Intentional Encouragement

     My wife has recently been undergoing some medical issues, including numerous trips to have blood drawn, several trips to a doctor's office, a "procedure" in a hospital operating room, and finally (3 days ago), surgery.  According to friends who have had a similar surgery, and her doctor, she can expect full recovery after a week or so of rest home and a month or two of generally feeling weary and tiring easily.  I'm thankful that all appears to be well and this will soon be a memory for Jodi.      As always; the doctors came with thorough information including the "possibilities."  It could have been "this or that." "All surgery has potential complications such as..." The likelihood of _____ is small, but I am required to mention it to you."  Jodi signed all the papers dutifully and was wheeled away for her surgery.  It's all so common that we simply come to expect that everything will be "fine."  And it normally

     I have started into Francis Chan's "Multiply" just recently and I'm really impressed and thankful for his simple, straightforward insights into both the importance of discipleship and the nature of the process.  I completely agree with his premise that we have to view discipleship differently.  It has to be "disciples making disciples."   Look at it on Amazon       For years the church has treated the training of believers as a professional responsibility of pastors or "specialists."  We have set up discipleship "classes" and gotten very academic about seeing disciples developed in the church.  We see someone come to faith in Christ (glory!). We get them to the point of baptism and 6 weeks of a "new believers" class and then we immediately put them into Sunday school class where they can learn more about the Bible.  This is all wonderful.  We should follow up with new believers.  They should learn early about t