Lead Like Jesus. Live On Mission. Make Disciples.
I came to know the love of Jesus for the first time at a church plant.
I then had the privilege of being a part of one of the most impactful church-planting churches in the Midwest for over ten years, having a hand in the start-up of various campuses and plants. [Read more…]
I’ve had some conversations lately with people wanting to start coaching or consulting businesses, and they’ve asked me, “What should I do first? How did Gravity Leadership get started?”
I’ve had to admit to these people that I’m not sure what a good first step would be because our work in coaching and consulting happened somewhat “accidentally.”
One of the skills we train people to practice in our coaching is compassionate curiosity about ourselves, God, and others in discipleship.
Cultivating a genuine curiosity at the core of our being is vital if we want to grow and mature as followers of Jesus. Without curiosity, we become rigid ideologues seeking data to confirm our existing biases. Without curiosity, we cannot grow as disciples of Jesus.
Discipleship is often associated with the words “replication” or “reproduction.” These are some of the most common metaphors for disciple-making, and for good reason: the Apostle Paul tells his disciples to “imitate” him as he “imitates” Christ.
But I wonder sometimes if they might not be helpful words to use when it comes to discipleship, at least not without some caveats on what they actually mean. For example, is the goal of discipleship to clone someone into your image? Is that what we mean when we talk about “replication” in discipleship?
What do you do with negative emotions when you experience them? What do you think you’re “supposed” to do with your anger, anxiety, and contempt as a disciple of Jesus?
