Bruce Staley

In my last post, the Power of Discipleship, I introduced the concept of a POD, a Power of Discipleship group, a group of people that is intentional about making disciples. After some wonderful preaching, a training program and a weekend conference on evangelism, and an attempt, by myself, to engage people in disciple-making through monthly workshops in our local church I've pondered before God, the question, "What would it take for the everyday person sitting in the church pew to become actively engaged in the work of the Great Commission?" "Is there some form of grassroots catalyst, like the small rudder of a large sea-going liner, that could bring about enduring change?" I had begun applying the lessons I had learned from the recent evangelism events and my own research, and discovered God rewarding my efforts to such an extent I was having difficulty keeping up with the opportunities to explain how a person can have a personal relationship with the Living God...

A Power of Discipleship or POD is a group of people, who are committed to follow Jesus under God's authority, compelled by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Great Commission, waiting on God in prayer, going and reaching out to people God has brought across their path and making disciples. What we do? Gather a POD of 3-4 people Pray for one another Encourage one another in making disciples Pray for people, who God has placed on our hearts Reach out to people God has brought across our path and engage them in activities of common interest to build relationship and trust Learn to tell our story about how we became followers of Jesus and share it with others Learn to tell God's story and explain how a person can know God personally Disciple people, who have decided to follow Jesus, one-to-one and/or in a discovery group Regularly communicate with each other by text, email, Skype, Facebook, or any other way, even face-to-face, about our progress in making disciples ...

A little while ago my brother, Noel, gave me a bromeliad. The plant was already flowering with a large and interesting pink bloom. The bromeliad has now been blooming for months. No el explained that the plant would produce pups that could be cut off with a sharp knife and re-planted. If you look closely you will see a pup at the base of the plant on the right hand side.   In fact this is the third pup. I have already cut off two pups and re-potted them. The removal of the first two pups seemed to give the third an extra lease of life. I am looking forward to removing it and putting it into another pot. My experience with the bromeliad, which had been given to me, reminded me of the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13. Although the bromeliad will have produced a further three plants it reminded me of what God wants to do many times over across the nations. We need to be about the business of sowing the Good News of Jesus so that God can produce the harvest.

Have you taken the plunge with simply the bungee rope saving you from certain death as you dropped from the launch platform? Bungee jumping is a popular adventure activity and while I haven't taken the plunge I can imagine the experience is exhilarating. The whole experience of being baptised is also exhilarating and while initially there may be anxiety, even fear if you are afraid of water, baptism is an important step in the faith journey. In the sacrament of baptism we identify ourselves with the death and resurrection of our Saviour and God performs a miracle. The Apostle Paul in Romans 6;3-5 describes it this way, " ...don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in death like his, we will certainly also be u...

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18 states, " For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God ." By his death Jesus paid the price for our sin. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). However, the Christian message doesn't end at the cross. There is the resurrection miracle! God not only demonstrated His mighty power in raising Christ from the dead He placed His stamp of approval on the saving work of Christ on the cross. The resurrection confirms the hope we have in Christ. Returning to the disciples on the first Easter morning Mary Magdalene announced, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" (John 20:2) "So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first....

The message of the cross is foundational to our Christian experience. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18 states, " For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God ." Rather than the opposite of foolishness, which is wisdom, Paul chooses the term, power of God . The Gospel or Good News is more than good advice, telling us what we need to do, nor is it simply information about God's power, it is God's life-giving power! In Romans 1:16 Paul declares, “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes .” The gospel is more than head-knowledge; it is the amazing power of God that radically transforms people's lives. A wonderful illustration of the miraculous transforming work of the gospel is the Lake Eyre Basin, which is one of the largest drainage systems on a global scale. The Basin covering an arid and semi-arid part ...

As well as books I have used films as sources of inspiration for my posts. However, the inspiration for this post comes from a personal friend. Family dynamics can prove to be a rich source of material. Robert mentioned a conversation that he had with his younger sister in regard to the family. Robert: And who is your rock? Younger Sister: You are. Robert: And do you know who is my rock? Jesus. Robert has an elderly mother, living on her own in Melbourne, who regularly phones his younger sister to offload her troubles and woes. The younger sister already weighed down with Mum's woes has an older sister who also rings and offloads her burdens. Robert, the older brother, likes to call his younger sister to chat and listen. You know how it is in families. One person among the siblings is seen as the rock. And, on this particular occasion Robert, who is often the final person in the chain of family conversation, chose to declare Jesus as his rock. This was no idle declaration on Robert...