Category / Training Trainers

by johnkking

Obeying Jesus

Globalization conjures up many ideas to diverse people. For some, it is the greatest curse to our world because it violates our isolationist tendencies. To others it is a wonderful way to get cheap products. Years ago I asked the folks at Stones River Church to reach up and grab the tag in the collar of their shirt/blouse and show it to a person near them. Then I asked them to share the names of the countries where these items had been manufactured. There were more than 30 nations in a group of about 100 people. Globalization made that possible.

My thoughts on globalization are taking a different angle as I write. I am sitting in a McDonalds in the Bangkok airport, waiting on my next flight. To get here I had stops in Dallas and Tokyo. It is sort of crazy to think about the opportunities available today to take the gospel to the nations. Obeying Jesus’ commission to “Go make disciples of all the nations…” has never been easier than right now!

This week I will be training Buddhist background believers in Disciple Making strategies. The goal of organizer of this training is that some of them will join him in his passion for reaching Muslims who live in Southern Thailand. Only God can pull this one off! But then again, He has always had a soft place in his heart for reaching the nations.

I am convinced God’s decision to confound the language of the people and force the development of so many cultures (Genesis 11) was an act of God’s grace. He knew that their rebellious spirit was intent on using blessings for self-aggrandizement and left undeterred, they would bring horrible punishment upon themselves. He prevented their wicked purposes and then goes even further in His grace—he calls Abram and promises to bless him and through him all the nations (Genesis 12). God’s gracious nature is always on display—even in times of judgment, if we will look at the whole picture.

The amazing thing about this story is not that God is this way—just look at the cross! The remarkable thing is getting to have a part with Him in what He wants to do in Thailand. I covet your prayers!

 

by johnkking

Pass It On

Four days ago I exposed more than 30 people to Discovery Bible Studies. We spent most of our three-hour gathering learning how to do an Oral DBS. But I also spent a few minutes talking about doing a written discovery process that is called a 3-column study. I gave each person a copy of a format that I have developed. One of the class members emailed me to ask for a digital copy of the form, so she would not have to re-create it. After I sent one to her in pdf she wrote back, explaining how she hopes to use this:

I have a lovely, bright and gifted 5th-grader who is having trouble understanding how important it is to have self-control over his tongue. I have been praying for him for a week or so, and I woke up in the middle of the night the other night with the idea to give him the 3-column bible study on a series of proverbs that have helped me immensely to control my own tongue. I believe it will be fruitful for this newly saved and baptized young man. I’ll let you know what God does!

Here is my reply to this teacher:

Years ago I was attempting to catalyze DBSs in the local jail. I started working with the one person I knew who was incarcerated there. He began a group study, to pass on what he was learning. When we knew he was soon to be released I asked him to pick the best candidate to keep it going. I started meeting with that guy, too. Every time the leader was about to be released we repeated this process.

Eventually I noticed generational degradation (copy a copy of a copy long enough and the quality deteriorates). It reached its lowest when the only guy who was an option had damaged his mental capacity greatly by using illegal substances—especially smoking wild mushrooms. His attention span and impulse control were negligible. I really agonized with whether or not I was wasting my time. But my bare-bones requirement for meeting with him weekly was whether or not he would do a 3-column study. He kept attempting to write one out, so I kept working with him. Months later this guy was transferred to the state penitentiary two hours away. Writing letters was our only contact. His last letter shared what he had recently discovered (all on his own) about the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. He wrote out the verses he had discovered, how he understood them and how he was trying to live them. It blew me away! I believe the Spirit “re-wired” some of his neural pathways. The 3-column studies became a spiritual discipline that the Spirit used to help him recover from some of the abuse he had done to himself.

While this young man you are working with is not that extreme an example, I praise God this approach may be a blessing for him! I pray it will equip him to experience Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Two suggestions connected to this: keep the passages short (I suspect that you will already do that since you are going to use Proverbs) and do a 3-column study yourself, on the same passages. Show him your sheet when you read over his. Share with him how you are obeying–putting into practice—each passage. Model for him the process as well as teach him to do it and hold him accountable.

