{"id":32244,"date":"2022-09-10T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/discipleship-that-goes-beyond-peer-circles\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:02:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:02:00","slug":"discipleship-that-goes-beyond-peer-circles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/discipleship-that-goes-beyond-peer-circles\/","title":{"rendered":"Discipleship That Goes Beyond Peer Circles"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><\/div>\n<p><em>By Meredith Cook<\/em><\/p>\n<p>People tend to gravitate toward others who are most like them. For many adults, this means the people they spend the most time with are peers\u2014people roughly the same age and who are experiencing the same stage of life.<\/p>\n<p>It isn\u2019t bad that our natural tendency is to surround ourselves with those like us. There are benefits of being around people who are going through similar life events.<\/p>\n<p>It isn\u2019t good, however, for us to only&nbsp;spend time with people who are exactly like us. This is especially true for the local church. It matters that members of the church body\u2014made up of a diversity of people\u2014practice intentional fellowship with each other.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Two-way discipleship<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s a two-fold benefit to fellowshipping with people who are different from us: 1) We learn from them, and 2) They learn from us.<\/p>\n<p>By surrounding ourselves with believers from all walks of life, we gain a broader understanding of the faith that was delivered to the saints. It also provides us the context and opportunity to disciple others.<\/p>\n<div class='code-block code-block-1' style='margin: 8px 0;clear: both'> <\/div>\n<p>By intentionally pursuing diverse fellowship, we\u2019re able to grow and be sanctified in ways we might not have if we stayed in our small circle of peers.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Biblical basis<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Scripture provides several passages that speak to the importance of multi-generational, or multi-stage-of-life, community.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size:21px\">\n<li>In 1 Timothy 4, Paul instructs Timothy to not let anyone look down on him for his youth. Timothy was a young leader who was given the opportunity to teach and set an example for those who were older than him.<\/li>\n<li>Paul also writes to Titus that older women are to \u201cteach what is good\u201d to younger women. Paul also tells Titus to encourage young men (Titus 2).<\/li>\n<li>The Old Testament instructs adults to teach children the ways of God (Deuteronomy 4:9; Psalm 34:11; Proverbs 22:6). Jesus also warns against causing children to stumble (Luke 17:2).<\/li>\n<li>Acts 4 talks about how the believers in the early church were of \u201cone heart and mind\u201d and had everything in common. Their commonality came from their salvation in Jesus Christ\u2014not their life circumstances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Like the believers in Acts, we already have the most important thing in common with fellow church members. We collectively share in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Any other commonalities we may have, and any perceived differences with other believers, are overshadowed by this most important similarity.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, leaders can take practical steps to foster community among those who may be in different stages of life but are alike in every way that really matters.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Mix it up<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Many churches organize adult Sunday School and small groups by age groups or stages of life (i.e. singles, newlyweds, those who are retired).<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t inherently wrong and, as I talk about below, can be beneficial for several reasons. But this is not the only way to organize discipleship programs.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;margin-top:0em;margin-bottom:1em\">\n<div class=\"centered-text-area\">\n<div class=\"centered-text\" style=\"float: left\">\n<div class=\"u5de2830c0dafac88f6e2997a4673b9ac-content\">See also&nbsp; What Do Churchgoers Want to Change About Their Churches?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaButton\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If we\u2019re already inclined to spend our time with people whose lives look like ours, the church doesn\u2019t need to do much work developing that kind of community.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the church can use structures already in place to foster community among people who are different from one another. A good place to start is to examine how you currently organize your Sunday School and small groups and then consider switching things up if needed.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Some ideas<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Though change may happen slowly, try dividing Sunday School classes or small groups by topic instead of by age. Set up classes based on a Bible study, book study, or a theological topic and open them up to all church members.<\/p>\n<p>This allows for a variety of age ranges and life stages among groups. Classes can change periodically to give members a chance to interact with new groups of people.<\/p>\n<p>This change may make it harder to direct groups as the church likely has less involvement in who joins which group. However, there are a few ways to encourage \u201cmixed\u201d groups.<\/p>\n<p>Consider organizing groups by location or time, and don\u2019t designate the makeup of each group. If a group naturally develops with people who are in the same stage of life, encourage members of a different age to join that group. You can periodically reorganize these groups as well.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>Things to consider<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Again, it\u2019s not wrong to divide Sunday School or small groups based on demographic factors. Often, these kinds of groups can be beneficial.<\/p>\n<p>Groups just for men or just for women are good for fostering accountability. And groups made up of people of the same age are good for encouraging those who are going through the same stages of life.<\/p>\n<p>We often divide youth and children for obvious reasons. However, with proper safety precautions and practical considerations, it can also be beneficial for adults and youth to learn from each other.<\/p>\n<p>After all, it\u2019s important to learn from others who\u2019ve gone before us and to encourage those who may be going through something we\u2019ve already experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Good discipleship happens across the \u201cboundary lines\u201d of age and stage of life. Church leaders should encourage church members to learn from each other\u2014regardless of their situation.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-profile-box square gb-has-avatar gb-font-size-18 gb-block-profile gb-profile-columns\">\n<div class=\"gb-profile-column gb-profile-avatar-wrap\">\n<div class=\"gb-profile-image-wrap\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gb-profile-column gb-profile-content-wrap\">\n<h2 class=\"gb-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Meredith Cooke<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gb-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\"><strong>@meredithcook716<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"gb-profile-text\">\n<p>Meredith is the wife of Keelan, an editor for IMB.org, and an M.Div graduate in Missiology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"gb-social-links\"><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#000000;border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#333333;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px\">Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"one-third first\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"two-thirds\">\n<h3>Small Groups for the Rest of Us<br \/> How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes<\/h3>\n<p>Chris Surratt<\/p>\n<p>  FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class='yarpp yarpp-related yarpp-related-website yarpp-template-thumbnails'>\n<h3>Related posts:<\/h3>\n<div class=\"yarpp-thumbnails-horizontal\">  What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times?  What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation?  3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Meredith Cook People tend to gravitate toward others who are most like them. For many adults, this means the people they spend the most time with are peers\u2014people roughly the same age and who are experiencing the same stage of life. It isn\u2019t bad that our natural tendency is to surround ourselves with those &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/discipleship-that-goes-beyond-peer-circles\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Discipleship That Goes Beyond Peer Circles&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}