Check out the new website: www.gospelcentereddiscipleship.com!

This is just the beginning of a discipleship resource site. We will be adding new books and resources this year. It currently features Fight Clubs, a way to promote grace-driven discipleship in your life and church. Some of the current features include:

• Blog, Twitter, and Resources page that include articles, audio, & video.
• An IN CHURCHES page that links to examples of other churches implementing Fight Clubs.
• Preview the Book, order a Sign, or check out the FAQ.

LuLu is running a new coupon for $100 off an order of 100 copies of Fight Clubs: Gospel-centered Discipleship.

On that note, check out the new beta version of the www.gospelcentereddiscipleship.com website!

Location: Austin Baptist Association

Registration: Register Here.

Open to Area Churches: More details coming soon!

Fight Clubs: Gospel-centered Discipleship is now available on Amazon.com. Thanks to all those who are reading it and applying the gospel principles to this community approach to discipleship.

We keep hearing stories from all over the world of people being blessed from this book. I was recently contacted by a mens group in London and a church in Singapore. The stories of grace are so encouraging. If you’d like to share some your stories or get some resources, be sure to check out the Fight Clubs blog.

We have a new sermon up on Fight Clubs that contains some fresh exegesis of Chuck Pahalniuk’s film and application of gospel identity in fighting for joy in Christ.

*The sign to the right is a stand-up vertical. If you want the files to print the sign contact me at the bottom of the site.

**LuLu is offerin $100 off 100 copies of Fight Clubs til April 30!

On Sunday, I shared how we can consistently see through our sin to our “identity of the moment” (Know your Sin), put that false identity to death (Fight your Sin), and turn to Christ for life and joy (Trust your Savior).  Here are three easy steps to fight for true joy in Christ!

1. Know Your Sin: Look for the sinful patterns in your life and trace them to “identity of the moment” that you are looking to for worth, meaning (good pastor, faithful parent, creative person, successful entrepreneur). For instance, your sin could be sulking and your false identity could be victim. Acts 29 has recently posted some helpful “X-ray Questions” from David Powlison, which help us see through our sin to our misplaced sense of identity.

• Identify sinful patterns
• Trace patterns to your “identity of the moment”

2. Fight Your Sin. Once you know your sin/identity issue, you can begin to fight it. There are two primary ways God calls us to fight our sin. First, confess your sin to God and ask for his forgiveness for your God-belittling desires and decisions (1 John 1:9). Follow your confession to God with confession to community so you can experience healing and encouragement of the church (James 5:16). Second, encourage one another to take sin seriously, to “put sin to death” (Rom 8:13; Col 3:5). Don’t let identity-twisting sin just roll off your back. Get tenacious about glorifying and enjoying God!

• Confess your sin (to God and one another)
• Get serious about fighting for true joy

3. Trust Your Savior. Trusting our Savior for gospel identity instead of an identity-of-the-moment is the most difficult and important part of being a disciple. Robert Murray McCheyene said: “For every look at sin, look ten times at Christ.” How does Christ offer you a better identity than the false identity? My sin was sulking and my identity was victim. 2 Peter 1:3 reminds me that my identity is godly, a partaker of the divine nature. I was sulking in ungodliness because I thought I deserved better circumstances. I felt weak. Peter reminds us that we have “divine power granted to us for life and godliness.” This scripture reminded me of my identity—godly—but it does not stop there. It also offers us a Savior to trust, a counter-promise of divine power necessary to live a godly life, not a sulking life. What a relief! Our identity is godly, and our promise is divine power!

• Find your Gospel counter-Identity
• Trust your Biblical Promise

We’ve outlined these basic principles are in Fight Clubs: Gospel-centered Discipleship, a community-based, gospel-centered approach to following Jesus. Pick up a copy, find some friends, and start fighting for true joy!

My little booklet on gospel-centered discipleship won a contest at LuLu in January as the second highest selling book of the month! Thanks to all who purchased copies. As with the profits on these books, the reward will go back into supporting our church and my writing ministry (though I might treat my wife to something fun!).

RISE OF FCs & FALL OF COST

More and more churches are implementing Fight Clubs in their communities. They frequently write us asking for discounts. So, we lowered the price from 8.50 to 6.99. Plus, bulk discounts are automatically discounted at LuLu as you increase the number of copies. Check here for free Fight Club resources and coupons. Try WINTERBOOK for 10% off now.

FAQs

Are Fight Clubs just for men? Nope. In our church there are more women than men in Fight Clubs. They love fighting.

Can I make copies of the book? We prefer that you not make copies. Besides, after all the discounts and reduced prices the affordability rivals the cost of making copies. Oh, there’s a cheaper eBook version too.

Do I have to call them Fight Clubs? Of course not. Call them whatever you want, just be sure to make the gospel central!

How do Fight Clubs multiply? Once you have three, add a fourth person just for two weeks and then split off into two groups or have one person go start a new one.

Do intergenerational Fight Clubs work? Yes, we’ve seen single men fight for joy with younger men. Sometimes a natural mentoring relationship emerges. The key isn’t similar struggles; it is commitment to the same gospel that addressees all our struggles, whatever age you are.

When’s the next book? I’ve contributed to Viral Hope: the good news from the urbs to the suburbs, which comes out in March. I’m working on a booklet like FC called City Groups: Gospel-centered Missional Community. And I’ll do a revised & expanded FC later this year. Lord willing, I’ll start work on my first full-length book this summer.

COOL FIGHT CLUB SIGNS

Ben Hansen, graphic artist and designer of Fight Clubs, has created some pretty cool vertical signs. If you’re interested in purchasing the files to have them made for your church, just send an email to Justin.

I guess this is VERGE day. A few points of interest…

• Missional Community Training: I will be doing some training for the Midtown Team on missional community during Verge. If you’re interested in having me do this for your team, drop me a comment or a line. We are working on getting some of our Missional Community training out in the form of more in-person trainings and a booklet on Gospel-centered Missional Communities.
• Fight Clubs at Verge: I’ve had a number of requests for Fight Clubs books to be available during Verge. I will have 150 copies available for discounted price of $5 at the Acts 29 display/table.
• Coming to Verge? Drop a comment if you’re coming. Hopefully we can meet up.

Read why we dropped Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship $1.50 and how you can get it even cheaper in bulk!

Check out the new post from Justin Hroch on Gospel-centered Questions for Fight Clubs:

The purpose for being in a Fight Club is to attack sin at its root and see Christ in the height of his glory. Too often our focus is on the external symptoms of sin, where we strive for victory by working tirelessly to control our sin.

I have found it helpful to ask personalized gospel-centered questions to uncover the deep-rooted idolatries of my heart. Because we encounter temptation and sin in different ways, personalized questions can be very helpful in leading us to repentance and faith in Jesus.

Justin proposes we form specific questions to suit one another, keeping three things in mind:

• Personality Type
• Recurring Outside Influences
• Tendencies towards Sin

Check it out here.

Seems like Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship is a popular Xmas gift this year! We’ve been selling quite a few this month. More news of churches and Christian universities using the book is rolling in, where Fight Clubs are starting in their own communities and campuses! We started the new Fight Club Resource Blog just for this. Drop by and give us a shout!

In case you’re looking for a discount or last minute stocking stuffer, here’s some helpful info:

• You can get the paperback at good holiday discounts here.
• Or give an eBook as a stocking stuffer for $5 here.