Blessings,
John King

Maybe you know a place where this process would be helpful. If so, just email me a request for the form (preacher at stonesriver.org) by replacing the spaces and “at” with the symbol. I will be happy to share this resource with you.

by johnkking

Being Doers of the Word (Part 2)

Our fast-paced, disconnected-from-extended-family lives challenge obedient living. Even our friendships are often far-flung and limited by our schedules. In the DBS trainings I have done lately, I have been struck by this challenge. How will this group minister to one of the challenges they have shared? How can we take concrete actions that will bless one another?

One month ago I was encouraging a house church group to consider using the 8-Question oral DBS format. As we approached the last question, “How can we help with one of the challenges mentioned earlier?” I was concerned. There were five us us gathered that night, and one of them is an EMT who was present via Skype. None of the group worked together. How was the whole group going to practice service?

One participant had shared that she needed a new job, but more than that, she needed a new attitude about her existing job. I suggested maybe we could find ways to help her. Her good friend who was the hostess for the gathering said, “I remember how excited you were when you first got the job. You really felt like you were helping people early on.”

This young lady said she could receive texts at work, “No problem!”

“What if each of us text you something to encourage you to take a positive outlook on your work?” I asked.

I set an alarm that reminds me Monday-Friday mornings to text this young lady. I go to Bible Gateway and search for a verse that talks about work being done as though for the Lord. I text such to her five days a week. She says it has been a blessing to her.

I know doing this has blessed me. Why not harness some of the technology that contributes to our business in ways that bless others and enables us to be obedient–to be true disciples?

 

by johnkking

Being Doers of the Word (Part 1)

Living out of our identity as sons and daughters of the Creator looks like an apprenticeship. We once marched to the beat of a different drummer (a death march). But now, in Christ we hear the Father and seek to do His will.

Discovery Bible Studies (DBSs) call us to hear the Word and put it into practice. We obey out of love, just like Jesus did. We know that our obedience does not earn us standing before our Father. We know that it opens us to being channels of His blessing for others.

One of my teammates has a supporter who works in the water/waste management field. He is an engineer who is a consultant for numerous municipalities. Grease can be incredibly damaging to a city’s sewers. A business that chooses to run grease into the sewer system will block the flow of waste behind them in the system. Trust me, you want sewer flowing all the way to the treatment facility! Blockages are a nightmare. The technology this guy has developed to monitor such potential problems makes him a valued specialist.

Disobedience blocks our spiritual flow. It creates problems that prevent us from experiencing the richness our relationship with God offers. It also restricts the blessings our Father desires to pass through us to others.

 

by johnkking

Outside the Box (cont.)

Good things are happening in the two DBSs I mentioned in my last post. These groups of women are exploring the nature of God. They are finding their time together is uplifting and enriching. The lady who pulled them together shared with me:

“The ladies have really opened up and have been very willing to share what is going on in their lives.  One lady in particular does go to our church and has for a couple of years but has not made any real connections with anyone in the church.  She has been extremely shy.  I am happy to report that she has opened up and shared in the group.  Tears just flow from this precious lady and I can see that healing is happening in her life.

I have to say that I believe the questions (thankful and struggles) really set us up to get into the word.  They are so receptive and excited to discuss the scriptures at that point of the meeting.”

Questions 1 & 2 remind us to note our blessings and our needs. Together they prime our minds to hearing from God. Answering them disciples us to praise God and turn to Him in intercession. They tune our ears to hear what in his character addresses our human predicament.

This lady also shared that the lady who responded to the Craigs List ad, “has continued to come.  She is having some serious struggles and it is apparent now why God led her to join our group.  Even though she is a new believer I am in awe of how God is comforting her and leading her.  She is clinging to Him and staying in the word.”

Just wanted to give you an update to this process. Join me in praying that more groups will begin as these ladies are discipled and begin to share what they are learning with the people who come to mind as they answer the question, “Who do you know who needs to hear this passage?”

by johnkking

Outside the Box

Two weeks ago I trained a group of people how to facilitate Discovery Bible Studies among their friends who do not know Jesus. One young lady, who was encouraged to come by her pastor who also came, immediately recruited enough people to have two groups of six ladies. She intentionally invited a few of the ladies from her church to participate. There are two not-yet believers and four believers in one group. The ratio is the opposite in the other group.

