Initial thoughts: I know that I often seek to find a leader to step up in any organization that I work for, whether for only a couple weeks, a couple months, or long term. And often I am disappointed, and sometimes even decide to step up even when it is not necessarily my job. But the occasions where there is a compelling leader. . . those are the most exciting, where I do my best work, and the rewards are the greatest. I found the idea of being both a disciple and a pilgrim an interesting image, the combination of on-the-spot training combined with a journey to an end goal. I also thought the idea of either individualism or humanitarianism/legalism as the primary obstacles to growth interesting. The idea that values, emotions, and will are all important parts of being transformed from the inside out is something I had not considered before. Also I liked the idea that the knowledge side of a renewed mind must also be accompanied by choices, that we must weigh what we know against what the world is offering and choose to live in the new life.
Key words/phrases/sentences:
- Compelling leadership (p. 70); someone who produces in us a genuine desire to follow
- Disciple (p. 70-72); to follow, to learn from someone; "one who has renounced himself and pledged his life in a lifetime apprenticeship to the Lord"
- Pilgrim (p. 72-73); one who spends his life going somewhere specific
- Unhealthy individualism (p. 74); one who is so self-focused that the concept of self-denial proclaimed by Jesus is antithetical to their efforts; too isolated
- Unhealthy expectations of discipleship (p. 75); essentially legalism, one who expects to be filled through doing and does not rest in Jesus' finished work
- Transformation (p. 76-77); change from the inside out; "abide in Me"
- Biblical worldview (p. 79-80); " God becomes our point of reference and framework," to see the world through the grid of the Bible
- Expansion of new mind (p. 80-81); engagement of the Word via preaching, teaching, personal reading, and meditation
- Execution of new mind (p. 81-82); making choices to determine God's will in every situation
Things to explore:
- What is my primary obstacle to discipleship (individualism or unrealistic expectations)?
- Of values, emotions, or will, which do I focus most on? Which do I need help in conforming to Jesus' image?
- Where do I need to improve the expansion of my new mind? The execution?
Important verses: John 1:37; Matthew 10:39; Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18; Philippians 2:1-4; John 15:1-11; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; James 1:21; Hebrews 5:14
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