The following is an excerpt from www.Exponential.org, originally written by Ben Connelly on August 14, 2024.
As we consider a shift “from reaching Christians to making disciples,” church leaders and followers of Jesus can miss a vital step: knowing how the Gospel sounds like truly good news to people! Do we live as if the Gospel is truly good news to us? Do we talk about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and reign as if He makes an actual difference—not just in our theology but in our lives, and in the lives of those around us?
At the end of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he asks his friends in Colossae to pray for him specifically—and this is informative for us as we pursue God’s mission—“that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” Leading by example, Paul, arguably the most “successful” missionary in history, reminds us that God’s mission was completely dependent on God. Then he exhorts his friends, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:2–6).
Salt makes things tasteful. Peter gives a similar warning as he exhorts followers of Jesus to share the Gospel. After encouraging readers to “always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” he encourages this posture: “yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Grace, gentleness, well-seasoned and respectful. If we asked many of our not-yet-believing neighbors and friends, I’d imagine those are not the words they’d typically use to describe their experience with Christians’ presentation of the Gospel.
In my work with The Equipping Group, we often help pastors see that Christians are more typically viewed as arrogant, uncaring, heady, and presumptuous. These postures miss God’s heart, and miss opportunities to walk in wisdom, even as we speak the good news! There’s a way to display the heart of the Gospel, even as we proclaim the content of the Gospel.
Our posture as we share the Gospel—from our stages and classrooms, and even more so in our streets and living rooms—is to consider how our audience (whether one or 1000) is hearing it, and to ask ourselves if it’s palatable to them. How can we fulfill this first principle of Gospel proclamation? The second principle is the key.
Paul’s second exhortation to his readers is to “know how you ought to answer each person.” Paul doesn’t encourage a one-size-fits-all approach to sharing the Gospel. Instead, there are literally dozens of ways to share the Gospel, and that “each person” might need to hear it in a unique way, to sound real to them. For me, the Gospel was “good” in that it displayed Jesus as satisfying in my dissatisfied life.. But if I now only know how to proclaim the Gospel through the lens of satisfaction, it might be wasted on you if dissatisfaction isn’t your struggle. Instead, as I often tell our church family, we must learn to speak the one objective Gospel, into hundreds of subjective situations around us.
For example, I used to think God redeemed me at age eight. Now I think I was actually twenty—and ashamedly, two years into student ministry!—when the good news of Jesus became real to me. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks: “If Jesus is real, He should matter to everything!” It sounds embarrassingly simple now, but seemed revolutionary at the time. What truth made the Gospel become real to me? For years I had sought satisfaction in leadership roles, music, “success,” women, and ironically, doing the right thing in the eyes of others. All that had left me empty and dissatisfied. When I was twenty, the truth I’d even taught others finally sunk into my own thick, self-gratifying skull: God. Alone. Satisfies. That truth changed everything.
Every time we see a diamond commercial, the stone sits on a black background, rotating. Every slight turn picks up the light in a unique way, reflecting it in more beauty. It’s one diamond, but each angle shows its sparkle differently. In this way, Jesus is like a diamond. There is one Gospel, but there are many angles from which people through history find the Gospel to be truly good news.
I explore some ways the Gospel is good news in Reading the Bible, Missing the Gospel. But there are many, many more! Even in Paul’s elder qualifications, he says leaders must be well-thought-of enough to earn an audience; we must have strong relationships and have “respectable” lives. Based on Colossians 4, we must learn peoples’ stories, enter into their brokenness, and know their values, needs, and idols. In this way, we can speak the good news in a way that “answers each person.” But isn’t that difficult? Yes. Doesn’t it take time, effort, and sacrifice? You bet. Is there a high potential I might fail, misrepresent God, or speak foolishly at times? Absolutely.
