C.H. Spurgeon:

I trust there are none here present, who profess to be followers of Christ who do not also practice prayer in their families. We may have no positive commandment for it, but we believe that it is so much in accord with the genius and spirit of the gospel, and that it is so commended by the example of the saints, that the neglect thereof is a strange inconsistency...

I agree with Matthew Henry when he says, "They that pray in the family do well; they that pray and read the Scriptures do better; but they that pray, and read, and sing do best of all." There is a completeness in that kind of family worship which is much to be desired.

From Donald Whitney's book Family Worship.

For a great resource to help you lead your family in worship, check out the Rizers—fun, original music that helps kids memorize Scripture. Listen to the Rizers here.

The Rizers

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Doctrine: Click | View Series

The mutual indwelling that God's people enjoy in corporate worship is essential to our growth personally, joy collectively, and witness culturally. God's people gather because, in the depths of their regenerated nature, the Holy Spirit gives them deep desires to worship God with his people. We want to see God's people, we want to hear of God's work in their lives, we want to know of ways we can lovingly serve them, and we want to be part of something bigger than ourselves that reaches beyond the mundane details of life and connects us all together despite our differences in age, race, gender, and income to seek and celebrate evidences of God's grace.

Regarding how God is to be worshiped, God must be worshiped as he wishes, not as we wish. The Bible is clear that God is to be worshiped in ways and forms that he deems acceptable. This explains why God judges those who seek to worship him with either sinful forms externally or sinful hearts internally. This is incredibly important. Some churches care more about what is in people's hearts than about what they do in their lives, whereas others are more concerned about doing things the 'right' way and care little about the motivations behind those actions. When it comes to worship, which is all of life, the God of the Bible cares about both what we do and why we do it.

From Doctrine, Chapter 11. Worship: God Transforms (pg. 351). Doctrine is out now.

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One aspect of my job that I really enjoy is getting on The City at least a few times a day to interact with the church planters in Acts 29. The City offers us a private place to ask questions, kick around ideas, seek prayer, and coach one another. One great brother recently posted a question about how he should respond to someone who had become quite a vocal critic all over the Internet and in relationships with church members, making wildly unfounded accusations and creating a lot of additional work. It’s a common question, particularly in the age of the Internet. Since I’ve enjoyed many critics and endured many seasons of intense criticism, I, along with some other church planters, offered him some counsel. I am passing on what I posted for him in case it can be of service to others.

1. Don't respond.

Do NOT respond to him publicly or privately. It will only empower him and it sets a precedent that if someone freaks out, they get you to respond. If you do respond, you will draw more attention to him and make him more powerful. As it escalates, if someone from your church does or says something in response, it will escalate yet again and end up in the media. We only consider charges with evidence, like the Bible says, not accusations that are unfounded (1 Timothy 5:19). Never post anything online or send anything via email to or about a critic or else it can and will end up in the media, court, or at least the court of public opinion. Call your leaders if you need to discuss this, and, if you have to send something, CC your attorney so it is not open to disclosure in a lawsuit.

2. Don't have contact.

Do NOT have any contact with the unreasonable critic. Hire an attorney, have the attorney send a letter, and file a restraining order barring him from X number of feet from you if he threatens violence or disrupts a meeting. If he shows up at your home or church, call the cops and have him arrested. If he wants to see you, he needs to schedule a meeting—in a safe place other than your home—and you need a witness.

3. Get someone else involved.

Have another elder or trusted staff member follow things online and don’t waste your time or emotional treasure. This is just one guy and not a big deal. I know it’s personal so it is taxing. Satan wants you to respond to this guy, not to the Spirit. Let others follow the garbage online and if there is a credible threat of violence or lawsuit, they should notify you, but otherwise not involve you or waste your energy. Don’t get sucked in. Don’t follow online. Don’t. If you have to, have someone keep an eye on your Facebook, Twitter, etc., and delete his garbage and report him to be banned so you don’t have to.

4. Protect your family.

Your wife and family should not read any of this garbage. If you have to screen her emails to ensure no one is forwarding links to her, then do it so she’s not getting shot in the heart every time she opens her inbox.

5. This is a test.

You are a good thinker and writer so this will only get worse. This is a Little League test and if you pass it you get to move up to the next league. Don’t freak out and don’t overreact, and praise God you have enemies because we worship Jesus, who had enemies. If you keep doing your job, you will have more enemies of greater power, so this is not a season, it’s your life.
Sorry, man. I get it.

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Mars Hill Pastor James Noriega recently led a training event for chaplains, teaching them how to emphasize the supremacy of Christ and his cross in counseling troops. Even though he is specifically speaking about the military chaplain, these are truths that all believers are called to live out.

Be sure to watch through to the end—you don’t want to miss the reasons why counseling is compromised when the cross of Christ is not at the front door.

