Vere Library (Page 3)
Through the Valley: Whole-Life Discipleship in Suffering and Hardship
I whispered the words to myself in the dark: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” They came easy and familiar to my mind, and I could feel my heart and breathing still as I repeated them. They were the reminder I needed. They were a prayer anchored in God’s character: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” What a promise—God’s abiding presence…
Frontline Stories From the Whole Body of Christ
It has been a privilege and delight to share the stories of Equippers and Frontliners with you over the last several weeks. As I’ve sat down (virtually) with each of these brothers and sisters to hear what faithful discipleship looks like in their own context, I’ve been repeatedly encouraged. This is part, I believe, of why we need to hear stories like the ones we’ve been sharing this summer. It’s not only about learning from each other, though this assuredly…
Matter-of-Fact Faithfulness & Whole-Life Discipleship (Donny Terenzoni)
Something I love about whole-life discipleship is how matter-of-fact it sometimes is. There’s no fanfare or fireworks for many of us, just simple day-in, day-out faithfulness in the spheres God has planted us. This faithful discipleship in the everyday makes me think of people like Donny Terenzoni. When Donny thinks about what ordinary faithfulness looks like lived out, he says, “The biggest thing for me is how you live and how you act.” Once, in the Navy Reserves, when a…
Follow God’s Nudge – Brooke Sulahian & Hope for Our Sisters (Fistula Prevention & Treatment)
One of the beautiful realities of whole-life discipleship is that you never know where it will take you. It may push you to have a brave conversation with a co-worker, to give sacrificially of your time or money, or to take a different outlook on your role in the Kingdom as a parent. Or it may motivate you to start a nonprofit. This is what happened to Brooke Sulahian. She says, “We are all designed for something bigger than ourselves,…
“God Is Here”: How to Provide Pastoral Encouragement for the Frontlines (Alison Gerber)
Each Sunday, Alison Gerber remembers that many people are coming to her church extremely tired. It’s one of the challenges of life on the frontline in her New England context, where productivity is put on a pedestal. It’s also a reality that points to the need for encouragement from the church community for everyday faithfulness. With this in mind, one of the ways that she encourages her congregation for their everyday Kingdom work is an awareness of people’s time. “I…
Discipled in the Everyday, For the Everyday – How to do Life-on-Life Discipleship
“When I met them, I was in a season that I didn’t have anyone to guide me,” Leigh Hamlet says about the couple who first discipled her. She was in high school at the time, full of questions and unsure how to fully live out her Christian faith. That’s when she met Dan and Lisa (you can read more of Dan’s story here), and their relationship has been pivotal in her life as a disciple of Jesus. Leigh says her…
The Simple Practices of Missional Discipleship (B.L.E.S.S. model)
“Discover life with God for the good of the world,” is the mission statement of Grace Chapel, where Tim Ghali serves as the Pastor of Group Life. The church has embraced the call to make disciples, nurture disciples, and equip them to live on mission in their everyday lives. “We want to invite people to see the deeper way of Jesus,” he says. Tim knows that people are approaching discipleship from different places. Some people are already sold on it…
How Do Relationships Equip Whole-Life Disciples?
When Dan Sylvia reflects on his own discipleship journey, he can’t help but mention his friends. The communities that have been formative in his growth have not been about a revolutionary Sunday morning service but about the relationships that have focused him on the reality that “every day, all day, you’re never not a Christian.” This vision of whole-life discipleship has shaped the support and relationships he seeks out as a pastor. A few years ago, he and another pastor…
The “Great Outlet” – An overflowing work of God
A few years ago, Paul Ragusa had an encounter with God that changed his life. Though he had gone to church for most of his life, he found himself missing something critical. But then he had an experience he can only refer to as being “born again,” dramatically transformed into a new person in Christ. “I feel as though I have become an entirely different species of man with completely different capabilities,” he says. “All of the interactions that I…
What Does Discipleship Really Mean? Whole-Life Discipleship
What does discipleship really mean? It’s been a question Stephen Johnson has been on a journey to answer for years. “Whatever discipleship means,” he says, “it must be relevant to everyone, everywhere, at all times, or it isn’t real discipleship.” The model of whole-life discipleship has offered this all-inclusive vision of life to Fellowship Bible Church, where Stephen has pastored for the last eleven years. It has also made discipleship very relational and situational, inviting everyone to ask what the…
Lord of “My” Time / Being Open to God’s Timeframe on our Frontlines
Our church has been blessed by God with the arrival of a refugee family into our congregation. It wasn’t something we planned or prepared for, but in God’s unique and perfect way, they were added to our number. In many ways it is clear that we were not prepared for them. We had no idea the connections and resources that they need to resettle here in our community. We were and remain confused by the process and the regulations and…
Spiritual Connectivity / 6Ms of Fruitfulness on the Frontline
The yellow light blinked slowly, alerting me that there was a problem. I asked Alexa for help, and she told me plainly, “I’m having problems connecting to the internet.” So I called the help desk to get the wireless router back online, but when the technician told me to cycle the power on the modem, the call dropped unexpectedly—I had forgotten that the phone also required an internet connection! Since you’re reading this, you know that I eventually did get…