But on one hand, grace exists to us, because “salvation is [only!] of the Lord”—it’s the Father who opens doors; it’s the Spirit who gives us words. On the other hand, it’s worth it. Because everyone on earth—both inside and outside our ministries—proclaims the glory of something. And there is only One Thing worth proclaiming, that won’t let them down. Jesus alone is, among a hundred thousand other things, Satisfaction to the dissatisfied, Joy to the joyless, Hope to the hopeless, Forgiveness to the indebted, Freedom to the enslaved, Salvation to those facing judgment, and the Answer to every problem. And hear me, minister: that same Gospel that can sound like good news to every facet of peoples’ lives, is also truly good news to every facet of your life too!
There is one objective Gospel, and it applies to every subjective situation. As we consider our disciple-making processes and strategies, let’s also prioritize living lives that reflect that truth. And let’s slow down enough to know how to best proclaim it in a way that speaks to individual souls, answers unique questions, and “answers each person.” Let’s accept God’s invitation to do this, from our pulpits and on our couches. Let’s share the good news with those in our ministries, those who would never come near them, and in our own hearts as well!
How are you hoping to, or continuing to, cultivate and nurture a healthy framework and practice of discipleship within your church? If you need a resource to get started, check out Essentials of Faith—a multi-series discipleship program designed to help your church develop mature followers of Jesus. Click here to learn more about Essentials of Faith.
The start of a new year is a time for reflection, prayer, and planning. For church leaders, January provides the perfect opportunity to reset after the busyness of the Christmas season and refocus on your ministry’s goals for the year ahead.
To help you grow and lead with confidence, we’ve curated a list of free, one-hour webinars led by trusted ministry experts. Whether you want to overcome apathy in your congregation, equip your church for evangelism, strengthen marriages, or enhance specific areas of your ministry, there’s a webinar here for you.
These sessions are packed with practical tools and encouragement to help you make a lasting impact in 2025.
Creating a Culture of Evangelism: Practical Steps for Effective Outreach with Willie Robertson
In this one-hour webinar, Willie Robertson shares practical strategies for expanding your outreach efforts and embedding evangelism into the heart of your church’s mission. A culture of evangelism in your ministry is possible!
3 Ways to Equip Women & Leverage Their Influence in the Church with Tasha Calvert
In this webinar with Tasha Calvert, women’s minister at Prestonwood Church in Texas, you’ll learn actionable ways to include and empower women to exercise godly influence in their homes, schools, communities, and churches—and in your own ministry.
Ministry in the Age of AI in partnership with Barna, Carey Nieuwhof, and Gloo
In this webinar hosted by David Kinnaman and Carey Nieuwhof, gain invaluable insights from guest experts and thought leaders Ed Stetzer, Nona Jones, and Kenny Jahng. Hear how they collectively envision the future of ministry in a technologically driven world.
When People Don’t Care: A Discussion About Apathy in the Church with Ben Stuart
In this webinar, pastor and author Ben Stuart fields questions from viewers to help ministry leaders address apathy in the church. Learn how to increase engagement and build community in the next generation and beyond.
4 Secrets to an Intimate Marriage—for You & Your Ministry with Shaunti Feldhahn and Dr. Michael Sytsma
Based on years of research on everything from communication to money to sex, the simple, eye-opening steps presented in this webinar are things every church leader should have in their back pockets to encourage and equip their people—and to have a great marriage themselves.
As you step into the new year, take a moment to reflect, pray, and seek God’s guidance for the road ahead. Leadership comes with challenges and opportunities, and investing in your growth—spiritually and practically—can help you navigate them with wisdom and grace. You’re making a difference, and we’re cheering you on.
When you read Jesus’s genealogy in the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, what names stand out to you? Is it Abraham, the father of our faith? Or maybe David, the revered king of Israel? Maybe it’s Jesus’s mother, Mary. Jesus’s lineage includes a fascinating mishmash of characters, some of whom are well-known and others who are more obscure. One name that’s often overshadowed is Jesus’s father: Joseph.
Is there anything we can glean from this seemingly unremarkable figure?
