Equipping the Church for Ministry

24_08_10 -Ep.324 - Run With Horses Podcast - Equipping the Church for Ministry

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Last week we focused on the connection we have with Jesus and the church. This week we continue along those lines and consider how the church can be intentional about helping people build their relationship with Jesus and His family.

Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together!

Thank you for joining me today! If you are new to the show, you may want to check out our website, runwithhorses.net, and listen to some of the past shows to catch up. I have spent several shows focusing on a simple definition of the church and the current discussion we are having about a discipleship pathway is best understood in the context of the church. If you have been enjoying the show, I would appreciate it if you would leave a review wherever you are listening! And as always, your questions, comments and feedback are welcome. Write me at norman@runwithhorses.net. And now, on with the show...

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Habits - Serving

John 13:2
And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

1 Corinthians 10:24
24Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

Philippians 2:1-4
1Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

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MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH
A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the MISSION of Jesus as His witnesses TO THE WORLD, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and EQUIP OTHERS to join them on HIS MISSION.

The discipleship pathway is an intentional plan to equip others to be on the mission of Jesus.

Don’t forget the goals of the pathway. What are the goals of a discipleship pathway?
a. self-feeding Christians
b. everyday missionaries – everyone on the mission of Jesus
c. disciple-makers
d. pastors
e. new churches
f. all members of the church, shepherded well

We are on the THIRD step in the Pathway; EQUIP
ENGAGE, CONNECT, EQUIP, RELEASE

Merriam-Webster definition:
1: to furnish for service or action by appropriate provisioning
Ie. equip an army
2: to make ready : prepare

What is equipping in the church?
It is preparing each member of the church to use their talents, gifts, and abilities to carry out the work of the ministry throughout their lives. It involves specific skills, like playing the piano, as well as learning to use your gifting more intentionally, like the gift of encouragement.
It's an ongoing process in the church, something we are always to be doing.
It's answering the question. If the church is made of the people and every member is responsible for the work of the ministry, how do we intentionally help each other prepare and carry out that work, inside and outside the four walls. What skills and training do we need? What encouragement and motivation? Not just information.
Most people need more than facts to engage in meaningful Gospel ministry.

A 9Marks article entitled, What Should ‘Equipping’ Christians Look Like?, sees four basic approaches to the topic, most of which affirm the general teaching of the New Testament.

REF - https://www.9marks.org/article/what-should-equipping-christians-look-like/

Now this article answers some of the questions we may have about equipping in the church.
First, it is Relational. No surprise since disciple making is essentially one on one equipping and it relies on a relationship.
Second, It is founded on Speaking the Truth.
Third, God's Word and the Holy Spirit supply the Wisdom that we need.

The question remains, what does that look like in the local church.

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DOCTRINE
August – Jesus
September – Holy Spirit

Jesus is our Great High Priest
Hebrews 4:14-16
Hebrews 9:6-10
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Next week we will continue exploring how we, as a local church can work to equip each other for the work of the ministry. Practically, there are decisions we make about what, when and where that affects our ability to be disciple of Jesus who are equipping other disciples of Jesus.
When the church meets together and has discussion about what we do, we have to consider how we can best do the work of equipping people for ministry if we want to see spiritual growth in the church. There is a limit to how much we can grow without active engagement in the mission of Jesus.

Thanks for joining me again today! If you enjoyed the show you can listen to all the past shows wherever you listen to podcasts. A good place to start is at runwithhorses.net. You can also write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.
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