This lady is already coaching a member of one of the groups to facilitate. She is benefiting from the process of passing on the leadership. She is excited about what happened last week as the groups just began.

Her pastor urged her to “think outside the box” as she considered who to invite to the groups. She decided to run a Craigs List ad. Here is what the ad said:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you would like to participate with a small group of women as we walk together discovering what God has to say to us through His word then I would love to talk to you!

This is a small group of women (no more than 6) and we will meet together weekly. We will encourage each other as we look to God’s word for answers we all want.

If you have never been to church in your life – this group is for you! If you have been to church every time the doors have been open and still feel like you don’t know who God is – this group is for you! If you don’t know if you even believe in God – this group is for you!

You don’t need to know anything about the Bible at all! This is a DISCOVERY group. We will only focus on what the Bible says – not what PEOPLE have to say about God.

I can’t wait to hear from you.

by johnkking

Still Learning My Way Around

Recently I was encouraged to put an index to some of my more useful blog posts, on this site. I have placed links to similar posts within posts, but I was not sure how to accomplish what was requested.

After I got on my site the next time I decided to check out the “Categories” and the “Tags” links (if you put your cursor over the words that follow either of these two, you will find they change color, meaning if you click on one you will be provided every entry that deals with a specific category, or every one that mentions the tagged topic. So the categories is sort of like a topical table of contents and the tagged words are sort of thematic indexes. This is what you get when you read the blog of a novice–I keep learning more of the features that are built into this blog format.

If you go to the top of this article you will see that just below the title, “Still Learning My Way Around,” there is a box that has “Category:” followed by several items like, “Bible Studies, Communication, Community Development, etc.” Click on any of those and you will get all of the posts I have grouped under than category.

In that same box, just below “Categories” is the option of “Tags:” which is followed by words like “Discovery Bible Studies.” If you click on that you will get the 10-11 articles that mention these.

Hopefully this is old news to most of you. But just in case you are still sort of new to this whole blogging scene (like I obviously am), I want to be sure you know how to use this feature. While I listed all the categories, I only gave you a few of the tags since there are more than 40 of them.

Let me know if any of these posts prompt questions. Some of my best writing happens when people ask good questions.

by johnkking

Tips for Trainers

After our daughter and son moved out, they started calling their mom asking for recipes of their favorites dishes she cooks. Eventually she decided to give them each a set of recipes. But she began to realize that they need more than a list of the ingredients; she will also need to become aware of what they don’t know (e.g., one recently asked what could be used as a replacement for corn starch).

One of the church planters that I am coaching recently asked me to write out the things I intuitively do when I am training groups to facilitate Discovery Bible Studies (DBSs). It is a great request, but the challenge is me becoming aware of what I do intuitively. Thankfully I had another meeting right after the one where this request was made where I was able to process it more fully with another team member.

Here is the “Tips for Trainers” list that I prepared in response to the request. Maybe it will be helpful to someone else. If so, please comment below so I might learn more about what I do intuitively.

Tips for Trainers:

  1. Keep the groups small. (Five is the ideal number, but 4-6 is okay.)
    • Prevents the meeting from taking too long (45 minutes is ideal).
    • Draws quiet or shy people into the discussion.
    • Models the most readily available settings (e.g., a few people at work over lunch, a few soccer moms at the practice fields, or a handful of friends after a meal).
  2. Divide larger groups into sub-groups and have them work through the questions simultaneously.
    • You get to model how to handle a bigger group.
    • Involves more people in the facilitation role.
  3. Remind the facilitators of their responsibilities:
    • Keep the discussion moving and involve everyone.
    • Use the “Where is that in this passage?” question to keep the group on track.
    • Be sure to save time for questions 6, 7, and 8.
    • Make sure someone takes notes when the “top three” are selected.
  4. After they answer the questions, facilitate a debriefing exercise by having sub-groups list their “top three” insights into God and their “top three” ways to obey the passage.
    • The goal is to enable people to hear from God. The larger group review confirms the things each group heard and exposes them to something they might have missed that another sub-group heard.
    • Provides an interesting review process (the three “Rs” of education are “repetition, repetition, repetition,” but that cannot be boring or you lose them).
    • Exercises the participants in healthy group functions (your long-term goal is to disciple them in functioning as a healthy church).
    • You can “accentuate the positive” by highlighting the healthiest responses. (Rather than causing those with weak responses to lose face, you get to spotlight the ones that are strong and worthy of being imitated.)

