An individual responsibility
In John 15, the Lord Jesus makes a direct link between our keeping his commands and joyfully remaining in the experience of his love. He intends us to go on growing and becoming increasingly fruitful – in a lasting way. Standing still is not an option and wise disciples will want to build in some structure that ensures we keep going – and keep growing as we remain firmly rooted in the Lord Jesus himself.
A shared enterprise
While we each have a personal responsibility to cultivate our relationship with the Lord Jesus, he does not intend us to do it in isolation. Indeed, much of the fruit of the Spirit can only grow in community. It is impossible to obey Jesus’ ‘new command’ in John 13:34 without other people! The local church is God’s normal context for personal and corporate growth, as we learn together and serve one another using the gifts God has given to each one. (See Ephesians 4:16.)
A disciple-making process
In Enable we have a big training bias and ethos commitment to discipleship. If we each combined our own personal growth with the discipling of at least one other person, and passed this ethos on, then our churches would grow in quality and size. Check out some resources using the side menu, which are recommended for personal use as part of disciple-making process within a local church context.