The Discipleship Square is an easy, memorable way to describe the intentional work you’re doing with your intern and even to define what stage on a particular project or activity you are in or working toward. This short video will describe the overall concept. I would add a little to each step and one final step like this:
We are embarking on a journey about a topic that is critical to the foundation for your life in Jesus Christ and ministry service. It is the idea of spiritual formation or as we call it, personal spiritual growth. There are several aspects of spiritual formation. I will enumerate those as we go. Our priorities are critical to our spiritual formation. How our priorities work into our lives is a big part of the nature of growing as a Christian. I will begin talking about priorities with scripture that comes from the ministry of Jesus. The text is Luke 10:38-42. Feel free to find the verse and follow along.
Bear with me. The title was in fact designed to grab your attention but not to coin a phrase I’m trying to monetize. You’ve no doubt heard of or participated in topical bible studies, thematic bible studies, perhaps Hebraic bible studies, etc. This could have been in mid-week studies held in your church’s auditorium or sanctuary, or the study your small group does wherever you’re meeting these days. For purposes of this article, I will refer to those as “group” bible studies. And that’s not what I’m suggesting.
Our culture is obsessed with innovation. In our fast-paced, technological society, innovation is the fuel that keeps us moving forward. Startup companies build their brand on innovation, and existing brands constantly feel the pressure to develop or acquire new products to stay ahead of the competition. Colleges and universities continue to raise support to fund innovation labs, where students can get support and guidance for developing new ideas. Every industry, from health care, to automotive, to entertainment, is being quickly changed by the innovation conversation, whether they’re ready for it or not. It is everywhere.
Are you familiar with this painting? It’s a classic. If you wanted to see the original, you would need to visit the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the giant painting resides. It was painted by Rembrandt, a famous and really the last of the great renaissance painters. This painting depicts a pretty famous story, the prodigal son.