Soma is a good example of a community of people living on mission to share the love of Jesus with others in a hurting world.

Good thoughts by Matt Carter of the Austin Stone Church.

In Building a Discipling Culture, Mike Breen and Steve Cockram call us to a life of discipleship. They boldly assert, “Effective discipleship builds the church, not the other way around. We need to understand the church as the effect of discipleship and not the cause.” Breen and Cockram describe the process of discipleship as beginning with a Huddle, which is a group of eight people chosen by a leader. Those people enter into a discipling relationship with the leader. After a period of around six months, those disciples are encouraged to start another Huddle and continue the process of discipling others. The authors estimate that if this model is followed for a year and a half there will be approximately 248 people being discipled.

Breen and Cockram also discuss key concepts illustrated by eight shapes that strengthen the discipling process. These shapes graphically demonstrate what it means to be shaped by the Holy Spirit into the image of Jesus. The appendix in the book is an instrument that helps the reader understand if she/he is more likely a pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, or apostle. These roles are defined and explained by the chapter on Personal Calling.

Once the concepts and shapes in Building a Discipling Culture are understood, the book provides a meaningful and useful resource for building disciples.

The following are notes taken from a talk given by Gailyn VanRheenen of Mission Alive.

When the apostle Paul visited the secular city of Athens in Acts 17, he preached to the highly educated philosophers. He began by saying:

“Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way…”

Paul knew his audience very well. This was no accident. He intentionally sought to understand them because he wanted to meet them on their terms. His actions are a tremendous example for us. It is imperative that we learn about the culture with which we plan to share the love of Jesus.

1. Demographic studies. These are helpful for understanding the economic, social, and racial composition of the culture. There are lots of good resources such as the US Census Bureau or City Data.
2. Watching and Listening. This is face-to-face participation. We are trying to understand the culture from an insider’s perspective.
3. Ask Good Questions. This is accomplished by asking questions from people who intimately know the culture. We can talk with community leaders and citizens from all walks of life.
4. Logging People’s Stories. This is asking people to describe their life histories. Share your story with them. Another way to do this is to do a “ride along” with the local police to discover the people who are disenfranchised and hurting.
5. Prayer Walks. This is intercessory prayer as you walk through a community. Ask God who needs his hand. Ask God what he is doing in that community.

From the information gathered, develop a needs inventory that describes the brokenness in the culture.

What do you need to know about your culture?

What will the church look like ten years from now? Sam Rainer, president of Rainer Research, recently wrote about this. Here are his ten projections:

1.     The heterogeneous church explodes 

2.     Church attendance continues to decline

3.     The conservative drift draws more 

4.     Deep teaching gets more popular 

5.     Boomer ministries boom

6.     Ministries to families grow

7.     Staff positions evolve

8.     The importance of the church building is renewed

9.     Charismatic leadership becomes less prevalent

10.  Growth in video-venues slows down

What do you think? Do you see other trends on the horizon?

Authenticity has an enormous impact on unbelievers–especially men. Check out my article on Smallgroups.com.

Why are men influenced by authenticity? Has this been your experience?

This apt analogy to evangelism is only a little tongue-in-cheek. What do you think? Does it accurately describe most of us?

We Bought a Zoo is a fun family film with profound messages. Based on a true story, Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) is a recent widower who is struggling to hold his family together after the death of his wife. His son Dylan (Colin Ford) is expressing his grief by acting out at school and ends up getting expelled. In an effort to establish a fresh start for himself and his two children, Benjamin quits his job and looks for a house in the country. He gets more than he bargained for: the house he likes turns out to be on zoo property, and if he buys the house he also is agreeing to take charge of the dilapidated zoo. As the title of the film suggests, Benjamin decides to take the plunge.

The Mee’s life at the zoo is where the central story takes off. An attraction develops between Benjamin and Kelly (Scarlett Johansson), the zoo’s caretaker, and Dylan begins a friendship with Lily (Elle Fanning), who also works at the zoo. However, both Benjamin and Dylan are still grieving over their loss and stop themselves short of deepening these relationships. Another story in the film is preparing the zoo to eventually re-open. This is taxing on the family and zoo staff alike and becomes a financial headache for Benjamin.

The film’s emotional content deepens when Spar, a seventeen year old Bengal tiger, gets sick. The zoo staff strongly urges Benjamin to put Spar down. (spoiler alert) At first Benjamin refuses. He is still struggling with feelings of ineptitude and guilt over his wife’s death, and views Spar’s sickness as an opportunity to redeem himself. In fact, his feelings are so pronounced that he cannot even bring himself to look at old photographs of his late wife. At the film’s climax, Benjamin has a fight with Dylan which conjures previously ignored feelings in both of them. Benjamin forgives himself and agrees to put Scar down.

The decision has a healing effect on the entire family. Benjamin finds himself able to view photographs of his wife again, and allows himself to begin a relationship with Kelly. Dylan comes out of his self-imposed shell and opens himself to Lily. Of course, as in real life, the zoo opens successfully.

There are several lessons to be learned from this film:

1.    Taking risks pays off. From the decision to purchase the zoo to putting Scar down, Benjamin’s decisions eventually enable him to work through his wife’s death.
2.    Forgiveness allows us to move forward. Benjamin works through his grief by forgiving himself. Likewise, after Dylan forgives his father, he is able to enjoy life again.
3.    Family is priority. Benjamin buys the zoo in an effort to give his children a good life. The family also learns how to work together for a common cause.
4.    Sometimes healing hurts. The film does not gloss over the family’s pain. It paints a real-life portrait of grief and shows how a family can regain its emotional health.

There is some language in the film, but the antics of the animals will keep the children amused and the story communicates important life lessons.

★★★★☆