Practicing Christian Leadership, Student Workbook, SW11

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P R A C T I C I N G C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

Discipleship Gone Out of Control

As associate pastor of a growing church, you hear of one of your cell groups that the leader is becoming overly aggressive with the members of his little flock. A Christian who loves the Lord and his people, you know this leader to be a fine person and solid leader in the church, but his oversight of the members of his group has gotten out of control. He is dictating what they read in the Bible, demanding that they check with him before they do certain things, and even has been denying communion to those he suspects of not walking with the Lord. A few of the members of the church have threatened to leave unless the situation in the group changes. How would you handle this situation, both for the sake of the leader as well as for the sake of those in his cell group who are becoming increasingly nervous about his level of control?

Effective Christian Education: Incorporating, Parenting, and Discipling

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Segment 1: Incorporating New Believers into the People of God

Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

As a practicing Christian leader, we are to incorporate new believers into the fellowship of the body, and provide new and growing believers with the requisite care as spiritual parents to ensure their ongoing maturity in Christ. Our objective for this segment, Effective Christian Education: Incorporating New Believers into the People of God , is to enable you to see that: • As practicing Christian leaders, we must incorporate new believers into the fellowship of Christ, both welcoming and integrating them into our community life and relationship. • Incorporation is a critical biblical principle of Christian care, involving creating an environment where new members of the body are welcomed into God’s family. • Our ability to welcome new believers warmly and smoothly into our community life will determine the overall success of our Christian leadership in a church. • No one need change their cultural identity in order to join into the body of Christ.

Summary of Segment 1