While it’s true that Joseph is often overlooked and there’s relatively little written about him in the New Testament, he’s an important person to ponder during Christmastime. Although he is “barely mentioned in Scripture [and] forgotten mostly in church history,” as Dan Darling writes in The Characters of Christmas[1], there is much that we can learn from him today.
After the opening genealogy in chapter 1, Matthew’s Gospel transitions immediately to the “birth of Jesus Christ” (v. 18, ESV) and introduces readers to Jesus’s parents, Mary and Joseph. Matthew describes Joseph as “a just man” (v. 19). In light of the scandalous nature of Mary’s pregnancy (Joseph was not the biological father, and they were not married), Matthew details Joseph’s unwillingness to shame Mary, his betrothed. Joseph “resolved to divorce her quietly” (v. 19), which was no small decision.
It’s clear from the next verse that Joseph spent time mulling over what he should do—the Greek word used here is enthumeomai, which means “to revolve thoroughly in the mind” or “consider carefully.” What do you think Joseph was feeling? What do you think his prayers were like?
As Joseph “considered” (enthumeomai, v. 20) what to do, he fell asleep. Have you ever prayed and wrestled with God long into the night, begging to hear from him and pleading for help? I imagine this is where Joseph found himself, out of options and out of energy, drifting into a restless sleep. But while he slept, God sent him a message. Through an angel, God spoke to Joseph. And Joseph heard him.
When was the last time you heard from God? Maybe it’s been so long that you aren’t even sure what his voice sounds like anymore. Keep wrestling. Keep praying. Keep pleading with God. And keep your ears tuned—he may just send you a word when you least expect it.
In every recorded instance when the Lord’s angel visited Joseph and spoke to him (Matthew 1:20–24; 2:13–15; 2:19–22), Joseph responded with obedience. Three times the angel of the Lord “appeared” to him in a dream and three times he “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Every time, Joseph obeyed immediately.
In Matthew 2:13–15, for instance, God sent his angel to Joseph to deliver hard news: “Herod is on the hunt for this child (Jesus), and wants to kill him” (v. 13, The Message®). God instructed Joseph to gather his family and their things “and flee to Egypt.” As you might imagine, moving was much more disruptive in the first century than it is for us. But the Bible says that “Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight” (v. 14, The Message®, emphasis added). That isn’t just obedience; it’s obedience without delay, no matter the cost.
What about you? How difficult is it for you to obey God’s Word immediately like Joseph did? For most of us, the answer is obvious—immediate obedience is immensely difficult, especially when it’s costly. But take heart: by God’s grace, we can obey God like Joseph did.
In the book of James, the author instructs his readers to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (1:22, ESV). If we’re ever unsure what hearing and doing the Word looks like—what it requires of us—Joseph gives us an example. Joseph was not a “hearer who forg[ot] but a doer who act[ed]” (v. 25).
And so it should be with us. When we read Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, or the warnings in Paul’s epistles, or the exhortations in the book of Hebrews, or the commands in Peter’s letters, or the sweet encouragements in 1 John, we should recognize that we are hearing from God much like Joseph did—not news delivered by angels but by the very breath of the Almighty. And like Joseph, we should “[a]ct on what [we] hear” (James 1:22, The Message®).
Daniel Darling,[1] The Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught Up in the Story of Jesus (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2019).
Maybe it was something simple, like their infectious laugh or the fact that they had candy on their desk every day. For many of us, if we thought about it long enough, we’d say that our favorite teachers were those who made us feel seen, loved, and valued—they showed consistency and care for not only our grades but our personal lives.
As teachers and administrators, we want what’s best for our students. We want to see students thrive at home, in their relationships, and as individuals. And as Christian teachers, we especially want to see their spiritual growth. But discipling our students faces certain challenges—rules within the public school system, parental control, and lack of time. But that doesn’t mean we can’t care for our students’ spiritual well-being.
