In his classic work, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,” Donald Whitney says, “No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture” (Donald S. Whitney, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,” p. 28). This is truth! There is no substitute for daily Bible reading. In true disciple-making, the Bible should be our only textbook. The Bible is the only book that is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). It’s the only book that is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is “more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold” (Psalm 19:10). Why would you use someone else’s book when you can use the Bible? Often, it’s because of laziness. Other people’s books may seem more entertaining or easier to read. Because of this, there are not many believers who read the Bible regularly. This is a big reason for the spiritual shallowness that we see in the church today. However, when you read the Bible, it is transformational. This is why you must lead people to read the Bible. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO READ THE BIBLE Daily Bible reading is the single most life-changing thing that a believer can do. As a disciple-maker, leading others to develop the spiritual discipline of daily Bible reading is your first priority. It’s important to give your D-Group a Bible reading plan that is achievable. Setting unrealistic goals for your group is counterproductive. Think about how many believers have tried and failed to read through the entire Bible in a year. It’s extremely challenging, especially if you fall behind. I encourage you to begin by giving your group the realistic goal of reading through the New Testament together in one year. This can be accomplished by simply reading one chapter a day, five days a week. By holding one another accountable to this goal, you will read through the entire New Testament in exactly fifty-two weeks. By slowing down and reading only one chapter a day, you can meditate on each chapter and find personal application points for your daily life. This goal is simple, and there is no excuse for anyone not to achieve it. Other reading plans may involve reading the great stories of the Old Testament or reading through Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The important thing is to give your group a reading plan that is achievable. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO APPLY THE BIBLE Note keeping or journaling is another important spiritual discipline to lead your group to develop. Some believers like to do extensive journaling. However, I encourage you to keep your goals simple. Teach your group to find one personal application point from each chapter of the Bible by using the SPACE acrostic. These five simple questions will help you and those in your group to make SPACE in your hearts for God’s Word. In each chapter that you read, ask if there is a . . .
Take time each week to let your group share some of their application points. This will be one of the most fruitful times in your D-Group meetings. These are things that the Holy Spirit has revealed to you from God’s Word. Don’t rush through this. Spend time discussing these points together. Personal accountability is essential to help your group develop the spiritual disciplines of daily Bible reading and note keeping. It is often said that people don’t do what they are supposed to do, they do what they are held accountable to do. Therefore, you will want to ask your D-Group two accountability questions every week:
Asking these two questions will give you valuable insight into how each one in your group is growing and allow you to provide ongoing encouragement to those who are struggling. As redundant as it may seem, it will be important to ask the two accountability questions every week. A man connected with a D-Group who had been away from God for quite some time. After a couple of months of participating in the group, he said, “I’ve read more Bible in the last six weeks than I have in my entire life.” Accountability works! LEAD YOUR GROUP TO MEMORIZE THE BIBLE Scripture memory is an important spiritual discipline for a disciple of Christ. The Psalmist said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). Jesus memorized Scripture. He quoted often from the Old Testament in His teaching and used Scripture to ward off the temptation of Satan in the wilderness. The early apostles memorized Scripture and quoted it often as they witnessed to others and as they defended their faith. By memorizing Scripture, you will have a valuable tool in hand to assist you in witnessing, counseling, and resisting temptation. Lead your D-Group to memorize selected Scriptures that come out of your weekly Bible reading plan. Get them to memorize Scriptures from the Bible translation that they normally use. Instruct them to write out the weekly memory verse on an index card or small sheet of paper. Encourage them go over the verse several times a day, committing each part of it to memory and to always give the chapter and verse reference. Allow your group to quote the verse out loud at your weekly D-Group meeting. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO STORY THROUGH THE BIBLE The Bible tells us that Jesus taught “many things in parables” (Mark 4:2). A parable is an earthly story that has a spiritual meaning. Storytelling was Jesus’ main form of teaching with His disciples. You can follow His example by storying through the Bible with your D-Group. Each week choose a different Bible story or important passage from your weekly reading plan for your group to discuss. Make weekly assignments to get everyone in your group involved. Assign a different person each week to come prepared to briefly tell the story or paraphrase the passage. Assign another person to come prepared to read it from the Bible. These weekly assignments are a great way to encourage group participation and to equip those in your group for future leadership. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO DISCUSS THE BIBLE The Bible says that when Jesus was alone with His disciples, “the twelve asked Him about the parables” (Mark 4:10). In these intimate moments, Jesus and His disciples would discuss His parables and unwrap the meanings of His teachings. Likewise, involve your D-Group in a guided group discussion of the Bible story or key passage you have chosen to cover for the week. Facilitate the discussion by asking important questions about the story, which will help your group understand what the Bible is teaching and how it can be applied to their lives. Always remember that a facilitator does not lecture but simply leads the group in a guided discussion. It will be essential for you to be a good role model as a facilitator. Your goal is to make disciples who make disciples, and it is important to always train those in your group how to lead. Begin assigning others to facilitate the discussion after a few weeks. Be sure to coach and encourage them as you prepare them for leadership. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you facilitate the Bible study:
LEAD YOUR GROUP TO PREPARE TO MULTIPLY Always remember that your ultimate goal as a D-Group leader is to make disciples who make disciples. To multiply out a new D-Group must be a big priority. Prepare your group to multiply by equipping others in your group to lead. You can accomplish this by assigning specific leadership roles to different members of your group every week. First, assign someone to lead the group in prayer. After a brief time of fellowship, ask for prayer requests and have someone who is assigned to pray over the requests and for spiritual revival in our land. Second, assign someone to tell the weekly Bible story or to paraphrase the passage. Encourage the storyteller to be brief and to simply tell the story or paraphrase the passage in one’s own words. Even new believers can be involved in telling the story. Third, assign someone to read the Bible story. After telling the story, have someone read it from the Bible to see if anything was left out. Fourth, assign someone to facilitate the discussion. You will want to model this for the first few weeks and then begin assigning the role to others in the group. These four weekly assignments are very important. By rotating these assignments, you not only get everyone in the group involved, but every week you are preparing them for multiplication and for leading a new D-Group. When you have less than four in your group, simply double up on an assignment. As the D-Group leader, there will be weeks when your only job is to ask the two accountability questions. This is a good thing. Always keep in mind that your goal is prepare your group to multiply. A few years ago, Scott came to our church, and I had the joy of leading him to Christ. He was raised by a Catholic family but had not been to church since he was a teenager. He knew very little about the Bible. I helped Scott connect with a D-Group, and he immediately began reading the Bible daily and discussing it with others in his group. I don’t think I’ve seen a new believer grow in faith as quickly as Scott. As a result, God restored his relationship with his son and his family. Scott had a brother-in-law named Steve who came from another community to participate in one of our D-Groups. Steve said, “This stuff really works! I’ve never seen a person whose life has been changed as much as my brother-in-law, Scott.” Yes, it really works! As personal disciple makers, we must trust the total sufficiency of the Scriptures. Let the Holy Scriptures do the teaching for you. You don’t have to be a great teacher; the Bible is the great teacher. Lead your group to systematically read and discuss the Bible and you will see them grow. D-Life exists to equip common people to be Christ-like disciple makers. Click below to learn more.
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When I was young, I often went fishing with my dad. We had a lot of fun and caught many fish together. However, in our many days of fishing, there is one thing we never did. We never caught a fish by accident. Not one ever jumped in the boat. Likewise, you will never start a D-Group by accident. You must be intentional about fishing for people to be in your group. Fishing calls for patience and persistent. Fish don’t always bite easily. You will cast your bait and bring it in empty more times than you will catch a fish, but good fishermen are not easily discouraged. They keep on fishing until they catch some. The good thing about starting a D-Group is that you only need two or three people to get started. CHOOSING A D-GROUP MUST BE INTENTIONAL There are some important lessons to learn from Jesus about choosing your D-Group. First, understand the importance of prayer. Jesus went up on a mountain to pray before He called His disciples. The Bible says, "In these days He went out to the mountain to pray, and all night He continued in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples and chose from them twelve, whom He named apostles" (Luke 6:12-13). Jesus made choosing His D-Group a matter of fervent prayer. He spent an entire night praying for God to show Him who He should invite to be in His D-Group. You don't need to ask God “if” He wants you to make disciples. Jesus has already commanded you to make disciples. The prayer you must pray is: “Lord, who? Who do you want me to ask to join in my D-Group?” This is a very important first step. Don’t skip it. As you pray, Jesus may show you someone to ask that you may have never thought of on your own. Second, understand the impact of hospitality. In the New Testament, the Greek word for “hospitality” is philozenia. It comes from two Greek words--philos, meaning “affection” or “brotherly love” and zenos, meaning “stranger.” Hospitality in the Bible literally means, “to show love to a stranger.” The writer of Hebrews said, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 