I recently posted a blog titled "Plutarch Got It Right." My motive was to provoke thinking about Christian discipleship. I used this quote from Plutarch, a Greek essayist, to stir the pot: "A mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited." Some of you agreed with the premise, while others [...]
"A mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited." The opening quote is from Plutarch, a Greek biographer, essayist, and historian. He lived and wrote at the end of the first and beginning of the second century A.D. A granite marker in the heart of campus at Middle Tennessee [...]
Remember the six new friends I recently mentioned? I met them in early April at a local help-center known as "Greenhouse Ministries." They share the plight of homelessness. A middle-aged man named Fredrick is one of the six. He's from the south side of Chicago, a place known for big-city poverty and crime. Fredrick [...]
Do you think Jesus fretted over which men to choose as His disciples? He would, after all, have only a short time to train them. The work of establishing the church would then be in their hands. We know that He prayed before choosing them, but I doubt that he did much hand-wringing over the [...]
Catching fish has come a long way since the net-fishing days of Peter, Andrew, James and John. I know a man, for example, who helped invent sonar equipment for finding fish. He founded and ran a successful company that designed and manufactured sonar gadgetry for the fishing industry in the pacific northwest. His stories were [...]
The following article was written by Dr. Robert Blaylock, a charter member of Timothy Network's Board of Accountability. mls Jesus, the master teacher, often used metaphors, similes, and parables to communicate truths about His kingdom. A recent conversation with Mike surfaced a useful metaphor for the Timothy Network-that of an incubator. The most common answer [...]
If you're among those trying to build a discipling ministry at your church, I'd recommend Glenn McDonald's , The Disciple Making Church (Faithwalk Publishing, 2007). Christianity Today calls it "an excellent resource for pastors and congregations seeking to reclaim formation and discipleship as central to their life and purpose." Reclaim? That word really sticks out. Why [...]
Milton Jones, Chairman - Christian Relief Fund Missio Dei Click on the photo to hear a pertinent sermon on disciple making. Delivered by Milton Jones Aug. 2009 at the National Campus Ministries Seminar, North Atlanta church. Also see Milton's article, "Which Gun Would You Use?" further down in the blog column.
Imagine: A group of men "down-on-their-luck" gathered around a table at a place called the Greenhouse. They've come here each Wednesday morning for the past two months to discuss the teachings of a man who lived over 2,000 years ago. Two are from the slums of Chicago, one is a drifter from Houston, [...]
I recently wrote a blog titled, "Who's That at the Well?" Several of you responded with helpful comments and insights of your own regarding this story from John's gospel. Prior to writing that piece I hadn't been familiar with the Casting Crowns song, "Does Anybody Hear Her?" Because of its relevance however, I'm now sending [...]