Lost in Translation

As you can imagine, the last few weeks have continued to be very full because of the difficulties at church. Thankfully things have gotten somewhat better in the last two weeks. I am particularly excited about the possibility to begin a men's discipleship group. This will probably start in January, since most people are very busy during December. I've already started the foundation of the discipleship program with one of our men.

The idea comes from Ron Berrus, who was with us here in Colombia last month. He was a pastor for many years and now serves at ABWE. He gave us a CD with all of his discipleship material (a wealth of wisdom and help) and shared with me how he runs a discipleship group.

The basis for the program is a spiritual inventory and ten accountability questions. I've been working on it for about two weeks now, and God has been blessing. I'll post the information here (Ron said it's not copyrighted).

Spiritual Disciplines Inventory

While there exists a danger of legalism, equating spirituality with list keeping or measuring ourselves by others, yet, we must make personal self-judgments regarding our pursuit of God. We must become men of God, men of the Word, men of prayer, men of discipline, growing, sharing our faith and helping others grow. We must become the spiritual leaders of our homes. We must know where we are as well as where we need to go.

Give a completely honest evaluation of your present practices (not plans or past history). Tell us what your present practice of the spiritual disciplines is really like.

1. Present practice of reading and studying God’s word (when, where, how long, how regularly)

2. Present practice of memorizing God’s Word (when, how, what verses in the last 3 months)

3. Present prayer life (when, where, how long, with whom, major prayer requests)

4. Present practice of using a spiritual journal (how often, method)

5. Present practice of leading family worship (if married)

6. Present practice of reading Christian books & magazines (when, how often, examples)

7. Present practice of giving to the Lord’s work (church, para-church, percentages)

8. Present practice sharing your faith (witness, tracts, home bible study – last month, year)

9. Making disciples (helping someone else grow intentionally)

Rate yourself regarding your current practice as a follower of Jesus Christ
(low) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (high)

Accountability Questions

1. Have you fulfilled your weekly growth plan objectives this week?

2. Have you taken time to minister to your family (wife, kids) this week?

3. Have you been with someone this week that could be considered inappropriate by anyone, or could have looked like you were using poor judgment this week?

4. Have you exposed yourself or been exposed to any explicit material this week?

5. Have you dwelled on thoughts that were not Phil. 4:8-9 thoughts this week?

6. Have you been completely above reproach in all of your financial dealings?

7. How have you handled temptations in the last week?

8. How can you be more Christ-like in your workplace?

9. How have you shared your faith with an unbeliever in the last week?

10. Have you just lied to us?