One way that we can disciple our students is by offering our support to a Christian student activity. Many groups like Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life need faculty sponsors and advisors. While there are limits to your involvement, your support could look like becoming an advisor of the group, volunteering to oversee the meetings, or being an extra point of contact for the group. If your school doesn’t have any Christian groups and isn’t against the formation of one, you could suggest to your Christian students that they could form a group that you could advise. Your voice and presence can support their faith.
Especially in the public school setting, it can be difficult to remain neutral toward the subject of faith while also trying to live it out. But we can be faithful disciples even when we can’t share the gospel. We also share our faith with our students by showing them the love of Christ. First Corinthians 13:4–8 tells us that love is patient, kind, not envious or proud. Students—especially those who may not be used to kind, patient, or loving adults—will see a reflection of Jesus in your lived example. Reflect on the ways you engage with your students: Does a stressful day make you impatient with them? Are you kind to all of your students—or just the well-behaved ones? When students come to you for advice, do you quickly reply or do you usher them into wisdom that comes from Scripture? The way you love your students speaks volumes about your love for God.
Simply being present for our students can be a form of discipleship. For many kids, having a consistent adult figure in their lives means the world—having a consistently encouraging adult can be life-changing. While you see them in class, consider attending their school games, plays, and performances. Let students hang out in your class over lunch. Being present in your students’ lives will not only serve them but provide you with an opportunity to pray with them and give them godly counsel.
We might spend most of our teaching careers planting good seeds of faith without ever seeing a student come to Christ or having the opportunity to actually share the gospel. But while discipleship may look different in the classroom, we can do what Jesus has commanded of all of us—to love our students as he loved us.
Ministry leaders want their ministries to develop mature disciples, but how do we know if our methods are working? During RightNow Conference 2023, we asked Lisa Harper, Matt Chandler, and David Platt their thoughts on measuring the effectiveness of a church’s discipleship efforts. All three agree that measuring spiritual maturity is a difficult but important factor to keep track of in your church.
Boy, you've got to watch me on this one, because I hate analytics. Because if you’re not careful, it becomes perfunctory. It becomes performative. It becomes transactional. I think the best way to measure [is], “Is your personal relationship and authenticity with one another actually driving you further into the embrace of Jesus Christ?” That’s hard to measure on a graph; it’s much easier to measure in the context of relationship. Do you want to keep meeting together? Has the realness of that relationship become such an anchor in your life that you wish it was more than once a week because it’s actually become an extension of your family or the family you wish you had?
If you’re talking about normal numerics, I think it’s really hard for a local church to do that. I think that what I’m looking for at The Village Church—which is the church that I pastor—if you stumble and fall and get up and repent and run to Jesus, I think we’ve done a really good job of “gospeling.” This is a person who really has grown and matured in their faith; they’re able to endure with joy and gladness. What I was taught when I was a younger pastor is: “Are they giving?”, “Are they attending?”, “Are they in your programs?” But I think they can be in programs and not mature. Is what we are doing working in regard to their understanding of who God is and the ability the believer has to be in his presence, to be comforted by him and shaped by him regardless of life’s circumstances?
There are so many potential pitfalls there, because if we don’t have the right measurements in place, we’ll end up doing a whole lot of things Jesus hasn’t told us to do. I think of Galatians 4:19 when I think of measuring discipleship: “I labor to see Christ formed in you.” Are the people that I’m pouring my life into looking more like Jesus? And not just those people, but other people, as a result of those people’s lives, are they looking more like Jesus? I want to labor toward that end. So, I would just encourage you, more than numbers—more than a lot of different things we would think of when it comes to measuring success—look for Christlikeness in the people of the church and in people being reached through the church who are becoming more like Jesus.
Maybe your schedule loosens with the close of the school year, or you find yourself stressing out for what should be fun vacations. Whether summer brings deeper rest or unrest, the change in season invites us to consider engaging—or re-engaging—in spiritual practices.
