What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?

Lifesong's Mission, "Offering our everyday life to reflect the love of Christ in the Conejo Valley", implies that we strive to live a life of Discipleship.  By definition, a disciple is a follower - someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another.   As disciples of Jesus in the 21st century, we are challenged to figure out how we can become more Christlike as we seek to actually live out the Scriptures in our own community.  We've spent a lot of time considering how this ideal of modeling Jesus' love in our world today really comes to fruition as we start to live in a way that lets God's Kingdom shine.  

It's like we've been given the opportunity to be Jesus' apprentice.  That's a concept that we probably don't think about on a daily basis, but maybe we should...   If we're trying to learn how to play tennis we study an expert tennis player.  If we want to become a plumber we spend time with an experienced plumber, learning the tricks of the trade.  Any time we want to master or deeply learn anything, we become someone's apprentice.  If we want to lead a life connected intimately with God, we need to become Jesus' apprentice, learning from him how to live our lives.   What are some of the most effective ways we can really study and learn from Jesus?...

It's about relationships

One thing we have learned as a church is that we are meant to become better Disciples of Christ in relationship with others.   We are on this journey as a Community of faith.  Rob Bell says this in his book Velvet Elvis  "Community, community, community.  Together, with others, wrestling and searching and engaging the Bible as a group of people hungry to know God in order to follow God".  Jesus and Paul themselves staked their fruitfulness on intentional relationships with a few trusted people who would then go on to disciple others.  Jesus strategically invested heavily in his 12 disciples so that they could effectively multiply His ministry to future generations.  Moreover, early church leaders worked in community to make decisions and interpretations of Biblical texts that would serve as the basis for Christianity.   In our highly individualistic society, this causes us to consider the value of studying the Bible and learning about Jesus in relationships with others.  If we believe the Bible is alive today, full of stories that are relevant to us, then we get to work with others to ponder how and where God is working among us today. 

Greg Ogden, author of Transforming Discipleship, defines discipling like this, "Discipling is an intentional relationship in which we walk alongside other disciples in order to encourage, equip, and challenge one another in love to grow toward maturity in Christ.  This includes equipping the disciple to teach others as well."  This has led us to conclude that becoming better disciples is not necessarily about having the best programs that reach the masses, but is more about loving one another in relationships that guide us to become whole in Christ. 

Transformation through Triads

The model that Lifesong has adopted for encouraging Christian growth and discipleship is Triads, a concept developed by Greg Ogden (http://www.gregogden.com/index.html).    This model suggests that groups of three (triads) meeting together in intentional relationships to discuss the Word of God, can serve as the most effective way to create a reproducable environment of transparency and trust that allows for transformation into Christlikeness.   

Think about how exciting it could be to meet weekly with close friends in a trusted relationship and just ponder some of the faith questions that we too often leave alone or try to tackle on our own.   Triads meet weekly at a location of their choice - perhaps a favorite coffee shop, a work-place conference room, or a home.   Going through the book by Greg Ogden, Discipleship Essentials, each triad will be discussing a core truth, a memory verse, and a Bible Study.  We've found that God will always lead the discussions in ways that you may not expect, but will lead you to a deeper understanding of Him and how you can live out your faith every day. 

Next Steps:   Pray about who you might be able to partner with in a Triad.   Be bold in asking others to join you on this journey as you feel led.  It may seem high risk to step out in faith and ask others, but it will be high reward, and God will ultimately form the perfect group.  We do encourage you to form same-gender groups.  You can also contact us if you are interested in being part of a Triad and we will help you to get connected to one.  Once you've identifed your group and are ready to get rolling, please do email us to let us know (info@lifesongchristiancommunities.org).  We want to be an encouragement and resource to you as you embark on this transformational journey.  You can order the book, Discipleship Essentials, from Christian Books for $12.99 ==> http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=810871&netp_id=506635&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers.   We pray that your triad will serve as an awesome foundation for your growing faith.