Jesus is the one who calls us ‘come follow me’. The call to be a disciple of Jesus demands a wholehearted, whole life response, which identifies Jesus Christ as Lord.
What would Jesus look like in your shoes and situation? From the very first disciples until now, Jesus has been shaping and forming disciples to follow him in every place. Seventy-two recognises the nature of being life-long followers of Jesus gets tough for all of us, in different seasons of life. We aim to be a community of like-minded Jesus followers and invite all who recognise the Lordship of Jesus Christ to share in our journey of mutual discovery and encouragement. We follow as individuals, but if you have a leadership role within the church you will want to do your very best to cultivate an environment in which other disciples can grow and thrive. Today, personal discipleship is the most crucial issue for the church across the UK and we are calling everyone to this priority.
Inspiring Discipleship Articles and Resources
I took the plunge….
Phil reflects on his first day on the Seventy-two stand at Spring Harvest Harrogate: Believe it or not I am quite a shy person. So having negotiated the exhibitors’ arrival bay, set the stand up, and eventually worked out where all the panels went I was faced with the...
Are we nearly there yet?
Are we nearly there yet? If you have children, I expect you have heard that phrase more times than you care to remember. To them there is something about arriving that is the only thing that matters. Children can be so impatient, well to be honest can’t we all. For us...
I listened to a raisin
My recent initiation into the global community of those living with ME/CFS has inspired me to see God and those he loves (all humanity) in a fresh new way. I’ve often struggled to empathise (or indeed sympathise!) with people who have hidden illnesses. If it wasn’t...
Practising for Christmas?
On a personal level, I don't even begin to think about Christmas until December 1st - at the very earliest! In terms of local church we can't afford to wait until then, so I hope all your plans are in the bag and they simply need to be implemented … or maybe that’s...
Today Will Be Different
Today has been handcrafted by the Lord, so we will enjoy it, and augment it with our gladness! This is my slightly flowery paraphrase of Psalm 118:24. I did so originally to rescue it in my mind from the tyranny of the old Sunday school tune, but also to recapture the...
Bread-and-Butter Truth-in-Loving
In recent years there’s been a growing recognition that if the church isn‘t making disciples, it might as well go home. Church communities need to be places that foster discipleship, and that means seeking to help and resource followers to grow in their love for God,...
Scrapheap Disciple
Saved? Check Called? Check Mobilised? Check Fruitful? Check ….and then my marriage broke down, irreversibly. The day I saw the point of no return I resigned from my church leadership team. Nobody asked me to, but I assumed it had to be done. Everyone comes from a...
Practising Prayer – Part 2
I wrote last month about how I first came to put a structure to my prayer life: divert daily, withdraw weekly, retreat regularly, abandon annually. That was years ago and things have changed. However, the basic principles are still there. At the beginning of each day...
Practising Prayer – Part 1
Okay, let’s get one thing straight from the outset: I’m not writing an article about prayer and spiritual formation because I’m any sort of expert. The fact is I’m a rank beginner who is desperately trying to learn everything I can so that I don’t make a complete mess...
Greek to the Greeks
In 1 Corinthians 9:19-21 Paul writes that when he is with the Jews he lives like a Jew, under the law, to reach them with the Gospel. But when he is with the Greeks he does not live under the law, so that he can reach them with the Gospel. The Gospel message does not...