Jesus shaped discipleship

On Sunday I had the opportunity to preach at MKCC. My subject: Engaging in Jesus shaped discipleship. Here are some of my thoughts:

• When you start following Jesus you are always a learner. If you stop learning you stop becoming a disciple.
• Churches can sometimes be more interested in drawing a crowd than developing Jesus shaped disciples. (Yes both are important but isn't funny that we are always counting the first number and not the second)
• Jesus continual message to the people who showed up (the Crowd) was follow me.
• Following Jesus is not an idea, a theory, a legend, a list or a lecture. Following Jesus is following a person.
• Discipleship is not just formed in the classroom its is formed on the battleground of life.
• Do you attend church or follow Jesus? (both hopefully)
• Start reading about Jesus from the Bible for yourself. Some of you are in for a surprise because the Jesus you will find will be very different to the Jesus you have been fed by others.
• Jesus made disciple by taking them out of their comfort zone.
• Jesus made disciples by Demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus made disciples by allowing failure.
• Jesus made disciples by creating a movement not an institution.
• We are the church. The movement of Jesus can not be contained in a building or controlled by a few leaders. It can only be unleashed on a world. Individuals who have had God’s word imprinted on their hearts not stored away in books. Every follower filled with the spirit of God not just a few figureheads. From every background, status, race or age.