Spiritual practices—also known as spiritual disciplines—mark the lives of followers of Jesus and sustain our relationship with God. Just as regular phone calls or eating dinner with loved ones build our relationship with them, spiritual disciplines strengthen our relationship with God.
Regardless of where you find yourself—stressed or relaxed—here are four spiritual practices to aid your relationship with God this summer:
Writing on prayer in Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster said, “Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father.” Prayer is how we talk with God. We see Jesus model prayer for us in the gospels (Luke 11:1–4) and are directed to continually pray by the apostle Paul (1 Thess. 5:17). Without prayer—much like without consistent communication with a friend or loved one—our relationship with God is distant and apathetic.
Prayer encompasses many postures: praise—expressing joy to God; thanksgiving—showing gratitude for God’s gifts and provision; confession—acknowledging our sin before God; lament—bringing our grief to God; and petition/intercession—asking God for forgiveness or to act on someone else’s behalf.
Exercise: Fixed Hour Prayer
Early Christians prayed at specific times of day to establish a rhythm of talking to God. Set a time to pray each day through the rest of the summer.
For more on prayer, visit The Prayer Practice by Practicing the Way in the RightNow Media library.
Keeping the sabbath might be the most disruptive spiritual practice in our modern age. In the Old Testament, the sabbath was the day set aside for all people to stop working and worship God. To be part of the people of God back then meant you practiced sabbath. Now, followers of Jesus are not obligated to keep the sabbath (Col. 2:16), but the principle of following God’s model of rest in Genesis 2:1–3 is woven into the very fabric of creation. Regularly practicing worshipful rest can be good for you even if it’s not required of you.
Because we live in a fast-paced, achievement-oriented culture, purposefully withdrawing from all work—not just our employment—for a set time to stop, rest, delight, and worship may be exactly what your soul longs for this summer.
Exercise: Mini-Sabbath
Setting aside an entire day to rest and enjoy God may be intimidating. Start with a small amount of time—a weekday afternoon or a Saturday morning—where you remove distractions and engage in activities that deepen your joy in God and relationships with others.
For more on the sabbath, visit The Sabbath Practice by Practicing the Way in the RightNow Media library.
In Matthew 6, Jesus assumes his followers will fast when he warns us about practicing our “righteousness in front of others” (v. 1) when we give to the poor (vv. 2–4), when we pray (vv. 5–15), and when we fast (vv. 16–18).
At its core, fasting is choosing to go without something you want or need to make room for something you want or need even more. Perhaps you choose to go without food to make room in your heart to hear God or to give the money or food you would have used to sustain your own body to sustain someone else.
Exercise: Fast with a Friend
Fasting has the potential for good, but also misuse. Because of the dangers of treating fasting like dieting or taking your heart to an unhealthy place with food, ask someone you trust if fasting is a good spiritual discipline for you to try. If they agree, invite them to walk with you as you start this practice. Consider skipping lunch once a week and spending the time you would have been eating to pray with your friend.
For more on fasting, watch The Fasting Practice by Practicing the Way in the RightNow Media library.
Solitude can be refreshing for some and a struggle for others. But Jesus demonstrated the need to spend time alone throughout his life—withdrawing to the desert to start his ministry (Matt. 4:1), retreating after a busy day of ministering (Mark 1:35), and before making monumental decisions (Luke 6:12–16). Just as Jesus needed space to hear from the Father, we need solitude to turn down the noise of our busy lives and focus on God. It may sound counter-intuitive, but the goal of solitude is not to be alone—rather solitude frees us from noise to be with God.
Exercise: Find Your Place
While we can make space to be alone with God anywhere, it can be helpful to have a designated space to retreat and sit with God. It doesn’t have to be anywhere fancy—maybe it’s your back porch, your kitchen table, or at a local park. The goal is to go to this place consistently and avoid distractions to focus your attention on God. Determine where that place is and use it for holy solitude this summer.
For more on the practice of solitude, check out The Solitude Practice by Practicing the Way in the RightNow Media library.
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
