The Difference between Shepherding and Discipleship

Gary DeLashmutt

1 Corinthians 1:27

There are two types of relationship ministries we find in scripture. The first is shepherding and the second is discipleship. Shepherding includes helping people with their growth, having unconditional expectations, and is ongoing. Discipleship is similar to shepherding but it is selective and has conditional expectations. It is through shepherding that you find the people in your church who are true disciples. Some of the signs that someone is ready to be discipled include: a desire to grown and serve; an honesty about the moral areas in their life that God is trying to change; willingness to submit to God's leadership in their life; a desire to serve and love others; and they are already taking active steps of faith.

Walk According to Your Calling

Jim Leffel

Ephesians 4:1-6

Now that believers have a purpose and a calling, there is a process of discovering and growing in God's calling. There are three aspects of this process. It includes growing in: 1) humility and gentleness; 2) patience, forbearance, and love; and 3) unity of community, faith, and hope.

Balancing Home Life and Ministry

Patrice McCormac

Ephesians 4:1-6

Balancing family and ministry service can be both confusing and difficult. Instead of approaching this conflict of interests sequentially, such as following a concrete plan of first serving your spouse, then kids, then self or others, we can practice more flexibility. There is a deep need to be simultaneously involved in ministry because of its ability to bring friendships, purpose, and a healthy example for children. In attempting to balance these two fields of life, we can look for ways in which they overlap and actually complement each other.

Team Building

Mike Jentes

Colossians 2:12-14

Since teams are knit together from unique individuals created by God, it is important to understand who God made each person to be. Remembering our position in Christ and discovering our passions, spiritual gifts, and temperaments will help us better understand how God created us individually and how we can be used in a team setting. Building unified relationships among a team requires regular communication and spending a lot of time together enjoying shared experiences. Ministry teams can also benefit from having a clear mission and unified ideas regarding their team atmosphere.

Managing Conflict in Your Home Group

Jeff Gordon

Colossians 2:12-14

What does it look like to manage conflict and promote unity amongst members of your leadership team? This workshop gives insight to this very issue with the following goals in mind: 1) learn to handle conflict proactively, 2) learn your tendency in conflict and well as the tendency of your leadership team, and 3) discover at least one thing that God is leading you to do to promote unity in your particular leadership team. \r\n

Feeding the 5000

Jim Leffel

John 6:27-35

When Jesus asks his disciples to feed the five thousand, he intends to teach them about God's priorities in serving. There are four lessons for Jesus' disciples in this miracle: 1) Jesus will sensitize us to others' needs as we follow him; 2) whatever we have is inadequate to meet others' needs; 3) Christ makes our meager resources adequate; and 4) serving Christ is God's way to meet our needs and effect change in our lives. A life of service is the only way to true fulfillment, purpose, and stability, and God can use people who make themselves available to Him. A video testimony from Joanne Rhodes is included.

Nine Principles of "Body Life"

Dennis McCallum

1 Corinthians 12

Paul refers to the church as the Body of Christ. Each person is a part of the body and they interdependently rely on one another to build up the health of the church. We grow in love and understanding as we build authentic deep relationships in a unified group of believers.

The Body of Christ (Part 1)

Dennis McCallum

Ephesians 4:15-16

Christians are called to be a part of a Christian community where they share in fellowship. Christian community (the church) is referred to as the Body of Christ, Jesus is the head of this body and people in the church are parts of the body. When we all come together in truth and love as diverse people with different strengths we are able to interdependently do God's work and experience God's love through one another.

Sabbatical Controversies

Jim Leffel

Exodus 20:8

Jesus frequently caused controversy over the practice of the Sabbath, and his decisions to violate its many rules demonstrated the higher purpose and principles of God's law. There are three key principles about the law that Jesus teaches: 1) the law is an expression of God's character which shapes its meaning and application; 2) God's true desire is for His people to have inner faithfulness and love rather than mechanical rule-following behavior; and 3) God's moral will is for the good of His people. When these three principles are ignored in favor of legalism, people become deceived about God's priorities, and relationships are damaged overall.