What actually sparked the request for me to write out what I do intuitively was me sharing the training that I recently did with a women’s discipleship group. I told how I handled the fact that the group was so large that I had to create sub-groups. This disciple has experienced that kind of setting, but all of his earliest training was with a small group that was never subdivided. Though he is working with a larger group, he had kept them all together and now he anticipated there might be other things I needed to make more explicit.

If you are like me, you will probably need a new trainee to help you realize what you do intuitively. As they ask questions about things that you assume are givens, make notes. These “givens” are likely what you do intuitively.

by johnkking

Spiritual Warfare (continued)

Felicity Dale posted a link to my most recent blog on her Facebook page. One of her friends raised some good questions and we had the following dialogue:

[Question:] Enjoyed the article, John… thanks for (re-)posting it, Felicity. I too have had first-hand experience of spiritual opposition (and deliverance, for that matter), so I agree that a disciple must engage in spiritual warfare.

However, could I be (potentially) controversial? Ref. for example, “Mobilizing intercessors is essential for disciple makers.” Now, I may be showing my ignorance here, because I wouldn’t call myself an ‘intercessor’! But are there really certain gifted people with ‘special’ access to the Throne for the purpose of intercession? Don’t we all have access to the Father (i.e., Eph. 2:18)? Is not intercession just part-and-parcel of being a disciple, rather than an exclusive role in the Body (i.e. 1 Tim. 2)?

[Reply:] Great question! Jesus has given every single one of us special access to the throne. While there are not “certain gifted people” there are those who will pledge themselves to the role. There are people who will take up Paul’s request, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:18-20). Those who will storm the gates of hell need to know they are being lifted up to heaven by people who will persevere in the heavenly battle. Jesus wanted that in the garden.

[Question:] I see and respect your point, John. However, was Paul addressing Ephesian disciples, or Ephesian intercessors? I see no subtitle, ‘and to you intercessors in Ephesus I write…’. Again, all Jesus’ disciples were with Him at Gethsemane, not just a few intercessory ‘experts’.

My point is this: we’re all called to ‘make disciples’. I cannot say, “I am not called to make disciples… I’m an intercessor.” I would argue that we’re all both / and.

[Reply:] I am not speaking of roles in the sense of titles. I am speaking of those who take up the responsibility with diligence and perseverance. With you, I disciple people to pray—to plead God’s promises. I disciple them to intercede. While I encourage that in all of them, I learn which ones will persist in prayer. These are the inner circle (like the three that Jesus took deeper into the garden) upon whom I lean more heavily.

[Question:] Yes, I see now. Thanks John. May He bless your work in Him.

[Reply:] Have a great day. I love the dialogue!

I really do love the dialogue. One of the things I dislike about preaching is the absence of interaction. I allow questions and comments on my blog because I want dialogue. It is hard to know whether or not you are addressing the challenges and needs people have without giving them the opportunity to discuss.

Knowing that people are serious about interceding on my behalf is a tremendous blessing. Being confident that I can send out an email and the situations I raise will be lifted into the throne room is so meaningful. Paul noted, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:10-12). Satan is a schemer. We are in a battle in the heavenly realms. Our greatest resource there are our intercessions.

Be sure when you commit to pray for someone that you do. Discipline yourself to pray kingdom passages and promises for these people. It was in this vein that I wrote several articles about praying Scriptures a couple of years ago. Check them out:

https://johnkking.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/praying-luke-10/

https://johnkking.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/colossians-19-23/

https://johnkking.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/praying-galatians-5/