disciplemaking learning communities

Insights from a Communal Perspective As you put away your Selfie Stick…

May 22, 2018Dave & Rennie Garda

One of of my favorite chapters in Lois’ new book is Chapter 7. It calls us to the joy of mutual community and hovering friendships as we engage God as a people of friends… a y’all of a faith community:

Here is how the Chapter “Insights from a Communal Perspective” begins:

Did you know that you can now order a copy of a Bible translation called “Your Personalized Bible” which will insert your name in more than seven thousand verses?

Here are a few verses from my copy: Lois like a sheep has gone astray. Lois has turned to her own way; and the LORD has laid on Him Lois’s iniquity. (Isa. 53:6)
Lois is the light of the world. (Matt. 5:14)
You have made Lois a little lower than God, And crowned Lois with glory and honor.
You make Lois a ruler over the works of Your hands.
You have put all things under Lois’ feet. (Ps. 8:5–6)

You might think I’d be a fan of this style of study. I’m single, never married. I’m self-employed. I work by myself out of my own home office. I have no boss, no husband, no children. I’m queen of my own pleasant little world. I’ve heard the siren call of individualism and succumbed as much as anyone, so you’d think I’d want to read my Bible that way.

The more I study the Bible, however, the more I’m realizing the many ways that an individualistic approach misunderstands the text.”

… And later in the chapter…

Part of the reason we read the biblical text as if it were addressed to “me personally” is because English only has one word, you, which can be either singular or plural. Unlike Greek, Hebrew, and many other languages, we can’t distinguish whether a speaker is addressing one person or a group. As a result, English speakers have a habit of reading every “you” in the Bible as if it’s addressed to “me all by myself” rather than “me within God’s larger community.”

American Southerners have an advantage here, because they use “y’all” when they address a group. Maybe the antidote to the “Your Personalized Bible” is to publish a “Southern-style” Bible where Jesus says, “Y’all are the light of the world,” and Paul says, “Y’all are the temple of God,” so that we’d know both were speaking to groups rather than to individuals.

Putting Away My Selfie Stick

…

I hope I’ve awakened your appetite to read more. I am…

Excerpt From
Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus
Lois Tverberg
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reading-the-bible-with-rabbi-jesus/id1276245722?mt=11

Cadre’s Twelve Days of Christmas for Disciplemaker’s like YOU!

December 25, 2017December 28, 2017Dave & Rennie Garda

Celebrate Twelve Days with Cadre Missionaries.Day One: Christmas Day. Cadre Digital Living Guides from the iBookstore for iPads, Computers and iPhones for only .99 cents. NEW. These tools just hit the iBookstore in their enhanced made for iBooks formats. You’ll be able to carry with you on your phone, iPad or computer these effective Disciplemaker’s Tools: The Disciplemaker’s Living Guide and the One Another Living Guide.

Day Two: Free Digital PDF edition of Volunteer Dialogue 2. What’s the difference between Speaking, Teaching, Preach and Training?

Day Three: Save $6 on your digital iBookstore edition of Recruiting, Motivating and Retaining Volunteers. Grab your copy for only $6.99

Day Four: Fuel your prayerfulness while you save $1.50 plus get free shipping on your set of 10 Disciplemaker’s Prayer Cards for study plus 10 wallet sized cards.

Day Five: Save $4 and pick up your copy of Encourage Your Pastor for only .99 cents. This made for iBooks digital resource works with your iPhone, iPad or computer.

Day Six: Free Digital copy of Big God, small problems: A disciplemaker’s walk with Nehemiah. This made for iBooks digital resource works with your iPhone, iPad or computer and comes with bonus audio segments to prompt your havering.

Day Seven: Save $6 on your digital iBookstore edition of the Disciplemaker’s Guide to Grow, Minister & Lead (Helping Volunteers and Teams to Live & Support Disciplemaking). Grab your copy for only $6.99. This digital edition includes four bonus equipping audios with Bill Allison.