3:2a). Talking to strangers is an essential requirement for making disciples. Since unbelievers today are less willing to come to our turf, we must learn to play on theirs. A key to this is practicing biblical hospitality. David Mathis, Executive Editor for “Desiring God,” says that Christian hospitality involves “welcoming unbelievers into our space, in hopes of bringing Jesus into theirs" (David Mathis, “Hospitality and the Great Commission.” Desiring God, October 2, 2012). By showing hospitality to a stranger today, it may open the door to invite him or her to join your D-Group tomorrow. Christian hospitality can become the open door for neighbors, classmates, work acquaintances, people you meet at the ballpark, and other public places to be those whom you have the joy of discipling and leading into a deeper relationship with Christ. Third, understand the initiative of leadership. After praying and showing genuine expressions of hospitality, you must take the initiative to act on God’s leadership. Meet face to face with those whom God wants you to disciple and ask them to join in your D-Group. Explain to them that D-Groups fellowship together weekly, read and discuss the Bible together, and do ministry together. Don’t be afraid to ask them to make a commitment to the group. At this point, you are not inviting them to attend a church. You are simply inviting them to come hang out with you and some friends as you walk through the Bible together. Many Christians are like Barney Fife, the deputy sheriff we came to know and love from the “Andy Griffith Show.” Barney was allowed to have only one bullet in his gun. Likewise, many Christians have only one bullet. From time to time, they invite someone to come visit their church. However, when those they invite say they go to another church, their one bullet has been used. Because they don’t want to “proselyte” them, they feel they can’t ask them again. As a disciple maker, you don’t have just one bullet. Remember, you are not inviting people to come to your church. You are inviting them to come hang out with you. Let them know that your purpose is not to proselyte them, but to walk through the Bible with them. What you may discover is that they are not really active at another church but only attend at Easter and Christmas. Those you will want to invite to come to your church. You may also discover that they have never been saved, and you can lead them to Christ. However, if they really are active at another church, then don’t proselyte them. Train them how to make disciples and multiply them out to lead their own D-Group. Most churches don’t have a multiplying process of discipleship and you will be training a disciple maker for them. Never assume that just because others tell you they go to church that they are genuine followers of Christ. Continue to encourage them to join in your D-Group until you know where they are in their spiritual lives. Remember, fish don’t always bite easily. Don’t get discouraged when you cast out the bait and bring it back empty. You must keep casting out the bait to catch a fish. CONNECTING WITH YOUR D-GROUP WILL BE IMPERATIVE After choosing a small group to disciple, you must connect with them weekly. The Bible says that Jesus “appointed twelve so that they might be with Him" (Mark 3:14). He simply called them to “be with Him.” You cannot disciple others apart from intimate fellowship with them. Remember that you can meet anytime and anywhere. The important thing is that you meet regularly. Job constraints may prohibit some from attending weekly. In such cases, encourage attendance as much as possible. Touch base with these individuals often to share prayer requests and to hold them accountable in their daily Bible reading. During the summer months, do not shut down your group. If even one or two are available, meet with them. Even when you cannot meet, keep in touch with your group during the summer months and holiday seasons. Consistency is essential. CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR D-GROUP WILL BE IMPORTANT When you begin to pray about people to invite to join your D-Group, there are some important group characteristics to keep in mind. You only have so much time to give to your D-Group and you want to invest your time wisely. Choose your D-Group carefully. First, you want a diverse group. One thing you notice about the group of disciples whom Jesus called is their diversity. His group included four fishermen, a government worker who collected taxes for Rome, and a political revolutionary who hated tax collectors, to name a few. When He first called them, we don’t even know if they were true believers or not. Judas never did become a true believer and eventually betrayed Him. Nevertheless, we learn from Jesus that diversity in our D-Groups is important. The more diversity you have in your group, the more dynamic it will be. You want to have mature believers in your D-Group. You want to have at least one or two others who can help you lead the group, and who can be prepared to lead a new group when it’s time to multiply. Since our goal is to multiply new D-Groups, you always want to have someone that you are equipping to lead. It’s also good to have someone who can lead the group when you must be away. You also want to have new believers in your D-Group. New believers are hungry for God’s Word and eager to learn from mature believers. They add value and a great sense of purpose to your group. When a new believer immediately connects with a D-Group, it is one of the most effective ways for him or her to experience great spiritual growth. You also want to have unbelievers in your D-Group. Think outside the walls of your church. There are many lost and unchurched individuals who are seeking answers to life. They might be more than willing to join a small group meeting in a home or coffee shop where they can discuss the Bible and find fellowship. It’s very likely that a lost person will be led to