Sustainable Discipleship
At Recentered Group, we believe it starts with the leaders.
We equip leaders to establish a disciple-making culture where people truly love one another. In a discipleship culture, in an environment of grace, there are relationships of trust so that discipleship can flourish.
In this short resource, I will discuss the primary obstacles facing most churches and offer solutions and a path forward.
This wisdom comes after over 40 years of being a pastor and working with pastors nationwide to help them return to what matters most to Jesus.
The Cost of Following God
I find that so often Jesus tells me more than I can understand but not as much as I want to know. Can you relate?
You see, I want Jesus to tell me:
exactly what I should do today.
what I should do in order that nothing goes wrong in my week.
why my friends are sick and dying.
But He doesn’t tell me that. What He does tell me is:
to pray earnestly and put my trust in Him.
to love others, and share the good news of Christ.
and that if I’m willing to suffer and serve, I’m on the road to true happiness.
This e-book reveals the importance of trust as a follower of Jesus. Are you all-in on Jesus or do you keep Jesus at a comfortable arm’s length away?
Machine or Masterpiece?
Is the phrase “I’m not the person I should be” a common thought that occupies your mind?
We are saved only by God’s grace, and yet, we continue to condemn ourselves for not living up to our self-imposed expectations.
He doesn’t want to fix your life; He wants to give you a new life–eternal life.
He doesn’t want the stuff you do for Him; He wants you.
He wants to change you on the inside and launch you into a messed up and hurtful world.
We aren’t a broken machine that God once fixed (and yet forgot to fix some of my faulty wiring). He made us something entirely different!
When we believe in Him, we become a new creation: His masterpiece.
This e-book reveals what God wants from you, how He sees you, and how that will affect your whole outlook on life. Don't miss out.
The Great Commission: Build to Send
How would you describe the discipleship in your church right now?
How many of your leaders are involved in discipleship?
What do you feel is the primary barrier to you being involved in disciple-making?
The “famous last words” of Jesus to His followers brings us to one of the main priorities for every true believer – The Great Commission:
Save the lost
Build the saved
Send your best to do the same.
BUILD TO SEND: Those three words perfectly describe Jesus’ vision for His bride.
As believers, we should embrace this powerful phrase as our distinct assignment from God.
This e-book reminds us of our life's purpose.
My Church Health: A Self-Assessment
The biggest mistake we as leaders of the body of Christ can make is to leave underlying problems unaddressed. This is especially dangerous when the trust and community of a leadership team is at stake - because through the leadership team, the entire church is impacted.
Most symptoms, if left unattended, will fester, often leading to pastors suddenly quitting or churches splitting. I have seen this repeatedly play out in churches across the nation.
I have worked very hard on this resource as it will help you gauge the health of your leadership team, and provide you with the necessary next steps based on the severity of your situation.
While I can’t rewrite your church’s history, I can help your church write a new story, starting now.
Hope for the Weary Leader
It’s a sad truth that most church leaders won’t know how tired and wounded they are until they’re ready to throw their hands up and quit.
It’s one of Satan’s most effective lies that personal conflicts and disunity amongst leaders will get better if you leave them alone and just keep leading the church and “preaching the Word.”
In the local church today, there are clearly unrecognized problems and, what’s even worse, problems that church leaders do not consider serious enough to look for outside help.
This short ebook will walk you through five important reminders that, if embraced and pursued, will inject sustainable life into your ministry. They’ll give you HOPE.
How Love Transforms Your Leadership Team
As I was speaking to the elders and staff of a large church gathered to hear about the power of love in community, I learned that they had devoted a lot of time and energy strategizing how to protect the church from the weaknesses of each pastor…
I said, “You’re living in a dangerous place and without me even asking, I suspect you have a brutal history of staff turnover and disunifying squabbles. You have settled for a diminished expression of every leader’s giftedness and calling from God. You need to abandon trying to control your church and trust the love of God to transform your leadership team.”
Here are four reasons why I would tell every church to trust the love of God to transform their leadership team.
The Shocking Truth about Unforgiveness
I want you to consider the possibility that there may be something lodged in your heart, something God knows isn’t good for you to hold in your heart, something God never wants His people to have in their hearts.
This thing is hurtful to Jesus’ reputation, hurtful to you, and so onerous to the Father that He will go to any and every extreme of tough love to dislodge it from your heart.
That something is unforgiveness.
When I Lost My Church
When Judy and I lost our church in the Northwest over 20 years ago, our world fell apart. The wonderful ministry our hearts had been welded to was suddenly over. We moved, leaving behind cherished friends, our children’s entire life (we even had to leave our first grandson in Oregon!), and many, many, many we had baptized and discipled. That deposited a seedbed of shame in my heart. I couldn’t get over the horrible reality that I had led a church that had split so corrosively, and with such severe consequences in the community.
This short ebook contains four key truths to protect ministry leaders experiencing hardship.
What Would Jesus Say About Your Vision?
Vision—that horizon a faith community strives for—is exactly what the people of God need (Proverbs 29:18). No wonder leaders agonize over vision statements and yearly visionary objectives. Yet hundreds of pastors and leadership teams settle for less because they try to take care of God and protect those they lead from disappointment.
This short ebook is about how to pray bold prayers for true spiritual breakthrough.
Criticism and Church Leadership
Criticism—that constant companion of every pastor and church leader’s life—is often exactly what you need and comes with the job.
Your response to criticism deeply affects your influence. Whether you realize it or not, you need to build a better relationship with criticism.
Why You Shouldn’t Hire Me
We help churches fulfill the Great Commission by living out the Great Commandment in community. This type of robust expression of health ALWAYS starts with the leaders. Here are a few reasons you should not hire me to help your church do this.
Danger Signs of An Unhealthy Church
Each of these symptoms, if left unattended, can very quickly sour further, often lead to pastors suddenly quitting or churches splitting. For each symptom, the root problem is lack of trust.
Red Alert: The Toxic Environment
Toxic environments exist in countless churches. One of the primary symptoms is the constant firing and hiring of new pastors and staff. This resource unpacks this and other symptoms - and lays out what to do next.