Fighting for the Flock | TheResurgence
Posted by Todd Engstrom in christianity on June 16, 2009
I loved this quote from JD Greear, and pray that I continue to have the courage to fight for Jesus’ most prized investment…
A Good Shepherd Fights
A good shepherd takes on the wolves that threaten his flock. He fights. It’s never in self-defense, of course, but quite often, what is being threatened is not the reputation of the pastor but the health of the church—someone is trying to harm the flock that Jesus purchased with his blood! The church is Jesus’ most expensive investment, so how can we not fight to protect it?
Discipleship | Part 1
Posted by Todd Engstrom in discipleship on June 15, 2009
As I mentioned previously, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at The Austin Stone’s Summer Conference called “The Kingdom is at Hand”, and the panel was a breakout for the practice of discipleship within the church.
It was a little surreal to be sitting on a panel with Josh Patterson and Carrie Langemeier, but I had a great time with them. After the panel, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few posts on my practice of discipleship.
Foundations
The clearest call to discipleship is found in The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20:
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This verse gives us five very specific things:
- The imperative command: make disciples, or learners of Jesus
- The context of discipleship: “Go”, which is not an imperative, but more likely “going”
- The methods of discipleship: baptism and teaching to obey Jesus’ commands
- The scope of discipleship: panta ta ethne or all the people groups
- The power for discipleship: Jesus’ power and presence
This is the basis for my pattern of discipleship. I am seeking to make people obedient learners of Jesus, by His power, as I am pursuing His calling on my life, who have a desire for His glory to the ends of the earth.
I’ll flesh out what that looks like a little more practically in a few more posts.
What is your foundation as you are discipling others?
Discipleship | The Austin Stone Summer Conference
Posted by Todd Engstrom in austin stone, discipleship, leadership on June 13, 2009
I’m on a panel called “Making Disciples in the Church” for The Austin Stone’s Summer Conference.
Below are the questions I’m being asked (phrased from the point of a facilitator).
Section 1
- How did you start making disciples?
- How did you find the person you are discipling?
- What prompted you to be intentional with that person?
- How did you do it?
- What did you say?
- What were the requirements on that person? Expectations?
- How did you ‘disciple’ them?
- What did the actual day in and day out with that person look like? How long?
- What was the result?
- How do you judge the success of that?
Section 2
- How do you identify people to be intentional with?
- Where should I look to find these people?
- Do I need to be in a discipleship relationship myself?
- What’s the balance between building relationship and speaking truth?
- What if it doesn’t seem to be working out?
- What if they are totally different from me?
- Where’s the line between grace and discipline?
- What do you actually ‘do’ with them?
- How intentional do I have to be?
- How do you make a disciple if someone doesn’t want to be a disciple?
- When and how do I utilize off-ramps?
What would your responses be? I’ll post mine soon…
Today is Baby Day!
Posted by Todd Engstrom in personal on June 10, 2009
Today, by God’s grace we will be welcoming Hudson Noah Engstrom (AKA The Deuce) into the world!
You can find our updates here.
Please pray for our family today!
Today Was a Great Day
Posted by Todd Engstrom in austin stone, pastoring, personal on June 9, 2009
Every once in awhile, you have an absolutely outstanding day, and God’s faithfulness is overwhelming. Today was one of them. Here’s the rundown:
- Donuts with my wife and son
- Sermon prep
- Meeting discussing future vision of some specific ministry and my role in it
- Developing a staff training for social media engagement with a few folks
- Staff prayer time where we prayed for our children and that our faith would be like theirs
- Strategy Team meeting with men I would take a bullet for
- Interview with a potential resident in our newly-minted residency program
- Finish sermon prep
- Preach the gospel to a room full of college students excited about a movement at The University of Texas
- Go home to spend time with wife, son, and in-laws who just arrived
- Pack my bags for the hospital in anticipation of the birth of my second son
All I can say is that God is absolutely gracious, sufficient for my endurance, and fully able to accomplish more that I can imagine. King Jesus is good to me!
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