I have reflected on the ways God has taught me about following him and leading others. He is so faithful. Three things came up in my reflection:
1) We are all different–With various personalities, giftings, nuances, experiences there is not a cookie cutter way to disciple others. A disciple-maker and the disciple both are unique. It is a relationship and not a program. Therefore, it is a challenge and joy at the same time.
2) The truth is the same–In a postmodern age that says experience trumps any objective truth, our hearts deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9), but the truth is found in His word. Our creator, God, shares the ultimate truth with us through his word. Through interacting with and learning his truth, we learn to know him and live in the way he made us to live.
3) The gospel is the center of life–all other things are periphery. Many women and people in the church want to talk about themselves–dating, marriage, children, beauty, conflict, self-esteem, etc. Those things are periphery. People with just peripheral vision are considered blind. If we talk about and learn about periphery without living in and learning about the truth and transformation of the gospel, we have missed it all. The cross is the center–Jesus righteous life, sacrificial death and ressurection–and God drawing us to himself to bring us life is the reason. Living and breathing the gospel daily is our only hope. Through the gospel, we are invited to know God, relate with him and glorify him. The peripheral things should only be filtered through the gospel. God’s word points us to this continually.
It is exciting to embark on this journey with women who are gracious, loving, wise and imperfect. May we cling to Christ as we learn to pour into others!
The Art of Coming Alive 