Day Eight: Save $13 and Getaway like Jesus for only $1.99. This digital PDF edition works with Kindle, iBooks, PDF screen readers.

Day Nine: Get your free copy of Volunteer Training Dialogue #1: Training Like-Jesus Makes all the Difference. This digital PDF edition works with Kindle, iBooks, PDF screen readers.

Day Ten: Free Email From Hell Episode: IDENTITY THEFT. Enjoy this dramatic audio and study sheet pdf to help you understand Satan’s strategy to steal your Spiritual Identity. Save $4.99.

Day Eleven: Free digital audio: How Personal Growth Can Move You from Ordinary to Extraordinary. Save $4.99.

Day Twelve: Free PDF training article from the Disciplemaker’s Guide Chapter 1: Why Volunteers Can Change the World. Save $1.99.

Be watching Cadre’s Facebook Page for daily updates and links.

The Disciplemaking Learning Community right under your nose

January 12, 2017August 23, 2017Bill Allison

After years of being single—and only after a few years of being married, Martin Luther said, “Marriage is a far better school of character than any monastery.” (Can I get an “amen” from the married people?)

And if marriage isn’t challenging enough, try parenting. Before we were married, my wife and I had seven keys to raising kids. Now we have seven kids—and no keys.

Your Disciplemaking Learning Community (DLC) at Home

But make no mistake about it: Your first DLC is your home. Let’s call marriage, parenting, and grandparenting what they really are—disciplemaking. And while we’re keeping things real, let’s also admit that our homes are often the last place that feels like a DLC. God wants this to change.

The good news is that you need not be a perfect spouse, parent, or grandparent to make your home feel like a DLC. The moment you begin to try to live Deuteronomy 6:5-9, your home begins to look and feel like a DLC:

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

For our family right now, trying to apply Deuteronomy 6:5-9 means reading the Scriptures together and praying with our high school kids before they go off to school.

It means taking time around our dinner table to engage a short passage of Scripture and to pray together (less than 10 minutes usually).
It means confessing and repenting of our sins against each other when one of us loses our temper or is less than loving.
It means having enough humility to laugh at our own idiosyncrasies—and not mind if others laugh along with us.
It means driving to church together and trying to not being out of fellowship with God and each other by the time we arrive.
It means learning to sincerely say, “I love you,” “Will you forgive me?” and “I forgive you.”
It means sitting on the deck at night enjoying a sunset and together as a family literally applauding God for his handiwork.
It means inviting our teenagers to consider God and his Word when they ask us to go see a movie that we’re not quite sure about.

What does a Disciplemaking Learning Community mean for YOUR family?

Would you like a better, stronger relationship with God in 2017?

December 27, 2016December 27, 2016Bill Allison

By far the single most important thing I did in 2016 that helped my relationship with God was reading through the Bible—with some friends.

News Flash: A better, stronger relationship with God will not happen accidentally.

This is your invitation to gather your friends to take a life-changing AND guilt-free Bible reading adventure together in 2017.

1. Here’s WHY you probably won’t do this. (Just keeping it real.)

2. Here’s HOW you can pull this off if you dare to go for it.

3. Here’s an online community for sharing what we learn together.

4. Here’s a story about what God can do if you dare to try in 2017.

Here’s our Bible reading plan for 2017…

[Note: This 12-part reading will take us through the whole Bible in 2017. Each month is a new onramp. So it doesn’t matter if people start with us in January or not! It doesn’t matter if you skip a month. No guilt. No pressure. I’ll say it again: Each month is a new on ramp. So please invite friends to join you each month.]

So, WHO needs to do this with you this year?

Share this post with them right now.

Help Cadre Missionaries end 2017 strong and launch us into a new exciting year of disciplemaking!

How to choose your next best curriculum

November 3, 2016November 2, 2016Laura Slezak

People often ask me for curriculum recommendations. Since Cadre writes, publishes and offers a lot of training, people sometimes think we do curriculum.

