Author: Jonathan Dodson

Diary of a Church Planter (Pt 7)

Posted on May 11, 2011

This series is taken from my personal diary during the first couple of years of church planting. The entries range from painfully raw to joyfully visionary. I hope they bring encouragement to anyone who reads them, especially church planters.

 

 

Austin, Texas                                                                      November 2, 2008

Last week I spoke at the Acts 29 Bootcamp in Dallas. Preparation for the event was good for my soul. I was more nervous than I can recall being in a while. I had to work this fear out in faith and repentance. The Lord had me in 1 Thess 2:4 for a couple weeks, in perfect preparation for this fight:

For just has be have been approved by God and entrusted with the Gospel in this way we speak, no as pleasing men but God who test our hearts.

The fight was to speak from my security in the gospel not for security and approval of my listenesrs and fellow church planters. God was testing my heart days and weeks in advance. I repented from my desire to impress others and clung to Jesus’ forgiveness and strength in the gospel. I plowed on in the Spirit.

The night before my plenary on Spirit-led Ecclesiology, Robie gently corrected me. She showed me that my talk was trying to impress by “going deep” instead of trying to equip by “sharing my struggles.” I wanted to hide behind the approval of intellect instead of minister from a place of vulnerability. Then she sent me out of the house to keep working on the talk. What a wife.

At the coffeeshop I had a good conversation with John, a homeless guy. Father, call John to repentance, transition his life, heal his pain…Robie is such a blessing. Give me more Christlike love for her LORD. Spirit help me to be aware of how I can serve her and let my new heart live.

When Church is a Mistress

Posted on May 9, 2011

My first year of church planting I started a new, full-time job, in a new city, with a new daughter, in a new church. Guess which one got the least attention? Family. As all these new things filled our lives, they began to crowd conversation with my wife. What was once natural—inquiring about my wife’s hopes, fears, and joys—became unnatural, even absent from our conversation. She patiently continued to ask how I was doing, but I was “working for the church while my family died.”

Read the rest

This article first appeared at Christianity Today in the Faith & Work section. Be sure to check out The High Calling for other helpful articles on vocation.

Getting Started with Disciple-making

Posted on May 3, 2011

On Sunday we talked about how Christianity became a global movement, not through elite preachers but through men and women making disciples of men and women. This multiplying growth of the gospel was more effective for two reasons: 1) They shared life and the gospel. 2) They grew by multiplication not addition (adding people to a service). We looked closer at Paul’s approach to discipling, noting that he assumed the role of brother and father in his discipleship relationships.

2 Discipleship Relationships

Brotherly discipleship happens among peers; fatherly discipleship happens with a mentor. Austin City Life does a pretty good job of brotherly discipleship through Fight Clubs, but needs to grow in fatherly discipleship where we mentor others who are younger in the faith or disciple people into Jesus for the first time. I challenged our church to recover the waning gospel movement that has shifted away from America by joining the historic movement of disciple-making right here, right now in Austin.

For some of you, your first step will be to just connect with our church community more, by visiting a City Group. Others will be looking for a “mentor” right away. Let’s all consider, not only how we can connect or be mentored, but more importantly who we can disciple. Pick just one person to disciple this year–a friend, neighbor, co-worker, person in your City Group, Fight Club or someone in our broader church community. As you consider who God is calling you to disciple, here are a few things to keep in mind

Practical Things to Keep in Mind

  1. PRAY that God would lead you to someone, preparing both of you for a father-son or mother-daughter relationship. Ask God to awaken faith in non-Christians around you.
  2. CONSIDER who would be a good fit. Don’t just pray, think. Dont rely on personality magnetism alone; different people can teach us a lot.
  3. ASK take initiative by asking someone to mentor you. It is important for Christians to take initiative with people they would like to be mentored by. Invite a potential mentor out for coffee or over for lunch and talk about what you are looking for. Establish some basic expectations: What sharing life might look like, Things to Discuss, When you can meet (get it on the calendar).
  4. START making disciples right away. Move forward with intentionality in your relationships, moving people closer and deeper into Christ. Be the kind of person that chases others’ joy, challenges them to be better people, and encourages them.
  5. REMEMBER you are not entitled to a mentor but you are called to make disciples. Don’t wait until you find a mentor to begin discipling others. In one season of life, my wife asked three women to be her mentor and all three turned her down. Man, they missed out! Ask God to give you the privilege of seeing people “take their first breath” and grow, mature in Christ.

Make disciples and join the movement. You won’t regret it. Its the best thing you can do with your life!

Helpful Resources on Discipleship