“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven” (Eccl. 3:1). When we answer the call to follow Jesus and get swept up into the new life of the Kingdom, we should surrender all to God. Jesus wants all of us, not just a small, convenient corner of our life. … More Discipleship Through the Seasons of Life
Here’s a snapshot of my current research project I’m finishing up this week. I’m exploring ancient pedagogy and fresh angles on the task of discipleship in the church today. POTLUCKS & POLITICS I hail from good Lutheran stock from the Midwest (Minnesota) where we shared potlucks (with an endless variety of “hot dishes”) in the … More Disciples as Scribes in the Royal Court
“My husband was laid off work over a year ago and has not been able to find a job. I guess unemployment and its financial impact is our current cross to bear.” “Our marriage has been rocky for many years, and I don’t see signs of improvement at the moment. I guess this is our … More American Disciples at the Cross – Part 2
My sermon this past Sunday made a case that the church, by and large, has embraced one cross and avoided the other. The message of the cross must be two-fold: 1) Bowing in humble repentance at the foot of Jesus’ cross where Christ won the victory and where we receive forgiveness of our sins, and … More American Disciples at the Cross – Part 1
Billy Graham preached to over 215 million people in more than 185 countries in his lifetime. His impact for Kingdom work is significant. Late in his life, he was asked how he would go about making disciples if he was the pastor of a church. His response is recorded in Robert Coleman’s book, The Master Plan … More Who are Your Twelve?
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from.” Psalm 121 There she sits, windows all aglow, full of warmth and perched high upon Berg Mountain: our cozy home. But here we all sit at the bottom of the hill, tired from travels, cranky with coughs and sniffles, stranded in our mini-van, … More Cold Snowdrifts to Warm Fireplaces
A friend in ministry just texted me a light and fluffy Friday afternoon question: “I’m laying out a vision for Discipleship with my people on Monday. What are 3 awesome things about being a disciple? What are 3 awesome things about making disciples?” He might as well have asked me to sum up the mystery … More Aching & Yearning for the Kingdom
A good reminder for a New Year. A repost from about 9 years ago. -JB Somewhere along the way, largely in the wake of the Enlightenment’s enthronement of human reason, Christianity morphed into a rational quest for right knowledge and head beliefs. Discipleship naturally became a classroom exercise with teachers, Bible curriculum and eager (and … More Life’s the Curriculum, You’re the Assignment
Matt Friedeman’s book The Master Plan of Teaching (1990) examines Jesus’ teaching style and suggests the following formula emphasizing that content alone is not enough, but the teacher-student relationship is a central ingredient: COMMUNICATION = CONTENT + RELATIONSHIP He then offers some steps toward effective interpersonal relationships in the graph below. Pastors and teachers who want to … More Teaching & Interpersonal Relationships
Just skimmed a little book by the great NT scholar, James Dunn, on Jesus’ Call to Discipleship (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992). If you’ve ever wanted a short, concise summary of the heart of Jesus’ radical teaching and summons to discipleship, here’s a great summary from pp. 121-122: 1) It begins from God and … More Jesus’ Call to Discipleship
Originally posted on Jeremy L. Berg:
“A huge crowd…trailed after them… swarms of people who had heard the reports and had come to see for themselves. He told his disciples to get a boat ready so he wouldn’t be trampled by the crowd… Now everyone who had something wrong was pushing and shoving to get…
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, his young apprentice and “son in the faith,” Paul mentions 10 important things that Timothy knows full well about Paul’s own life and faith journey. So, I’m very excited to share a guide to help others have 10 spiritual legacy conversations based on 2 Timothy 1:5, 3:10, 14 (see below). How … More 10 Spiritual Legacy Conversations
Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose … More Gospeling in Corinth 2: God-Chosen
I’m reposting a short series of reflections on Paul’s ministry in the pagan metropolis of Corinth and how he went about proclaiming the gospel and making disciples in a very unbelieving culture. The apostle Paul writes (using The Message paraphrase): “The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent … More Gospeling in Corinth 1: God-Logic
Radical, unquestioning obedience to God is not in vogue in the church today. We’ve moved beyond that bossy God of the Old Testament, preferring the more gentle, easy-going Jesus who fits conveniently in our own hearts. We prefer t-shirts that say “Jesus is my homeboy” over ones that say “Jesus is my master.” Muslims approach … More Recovering Obedience at the Heart of Discipleship
This post by Pastor Daniel Henderson struck a chord with me this week. I read it a couple days after confessing to my congregation a deep desire to lead them into the kind of discipleship that would lead to “abiding in Him”, connected to the vine, and really producing fruit. It seems like the main … More Just “Good Enough”? (by Daniel Henderson)
I used to shoot my best scores at Lakeview Golf course just two miles outside my hometown of Mound, MN. I grew up playing Lakeview weekly and later worked two summers on the grounds crew mowing and maintaining the course. I, therefore, became very familiar with every detail of this particular course. I know every … More GOLF & GOD (1): The Front 9 of Faith
Welcome to the Club House. Get your clubs ready and your shoes laced up. We are preparing to tee off on a new discipleship series called Golf & God: Spiritual Links to life with God. Jeremy continues to bring us devotional writings that cleverly and applicably link faith with the stuff of everyday life — what … More Welcome to the Club House!
Here’s a repost from 2010. -JB If you get cranky when rush-hour turns your drive home into a 40-minute commute, imagine being stuck on the Sinai Expressway for 40-years — and on a bus filled with hundreds of other cranky passengers! Perhaps, “road rage” is not as new a phenomenon as we might think. When … More Gridlock on the Sinai Expressway
In this series we’re picking apart this episode in Luke 10 piece by piece, exploring what it looks like on the road to discipleship in the company of Jesus. “The Lord now chose seventy (-two) other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his … More Two by Two 4: The Places He Planned to Visit
In this series (originally posted in 2009) we’re picking apart this episode in Luke 10 piece by piece, exploring what it looks like on the road to discipleship in the company of Jesus. “The Lord now chose seventy (-two) other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned … More Two by Two 3: In Pairs
Repost from 2010.-JB In this series we’ll be picking apart this episode in Luke 10 piece by piece, exploring what it looks like on the road to discipleship in the company of Jesus. “The Lord now chose seventy (-two) other disciples and sent them ahead of himself in pairs to all the towns and places … More Two by Two 2: Ahead of Himself
In this series we’ll be picking apart this episode in Luke 10 piece by piece, exploring what it looks like on the road to discipleship in the company of Jesus. “The Lord now chose seventy (-two) other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These … More Two by Two 1: He Sent Them
Narrative theology is a relatively new undertaking and is one good example of a positive development in theological studies, due, in part, to the influence of postmodernity.[1] I would suggest that the contributions of this movement will surprise many with numerous insights into how we might better approach the theological task, read the Bible, and … More God’s Grand Story & Our Role In It
“It’s amazing, in fact, what one highly charged, crazy man can do.” -Peters & Waterman, In Search for Excellence Here’s my problem. I actually believe our role as Christians today is just as significant as God’s servants in the Bible. Our call is no less real as that of Abraham or Moses, Deborah or Mary, Peter … More Out of my Mind for Christ
Jeremy L. Berg 