But…we don’t.

I get why people ask. Choosing what to teach is a pressing, felt need many of us have as we plan to teach week-to-week…to week…to week.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-curriculum. But Cadre doesn’t write it because we believe disciplemaking is a way of life, and that’s our focus—helping you, as our in-real-life friends, follow Jesus with the people in your life, living sent to make disciples who make disciples. Disciplemaking isn’t meant to be a topic for us to teach for 8 weeks every other year as part of our Christian education rotation.

But wait, don’t close out the window yet!

We can still help.

The truth is, there are many great kinds of studies and resources you can use to cultivate disciplemaking values in your ministy. This is the best one. And I’ll share a few more at the bottom.

But let’s back up for a minute.

While I can share a few resources with you, I’d much rather equip you to choose your own curriculum well. In fact, this won’t be my only post on the topic. But today, I simply want to challenge you to think about the big picture.

Instead of picking a curriculum based on how well it’s designed, how easy it is to teach without much prep, or how many of your friends use it…stop and ask:

What does a disciple who makes disciples look like?
What head, hands and heart understanding do we want to help develop in people as we seek to make disciples?
What are our goals as we aim to make disciples who make disciples?

There are plenty of good studies out there. But unless you have clearly defined goals, you’re probably going to fumble around looking for “the next best thing” to teach every 3-6 months.

Here are some sample “exit goals” to show you what I mean.

By the time children finish Kindergarten, they should…

Know the Bible is God’s Word
Be able to pray a simple prayer

By the time kids finish 5th grade, they should…

Know God helps us overcome our fears
Be able to name the books of the Bible in order

By the time students finish high school, they should…

Understand God’s design for us to live in biblical community with one another
Be able to choose personal priorities based on their relationship with Jesus.

Once adults have experienced this class or group, they should…

Know how to lead someone to Christ
Be able to live out the one another verses with family and friends

Note that these are just EXAMPLES—they’re NOT mean to be exhaustive. You can view a more extensive list of goals and find practical help as you teach for disciplemaking in Cadre’s Teaching Genius of Jesus.

If the ministry you’re a part of isn’t ready to come up with goals for all ages, spend some time prayerfully identifying a few simple goals for the group you’re teaching or leading.

Once you know what you’re aiming for, you can find studies that will help people grow as disciples in the areas you’ve identified.

But if you’re still looking for Cadre-style “curriculum,” start here…

This is still the best one.
You can aim our Living Guides for a small group context. Read more about how to do this here.

You can break down our Equip middle school training into weekly bite sizes and plan a lesson around it. There are lots of ideas and creative ways to engage, but there’s no script. You’ll have to be willing to study and share the Scripture together with those you’re teaching.

And finally, since I told you I would, here are a handful of additional resources I’ve found helpful in cultivating a disciplemaking way of life:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Your Disciplemaking Learning Community (DLC) at Home

What does a Disciplemaking Learning Community mean for YOUR family?

Share this:

Like this:

News Flash: A better, stronger relationship with God will not happen accidentally.

Here’s our Bible reading plan for 2017…

Share this:

Like this:

I get why people ask. Choosing what to teach is a pressing, felt need many of us have as we plan to teach week-to-week…to week…to week.

We can still help.

But let’s back up for a minute.

There are plenty of good studies out there. But unless you have clearly defined goals, you’re probably going to fumble around looking for “the next best thing” to teach every 3-6 months.

Here are some sample “exit goals” to show you what I mean.

By the time kids finish 5th grade, they should…

By the time students finish high school, they should…

Once adults have experienced this class or group, they should…

Once you know what you’re aiming for, you can find studies that will help people grow as disciples in the areas you’ve identified.

But if you’re still looking for Cadre-style “curriculum,” start here…

And finally, since I told you I would, here are a handful of additional resources I’ve found helpful in cultivating a disciplemaking way of life:

For kids:

For students:

For adults:

Share this:

Like this: