DISCIPLE MAKING

Prompting of the Holy Spirit in the Early Church & our Neighbourhoods

Barry Whatley / Tuesday, March 16, 2021

 

You will receive power … the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 

The work of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures is quite mysterious.  He is manifest in the “mighty rushing wind” and the outpouring of praise and witness on the day of Pentecost. 

But we also see his gentle presence in the image of the dove and hear his gentle whisper in the still small voice. 

The early believers experienced the full scope of the Spirit’s working and speaking. This sensitivity to the Spirit was made possible through their steady commitment to worship and listening prayer. 

The Early Church

The church in Antioch provides us with a fascinating window into this dynamic in the early church. 

A gifted group of leaders from various backgrounds, bookended by Paul and Barnabas, were “ministering to the Lord and fasting”, when they heard the Holy Spirit speak and call them to send out Paul and Barnabas to carry the gospel into the Roman Empire. 

The word for ministering is fascinating.  Often it is translated worship, but it carries a fuller connotation of service, of offering

  • These leaders had their priority of God-centered, sacrificial worship (note the fasting) firmly in place.
  • Their posture of servanthood and desire to follow appears to have given them a particular attentiveness to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit. 
  • And they responded with further prayer, laying on of hands, and the sending of the first missionary team.

The Neighbourhood

This example is an inspiration to us as we reach out to our neighbours. 

I walk through our community praying, worshiping, lifting up the God who saves, listening to his prompting as conversations and connections happen.  

By the mailbox the other day, Nancy shared briefly a deep struggle.  Laurie and I dropped off a note and some muffins the next day.  Promises for her and others are taking shape as we lift up our Lord over this community, attentive to his voice and leading. 

Here we are Lord.  Send us. 

 

Barry Whatley provides leadership and resources for French speaking Canadians and Africans in the areas of church health and revitilization, church planting and leadership development. Barry lives with his wife Laurie, in Hudson, Quebec.


print



How the Church can Make Disciples in 2023 How the Church can Make Disciples in 2023

We, as followers of Jesus, are called to prioritize inviting others to follow Him. Why? Becaus...
Read More..

5 Discipleship Attributes 5 Discipleship Attributes

How can you recognize a disciple of Jesus?  In some circles, discipleship is measured by activ...
Read More..

4 Ways to Make Disciples Like Jesus Did 4 Ways to Make Disciples Like Jesus Did

In the Great Commission, the remaining eleven are commissioned to make disciples just like Jesus ma...
Read More..

Making Disciples of All Nations in Canada Making Disciples of All Nations in Canada

Statistics Canada has just released the CENSUS 2021 data on population and reported that “millions ...
Read More..

Wasting Seed Wasting Seed

Anybody who has visited my house knows I like to garden. A few years ago, my husband and daughter b...
Read More..

5 Reasons for Making Disciples 5 Reasons for Making Disciples

“Why should I make disciples?” Listen again, in Matthew 28, as Jesus speaks to his disciples. Here ...
Read More..

A Simple Recipe for Making Disciples A Simple Recipe for Making Disciples

When I have a bit of extra time, I enjoy cooking. I especially enjoy cooking for other people, and ...
Read More..

37 Verses on Making Disciples 37 Verses on Making Disciples

What does the Bible even say about Making Disciples? Here are 37 verses to start ... Outreach ...
Read More..

Discipling Our Nation Discipling Our Nation

No matter how well the church may have done in the past, the challenge of discipling our nation is ...
Read More..

Hospitality as Mission Hospitality as Mission

"Our homes are becoming more and more important as a centre of mission. I would say, especially for...
Read More..

A Leader’s Personal Litmus Test A Leader’s Personal Litmus Test

A ‘litmus test’ does not change the leader; it reveals the leader’s character. Here are three litmu...
Read More..

Scripture Earth: Sharing the Gospel in Diverse Languages Scripture Earth: Sharing the Gospel in Diverse Languages

The website, ScriptureEarth.org, containing one of the largest repositories of Bible resources avai...
Read More..

8 Qualities of Shepherd-Leaders 8 Qualities of Shepherd-Leaders

Here are eight qualities of a shepherd-leader we can learn from the good shepherd in John 10.
Read More..

Trinitarian Hospitality Trinitarian Hospitality

I have coined the phrase “Trinitarian Hospitality” to describe the mysterious truth that the triune...
Read More..

The Joy of Evangelism The Joy of Evangelism

If you’re like me, when someone starts talking about the need to get more involved in evangelism, t...
Read More..

Mobilizing Movements: An Interview Mobilizing Movements: An Interview

An interview with Murray Moerman, about his new book Mobilizing Movements. Murray speaks from his p...
Read More..

Mobilizing Movements to Jesus Christ Mobilizing Movements to Jesus Christ

The need of Christ above all is the impetus for the Great Commission, and the Great Commission is t...
Read More..

How Should We Then Live? How Should We Then Live?

The question is asked, “How do we move forward as a moral and ethical minority in a secular and plu...
Read More..

Opportunities & Threats for the Canadian Church: Whats Next? Opportunities & Threats for the Canadian Church: What's Next?

"What’s next?" is a big question. We may not know the next step, but do we know the right direction...
Read More..

Four Components of Disciple Making Movements Four Components of Disciple Making Movements

How can a disciple-making group lead to more groups and, perhaps, even to a disciple-making movemen...
Read More..

Stop Training People Stop Training People

Stop training.  You are probably wasting your time and that of those you are training!  Seriou...
Read More..

Whats Next? Hope Amidst the Mess What's Next? Hope Amidst the Mess

As we move into this next season, let’s not be surprised when things are messy or challenging. We n...
Read More..

Living in Hope Living in Hope

We are clinging to any sign of hope. Yet, it does not take long before we realize that these hopes ...
Read More..

The Relationship between Prayer & Witness The Relationship between Prayer & Witness

What is the role of prayer as we look to share our faith with others? I confess my tendency wh...
Read More..

Prompting of the Holy Spirit in the Early Church & our Neighbourhoods Prompting of the Holy Spirit in the Early Church & our Neighbourhoods

The early believers experienced the full scope of the Spirit’s working and speaking.  This sensitiv...
Read More..

7 Characteristics of Effective Witnesses 7 Characteristics of Effective Witnesses

Some of the most effective witnesses I've seen have surprised me. They don't look like what I imagi...
Read More..

What Crime Shows Teach Us about Being a Good Witness What Crime Shows Teach Us about Being a Good Witness

Growing up, I watched a lot of crime dramas and police shows and these days there are more of them ...
Read More..

...

8 Disciple-Making Principles
A few years ago, I spent several months reading and re-reading the book of Acts. I was trying to understand how the Church had gone from a handful of people hiding out for fear of the authorities, to a bold and fearless...
Read more...
MAWL: Model, Assist, Watch, Launch
Why did I fail to teach my youngest daughter to ride a bike? Why did I keep failing to make disciples who multiply? Simply, I didn’t use the training cycle of Model, Assist, Watch, Launch (MAWL). Jon shares about t...
Read more...
40 Disciple Making Quotes
Here is a collection of 40 quotes about Disciple-Making -- words of wisdom from Christian thinkers, including Outreach Canada team members ...
Read more...
How the Church can Make Disciples in 2023
We, as followers of Jesus, are called to prioritize inviting others to follow Him. Why? Because Jesus did. Making disciples was demonstrated to be the priority of Jesus. He said, “As the Father has sent me, so...
Read more...
5 Discipleship Attributes
How can you recognize a disciple of Jesus?  In some circles, discipleship is measured by activities such as reading the Bible and praying; attending church and participating in religious programs. These can be valu...
Read more...
4 Ways to Make Disciples Like Jesus Did
In the Great Commission, the remaining eleven are commissioned to make disciples just like Jesus made disciples - despite their failures and hesitancy. How do disciple-makers model themselves after Jesus, and how d...
Read more...
Making Disciples of All Nations in Canada
Statistics Canada has just released the CENSUS 2021 data on population and reported that “millions of people from all over the world have chosen, and continue to choose, Canada as their new home. In 2021, more than 8.3 ...
Read more...
Wasting Seed
Anybody who has visited my house knows I like to garden. A few years ago, my husband and daughter built me a greenhouse so I can start my plants from seed. Each precious seed is carefully placed in prepared soil and car...
Read more...
5 Reasons for Making Disciples
“Why should I make disciples?” Listen again, in Matthew 28, as Jesus speaks to his disciples. Here are five reasons for making disciples ...  
Read more...
A Simple Recipe for Making Disciples
When I have a bit of extra time, I enjoy cooking. I especially enjoy cooking for other people, and I particularly love trying new recipes. It’s a bit risky trying new recipes out on guests, but I do it all the time! ...
Read more...
37 Verses on Making Disciples
What does the Bible even say about Making Disciples? Here are 37 verses to start ... Outreach Canada is a family of ministries working together to accelerate the fulfilling of the Great Commission in Canada. We do ...
Read more...
Discipling Our Nation
No matter how well the church may have done in the past, the challenge of discipling our nation is new and fresh with each new generation...
Read more...