Update Tuesday 8/11/11

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

2 Timothy 2:2

It is a short verse consisting of just one sentence but if you look closely, and read slowly, there is a staggering amount in this one passing phrase.  When we look closely we can see a full four generations in this phrase that takes just one full breath to utter-  Paul to Timothy, Timothy to faithful men, faithful men who will teach others.  

Tonight is the night that our new house fellowship usually meets in our home.  We will share dinner again tonight, but then we have the opportunity to do something a little bit different.  Tonight we have invited some friends from Milton who were in our original small group to come for a celebration.  What are we celebrating?  Well, this was the group that I was leading a number of years ago when I began to do some exploring.  I was sensing that there was something missing in my ministry, specifically with regards to discipleship.  I began to search and study and to meet with others to glean ideas.  One of the people was my friend Mike, who was both my elder in the faith but who also had extensive overseas experience.  I began to meet with Mike and he shared a number of ideas, principles, thoughts and experiences with me over a period of months.  I began to take these things I was learning and try to adapt them for the small group context in which I found myself.  It was a bit more of an experiment than an official implementation but it gave me the opportunity to develop and refine a lot of what would eventually become the basis for our new work in Hamilton.   Fast forward to about a month ago, and I got a note from one of the members of that original group in Milton.  He was letting me know that he and his wife had just begun a new small group in their home to which they had invited some of the newest people at church.  They have begun to lead this small group, and have already been able to celebrate two baptisms!  Needless to say I was excited for them, and proud of them as well.  In fact, I was proud of them for going and starting, as well as our original group for once again having raised up leaders and having been willing to let some of their best go.  I got to thinking.  Mike had passed on some principles and discipleship to me, I was able to share it with the group that I was leading and since that time that group has started another generation.  In fact if you count our new work in Hamilton, which really came out of that group as well, then it has started two next generation works while continuing to meet and grow disciples itself.  Really, we have begun to see the above quoted verse become a reality in our midst.  

So tonight we celebrate.  We will remember our beginnings and we will take the time to intentionally recognize what God has been doing through that initial group.  I am also praying that it will give us pause to consider the future.  Who are we currently discipling and are we doing it in such a way that we are equipping people so that they may eventually go and make the next generation of disciple?  Are we  prayerfully, intentionally, reproductively equipping the next generation of disciple?

If I could ask you to pray this week, it would be for all of our leaders and our groups that continue to meet and make disciples.  Please join us in giving thanks for all that God has done already and pray that we might see this continue.  I would also ask that you pray for all of those leading these groups.  Since calling this celebration meeting tonight we have already seen evidence of the enemies handy work as all of us have experienced trying circumstances this past few weeks.  

Thanks for your continued support and prayer.