faith in Christ and eventually connect with the church through the fellowship and witness of a D-Group. You also want to have multigenerational believers in your D-Group. In the Bible, Paul instructed his disciple Titus to be intentional about multigenerational discipleship. Paul said that the older men and women should intentionally disciple the younger men and women (Titus 2:1-11). Just as the early church practiced multi-generational discipleship, so must we. Senior adults are one of the greatest resources for disciple-making in the church today. We must intentionally involve them in our D-Groups. Strive for a multigenerational group. In one of my first D-Groups, I had a young new believer in my group and a retired pastor. I watched the bond between them grow. I was the leader of the group, but every time the retired pastor would speak, the new believer would lean in to hear every word. Multigenerational discipleship is a beautiful and powerful thing. Remember, the more diversity you have in your group, the more dynamic it will be. Work hard and be intentional in creating diversity in your group. Second, you want a defective group. The disciples whom Jesus called had issues. They had all kinds of issues such as anger, pride, fear, and doubt. Likewise, you want to disciple people who have issues. It's not hard to find people with issues. There are people all around you who are battling addiction, anger, pornography, depression, greed, and sexual identity issues. They need someone to come alongside them with prayer and loving spiritual accountability. In many ways we are all defective because we all have issues. It is through the caring, relational environment of a D-Group that we can grow to become more like Jesus. Radical transformation can and will occur through the loving accountability of biblical discipleship. Third, you want a dedicated group. When you look for people to disciple, you want to find people who will be committed. Again, you only have so much time to give to your D-Group, and you want to make a wise investment of your time. You must be highly committed to your group and you must expect the same from them. Encourage those in your group to let you know in advance when they will not be able to meet. When someone is unexpectedly absent, contact him or her promptly. Make regular use of texts, emails, and phone calls to encourage dedication and commitment. Loving accountability is a vital key to building commitment. The first disciples left their fishing nets, their boats, and even their fathers to follow after Jesus (Mark 1:16-20). They were dedicated. Likewise, we must be dedicated disciple-makers. The rewards of our labor will be great. Linda was a regular person with a very kind and sweet spirit. Being a woman of faith, she stepped out to lead a group and began to pray about whom she should ask. The Lord placed on her heart a neighbor who was unchurched. Her neighbor and a few other women joined in Linda’s D-Group. After a few weeks of meeting together, Linda’s unchurched friend said to the group, “I don’t have what you ladies have. Could you tell me how to be saved?” Linda shared the good news of Christ with her, and she put her faith in Him for salvation. Immediately afterward, she said, “I have two daughters at home that have never heard this. If I go get them right now will you share this with them?” She went to get her daughters and quickly brought them to Linda’s house to hear the Gospel. That night, both of her daughters also put their faith in Christ. A few weeks later, I had the joy of baptizing all three of them at our church. The very first contact they had with our church was in the home of a disciple-maker named Linda. This is the power of disciple-making. I encourage you to step out in faith like Linda and begin leading a D-Group. Remember, you don’t need permission to do the Great Commission. D-Life exists to equip common people to be Christ-like disciple makers. Click below to learn more.
In today's culture, should churches do Sunday morning Bible study classes or discipleship groups throughout the week? This is an important question to consider. In the sports movie, "Radio," James Robert "Radio" Kennedy was a young mentally-disabled man living alone with his mother in Anderson, South Carolina. He developed a special relationship with Coach Harold Jones who invited Radio to assist with the T. L. Hanna High School football team.
In a humorous scene, Coach Jones and Radio were having lunch at a local diner. A waitress showed them a dessert menu and suggested a couple of her favorites. Coach Jones and the waitress shared a laugh when Radio promptly replied, "I'll take both." In response to the question raised above, I agree with Radio. My reply is that "I'll take both." I think both are vital to the mission of the church. Every child needs a father who will teach him how to fish. I was blessed to have such a father. When I was seven years old, my dad said, “Son, I want to teach you how to fish.” I was so excited. My dad loved to fish, and I wanted to do everything that he did. One day we loaded our fishing gear and headed out to my Uncle Bill’s lake. It was a beautiful private lake just outside of town on my uncle’s farm.
When we arrived, my dad told me there were a lot of fish in this lake and that we were going to catch them. But how? I was only seven; I didn’t know how to fish. Then my dad did something that was a game-changer. He placed in my hands a fishing rod and a reel. “This is a Zebco 33,” he said, “It’s the most simple and reliable fishing reel that you will ever use.” |
authorDr. Bill Wilks, has a passion for equipping common people to be Christ-like disciple makers. Bill and his wife, Rondie, have traveled extensively to train thousands of believers how to make disciples who make disciples. Bill and Rondie live near Trussville, AL, where he serves as Lead Pastor of NorthPark Church and Founder of D-Life. Archives
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