Over the past decade of ministry, I’ve never met a pastor who lacks the desire for their congregation to function more like the early church we see in Scripture. This longing for a biblically functioning church is often the driving force behind establishing small group ministries.

What’s the ideal size for a group of believers given what God wants to accomplish through it for His glory?

But what does it mean to abide? At its core, abiding is joyfully being in proximity to Christ through fellowship with His Word and prayer. It means keeping His commandments and bearing fruit by partnering with His work for the Kingdom of God, all to the glory of the Father.

Recently, I was reflecting on the real meaning of being a disciple of Jesus and was reminded of the childhood game Follow the Leader. You probably remember it—the leader sets the pace and everyone else mimics their actions. If they step over a rock, you step over the rock; if they wave their arms, you wave your arms. The objective is simple: follow the leader as precisely as possible.

Out of a desire to discuss the importance of sanctification, I initially created a drawing that inspired this article. The drawing, and this article, are based on the realization that discussing sanctification without addressing the assurance of salvation that comes through understanding justification can lead to a works-based religion or the misconception that we can lose our salvation.

Simply put, the Metric Black Hole is the idea that there are many things that we do for which we do not have an accurate measurement of how they contribute to the bottom line.

“Pastor?” I usually begin my correction after a long day of training. Generally, in Asia, this is meant as a term of respect for their guest who just spent all day equipping them and challenging them from the Word to obey, follow, and love Jesus more. But I will not let that slide, because I have a crucial point to make about who they are.

We’d been on the road in South Asia for three weeks. We’d covered thousands of kilometers and met hundreds of people. The purpose was to hear their stories and experience the life of a movement of God.

In the early days of my disciple-making journey, I went door-to-door on a weekly basis with others in Austin, TX. We prayed and shared the Gospel with those who would open their doors. Candidly, I didn’t like it.

Especially if you had a WWJD bracelet on your wrist. WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do?” This phrase was lifted from the text of a book called “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon. The bracelets were a reminder to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” if He were facing your situation. It became sort of a mini-movement within evangelical Christianity, mostly typified by teenagers wearing a WWJD bracelet.