How would you describe a spiritually mature person? Maybe these words and phrases come to mind – spiritually gifted, wise, prophetic, influential, charismatic, rooted in Scripture, prayerful, discerning, serving the poor, etc. These are all great (and necessary) qualities! But the Bible teaches there is one thing that surpasses them all – LOVE. In fact, 1 Cor. 13 tells us that it’s possible to excel in all of these areas and still not have love. When we measure maturity with anything but the quality of our love, we are left with absolutely nothing. But how exactly do we make love the measure of our spiritual maturity? In today’s podcast, we cover this next mark of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship.

Throughout your life, you experience a series of losses. It’s likely this last year has accelerated the rate of certain losses – the loss of friendships and community, the loss of freedom, the loss of jobs, the loss of what’s “normal”, and the loss of dreams. But very few of us were ever taught how to acknowledge and grieve our losses. When we fail to grieve losses, we miss out on an essential way that God wants to meet us. In today’s episode, I continue our book launch series by exploring the next mark of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship. Like David, Jeremiah and Job, we have an invitation to discover the treasures buried in grief and loss.

The world tells you to break through all of your limitations. But this thinking can be extremely destructive. Here’s why… God created you to live within limits. Both for your own well-being and to be reminded that you are not God. When we choose to ignore our limits, we hurt ourselves and others. John the Baptist, Paul, and Jesus all submitted to the limitations given to them by God. In today’s episode, we explore this 3rd mark of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, and invite you to embrace the God-given limits in your life.

Today, we continue our special book launch podcast series by addressing one of the most difficult paradigm shifts for those of us who live in the west. To Americanize Jesus is to follow him because he makes my life better and more enjoyable. This influence drives us to be popular, be great, be successful, and avoid suffering and failure. In this episode, we’ll distinguish the difference between American culture and our discipleship to Jesus.

Today, we celebrate the release of the long-anticipated book, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship! We’ve already received tremendous feedback from leaders all around the world and we look forward to hearing how the book resonates with you as well! In today’s podcast, I continue with the second part of our journey through the core principles of the book. I explore the first mark of emotionally healthy discipleship: Be Before You Do. Leaders around the world are facing tremendous pressure. Not only has the pandemic accelerated the rate of change, but our church models often reward what we DO for God more than our ability to BE with God. A person who practices being before doing operates from a place of emotional and spiritual fullness, deeply aware of themselves, others, and God. As a result, their being with God is sufficient to sustain their doing for God. In this episode, I give you the top ten indicators that will tell you if your doing has exceeded your being. It’s worth. Read more.

In one week, my new book Emotionally Healthy Discipleship will be available wherever you can buy books. In fact, if you pre-order now, you’ll receive several bonus resources to help you and your team dramatically shift your church culture. At the beginning of this book I address a fundamental question: Why have our discipleship efforts failed so significantly? Every pastor I know is working harder than ever, pouring their lives out for the gospel every day. Many are phenomenal in the pulpit and leading influential ministries. So why don’t we see more transformation in the people we lead? While the answer may be complex, I’ve identified four key failures in our traditional model of discipleship that keeps people stuck and unable to mature. Why is this important? Apart from a clear understanding of the depth of our situation, we will not stick with the long-term solution required to fully address the widespread damage these failures are causing in our. Read more.