Disciplemaking Articles The articles in this list were written by Chris Adsit, Associate National Director of Discipleship, Military Ministry.  Most have been published in various Campus Crusade for Christ publications. These articles are copyrighted and may be printed for your personal use, but may not used elsewhere without permission. A Spiritual Hijacking "...You're at Le Mans just before the start. The race course is the world. Your suped-up, turbo-charged Lotus is your flesh. And just as you're about to get behind the wheel, Satan elbows you aside, straps himself in, and roars off in your car!..." Adventures in Disciplemaking "... Don't look at them as a "ministry project," be their friend. Do spend time together in prayer and Bible study; but do fun things together, too! Have adventures together...." Applause "...Go ahead, admit it; whether you're an unregenerate pagan or spiritual giant--you love applause. But who's applauding?..." But Wait—There's More! "...Waiting can be boring, seemingly unproductive, and downright maddening! And yet, time and time again, we are enjoined in the Word of God to 'Wait on the Lord.' Why?..." The Changing Needs of Growing Disciples "... Our job as disciplemakers is to help spiritual babies grow up. This is not an easy, overnight process. One of the main things that makes it so complex is the fact that if something is growing, it's changing, requiring us to change our tactics right along with it...." Christianity Lite: All the Benefits, Half the Guilt "...'Sure, I'm a Christian!' I was dubious. I was sitting in an Automatic Witnessing Machine (commercial airliner). The man next to me was a world class track and field athlete who was famous for his decidedly non-Christian lifestyle...." Covert vs Overt Disciplemaking "...There are times when it's simply not appropriate to tell a person, 'God told me to start spending two hours a week with you so's you can get conformed to the image of Christ. Get out your calendar.' Often, it's best to begin discipling a person without them even knowing they're being discipled. I call this 'Covert Disciplemaking.'..." Dealing With Set-Backs "...there is one high and holy goal that God has for us that will be Numero Uno on our personal agenda until the day we die: "Become like Jesus." Every other goal we have, God subordinates to this one...." Disciple: A Spiritual Schwarzenegger "...Jesus placed high standards on those who would call themselves disciples of His... What does He want, Spiritual Schwarzeneggers!?...." Disciplemaker Slayer "...We all know who the "Disciplemaker Slayer" is: Satan. But it may surprise you to hear what his main weapon is. ... All he's got to do is chip away at the disciplemaker's time...." Disciplemaking: Getting Pushy "...But none of that would have happened if Dick hadn't "pushed" me. It was obvious to him that I needed fellowship, and he was willing to risk my rejection and anger by being aggressive and tenacious with me. He wouldn't take "no" for an answer...." Disciplemaking: Recognizing Grownups "...Unless I start passing on Biblical truth, saying, "I do this for these reasons; here's the Biblical backing; here's how you can apply it; and here's how to get started" - thereby injecting content into our relationship - not much will be accomplished...." Discipling FAT People "...In these days of heightened sensitivity, never refer to someone as 'fat'. ... But when it comes to deciding who to invest your time in as a disciplemaker, forget protocol and look for FAT people; that is, Faithful, Available and Teachable...." Fast and Cheap Disciplemaking "...Many disciplemakers approach their mission of disciplemaking with the same attitude. Their objective is not strong, stable disciples, but the speedy completion of a program, quantity, quick turn-over rates, and a checked-off agenda..." Getting Up and Staying Up "...When it comes to dealing with our adversary, the devil, too many Christians tolerate a victim mentality within themselves?..." Getting Up Close And Personal "...People don't bail out of the Christian life because they didn't catch the sequence of Paul's missionary journeys, or because they only made it through Book Three of an eight-book Bible study series. They bail out because life got a little too rough, and when they needed someone to lean on for a while, no one was there. ..." Go and Make WHAT? "...Many folks who are eager to obey Christ's Great Commission to 'make disciples' have only a fuzzy idea of what a 'disciple' is. How do they expect to make what they can't even define?..." God's Arms "...'If you hadn't come along when you did,' Betty said, 'I'd planned to go into the church office with a pistol and blow my brains out in front of the pastor and secretaries--to get even.'..." If Not You, Then Who? "...Take a hard look at yourself and determine the specific ways God has gifted you. How can those talents be most efficiently invested? Where are they needed most?..." Neonatal Nightmare "...Whenever we bring a new baby home from the hospital, we have a little welcoming ceremony. We do this ... because we feel it's important for each new family member to have a clear understanding of his or her roles and responsibilities in our household..." Pushy Christians "How does God expect us to counteract the deceitful, hardening effects of sin? In large part, by exposing ourselves to the examinations and exhortations of our brothers and sisters in Christ. In many cases, we can't see the disease of sin gradually taking us over, but they can." Showing Up "...honor will come not by virtue of any great abilities we may have, but because of a trait that is accessible to all and of great value in God's eyes: availability..." Sometimes You're the Bug "...Why is it that the more serious our attitude becomes about following Christ, the more we find ourselves glancing over our shoulders for on-coming windshields?..." Velcro Christians "...some Christians are like clogged-up Velcro. Our hooks have become so attached to the wrong stuff, that God can't find room to hook His right stuff to..." What Jesus Expects of Those He Selects "...Whenever you select something, you have certain expectations. Sometimes they are realized, sometimes they aren’t. When Jesus selected His twelve disciples, He had certain expectations, too..." When God Says "No" "...The fellow I was discipling and I were talking about prayer one day, and the conversation turned to why God sometimes doesn't answer our prayers. 'He always answers our prayers,' I said. 'It's just that sometimes the answer is 'No.''..." Your Ministry: Silver Chalice or Garbage Can? "... Are you being used by God these days? Most Christians would honestly answer, 'Yes, to a degree, but I wish He was using me more.' ... Did you ever consider that perhaps the reason you're not being used more is because you're not very usable?..."
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