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Many people ask me, "What do 'family devotions' look like at your house?" or, "How do you pastor your family?" or even more simply, "Do you pray or read the Bible with your wife and children?" Here is one attempt to answer those questions.

1. Routine

Our family works best with a routine. My wife and I, and our children, have a reasonably regular weekly schedule. Our "family devotions" fit into the larger rhythm and routines of our household (e.g. dinner, bedtime, etc.). Additionally, it is important to note that there are explicit and implicit aspects to our daily spiritual devotion. The bulk of the explicit aspects happen at night between when I get home from work and when I go to bed.

2. Intentional Evenings

I get home from work between 5:30PM and 5:45PM each night. But I have to prepare myself before 5:30PM so that I can hit the ground running when I walk in the door. Though I am invariably tired from my day's work, I have to remind myself that the most important part of my vocation happens after 5:30PM, not before. I am tempted to mentally "clock out" on my drive home, which would be easy. Yet I have to consciously prepare myself to give more energy, more attention, and more dedicated focus as soon as I walk through the door and am greeted by my 5 year old son, 3 year old daughter, newborn son, and wife than I have all day. This takes prayer, practice, and intentionality. It's easy to fail.

Husbands/dads, don't clock-out on your way home...

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From the recent sermon Jesus Without Sin, on Luke 4:1-13.

1. Satan is a real enemy

Satan is a real enemy. Do you believe that? You need to discuss that at your community group and with your friends. If you don’t, if you still think, “I think that’s hocus pocus. I think that’s psychological projection. My community college professor really confused me on this point,” you need to articulate that. Don’t be a liar. Be honest. Come clean.

See, one of the most amazing things Satan did is he presented himself in the media: cartoons, little horns, red cape, and pitchfork. “Here he comes. Yeah, we know it’s him. How can we tell? He’s the red guy.” It’s not that easy. He’s into marketing and advertising. He’s subtle and crafty and sly and he’s very adept at baiting the hook. You have a real enemy. If you don’t believe that, confess that as sin. That’s the beginning of all your troubles. You have a real enemy. You’re born into a real war. You’re born again as a Christian on Christ’s side of the battle. But, the battle rages in your life as it did in his.

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Part of the job description for a chaplain in the military is counseling troops. For the Christian chaplain, this is simply Matthew 28:19-20. Most counseling revolves around helping people change certain behaviors by dealing with particular issues. This is especially true in the military, where behavior and performance are heavily rewarded and extremely important for success. But chaplains can help their troops without getting them any closer to Christ and the cross, therefore not truly helping them at all.

Pastor James Noreiga recently led a training event for chaplains, teaching them how to emphasize the supremacy of Christ and his cross in counseling troops. Even though he is specifically speaking about the military chaplain, these are truths that all believers are called to live out.

Be sure to watch through to the end—you don’t want to miss the reasons why counseling is compromised when the cross of Christ is not at the front door.

Click through to the Resurgence if you can't see the video.

Total Church

Tim Chester and Steve Timmis present a vision for churches centered on gospel community. Find out more.

From the free e-book Grow: Reproducing Through Organic Discipleship.

Converts vs. Disciples

Some churches focus on evangelism at the expense of discipleship by seeking to win converts instead of making disciples. The goal of evangelism is disciple making. The Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28 is to make disciples who will follow Christ rather than simply win converts. When Jesus said, “make disciples” the disciples understood it to mean more than simply getting someone to believe in Jesus and they interpreted it to mean that they should make out of others what Jesus made out of them. Robert Coleman explains the Great Commission in the following way:

“The Great Commission is not merely to go the to the ends of the earth preaching the gospel (Mark 16:15), nor to baptize a lot of converts into the name of the triune God, nor to teach them the precepts of Christ, but to ‘make disciples’—to build people like themselves who were so constrained by the commission of Christ that they not only follow, but also led others to follow his way.”

Superficial Discipleship

The Great Commission compels Christians to focus on keeping people through discipleship as much as they focus on reaching people through evangelism. With the rise of the modern evangelical movement in North America in the 20th century came an over-emphasis on evangelism at the expense of discipleship. At the First International Consultation on Discipleship, John R.W. Stott called attention to the “strange and disturbing paradox” of the contemporary Christian situation. He warned, “We have experienced enormous statistical growth without corresponding growth in discipleship. God is not pleased with superficial discipleship.”

Bill Hull also addresses this issue by saying, “The church has tried to get world evangelization without disciple-making.” The church must once again make discipleship a priority for a new generation of believers. The consequences are evident. Statistics show that the average church in North America loses 74 percent of people between the ages 18‐24. According to one of the most recent statistical surveys of the top 25 churches, many of the denominations in North America are in decline rather than growing.

Not only are churches in North America not growing through evangelism, they are not keeping believers through discipleship. One example is The Southern Baptist Convention. In 2004, they reported more than sixteen million members. Only 6,024,289 or 37 percent of their membership are present for the average Sunday morning worship service. Where are the other ten million people? Lack of discipleship and not just evangelism is one of the growing contributing factors for church decline in North America.

The church needs to bring evangelism and discipleship together. Christians have viewed discipleship as something they do on one hand and evangelism on the other, which is a false dichotomy. The church needs to rediscover the integration of evangelism and discipleship in order to fulfill the Great Commission and make 21st century disciples of Christ.

Read Winfield Bevins’ free e-book Grow: Reproducing Through Organic Discipleship.

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From the free e-book Grow: Reproducing Through Organic Discipleship.

Grow Disciples Naturally

Many churches have a linear discipleship program where they try to funnel everyone through the same process. Sadly, many times churches simply use the latest program or book in hopes that what works for a large church across the country in a different context will work for them. I have learned that discipleship is usually the opposite. What works in California or New York might not work in Tennessee. You need to find out what works in your culture and context. Being organic means that you begin with the gospel and let the people grow naturally, right where they are. This is growing disciples naturally.

Why Organic?

You may be asking yourself the question, “Why organic?” The answer is in the Bible. The Old and New Testaments are based on an organic worldview. The Bible uses various organic metaphors to describe spiritual growth such as sowing and reaping (John 4:37; 2 Cor. 9:6) planting and watering (1 Cor. 3:6), growing (1 Pt. 2:2; 2 Pt. 3:18) and bearing fruit (Mt. 7:17‐20; John 15:1‐16; Gal. 5:22). The church is spoken of as a family (for example the use of terms such as brother, sister, mother, father, bride, etc.). The church is also the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12‐27 Paul talks about the whole body as a distinct metaphor for Christ’s church. In Paul’s body metaphor, every part has an important role to play in the whole.

The Body of Christ

Nowhere in the New Testament do we find the word church referring to a building. In its earliest expression, the church meant a group of individuals who had come together in the name of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for church is ecclesia, which literally means “the called out ones.” Interestingly enough, the English dictionary describes church as, “A place of public worship.” Over the ages, the concept of church has shifted from being a body to becoming a building. People have gotten it backwards. Followers of Jesus must get back to an organic understanding of what it means to be the church.

The church is the spiritual and living Body of Christ. Like all healthy organisms, it requires numerous systems and structures that work together to fulfill its intended purpose and overall health. Just as the physical body has to have an organic structure to hold it together while allowing it to grow and develop, likewise the body of Christ must have an organic structure that can do the same. As a new church continues to grow and change, it will outgrow its old systems and structures. Leonard Sweet says, “We must develop ministries that continually adjust and change with our continually changing culture.” In a similar way, a church’s discipleship strategy must be structured enough to maintain order, but organic enough to change with the ongoing needs of the church as it grows or it will hinder its growth. Therefore, the church’s discipleship strategy must be organic.

Organic Discipleship

Organic Discipleship is an organic understanding of spiritual formation that begins and ends with the gospel. Organic means growing or developing in a manner of living organisms. An organic understanding of the discipleship will require church leaders to rethink current church systems and structures in Biblical terms. Alan Hirsch argues that an organic image of the church and mission is theologically richer than any mechanistic and institutional conceptions of church that we can devise. Organic discipleship is not a program or curriculum; rather it is about learning the natural rhythms of discipleship within your church context.

Read Winfield Bevins’ free e-book Grow: Reproducing Through Organic Discipleship.

Advance 09 Media

Video, audio, and images from the Advance 09 conference in Raleigh-Durham, NC, June 2009. Find out more.

Jesus sends his disciples ahead of him

Jesus is comfortable leading passively from a distance at times, and lets his disciples go out before him on their own. We don't have a clear description of what they are doing when they go out before him, but you can infer that they are living the life that Jesus is teaching them about outside of the structure of Jesus physically being present with them.

When they are on the boat after the miraculous feast of 5,000, they were most certainly processing what just occurred. Jesus wasn't there to tell them explicitly, but he gave them a framework to understand the sovereignty of the Father over something as simple as the conservation of mass—yeah there were two pounds of bread, but God can make it into two tons and feed an army.

We can see Jesus' intentionality in giving his disciples time to synthesize what they are learning. The lessons are becoming more than head knowledge, and becoming part of who they are.

Jesus prays for his disciples

Jesus cares deeply about his disciples. He speaks of them as his sheep and of himself as the shepherd who will gladly die for their safety, cries when his friend dies, and spends his last minutes praying for them in his high priestly prayer.

Jesus doesn't just trust that they will be okay, but pleads with the Father that he would continue the work that has begun.

This is a series of reflections on how Jesus made disciples, based on the book of John.

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Video, audio, and images from the Advance 09 conference in Raleigh-Durham, NC, June 2009. Find out more.