Everyday Disciple Podcast

It’s easy to point fingers at “the culture” and think that it includes everyone else outside of ourselves. But we are the culture... and the culture is us. Today on the Lifeschool podcast, we talk about how every culture is woven together in some pretty similar ways worldwide, and we’ll look for clues from this so that, as Christians, we can find natural ways to engage “culture” and change the world… or at least your corner of it! Historians and sociologists for decades have defined and classified society and culture by what is commonly referred to as “The 7 Pillars of Society”. Not so surprisingly, all of us already live in and have influence within at least one or more of these 7 Pillars. In This Episode You’ll Learn: How all societies throughout history share the same 7 Pillars of Society and are organized around them. The role that Christianity and organized religion plays in society worldwide. How to look at God’s plan to restore all things through the lens of the 7 Pillars. Why disciples making more disciples is all wrapped up in, and perfectly fits in every culture. How you can begin to bless others and change your culture though intentionally engaging people within one of the Pillars in a way that already fits your life. Get started here... God has uniquely and sovereignly placed you right where he wants you within one or several of the Pillars. He has gifted you and given you relationships of trust within this segment of your culture already. The level of intentionality you bring to this will determine how effective you’ll be at engaging and transforming this part of your culture. Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others… Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources Caesar Kalinowski’s Website and Blog with Loads of Resources  

Starting a missional community is not about tossing a rope around a few of your closest friends and trying to talk them into living more “missionally” together. Today on the Lifeschool podcast, we’re talking about some very basic, but super-important steps on how to start a missional community from scratch. Let’s get you started... Nobody wants to live out their Christian faith in isolation, or just sitting in rows in silence once a week. Hopefully that’s true for you too! Maybe you’ve been a part of small groups or community groups in the past, but now you feel ready to live out your faith in a missional community with others. More like a family. In This Episode You’ll Learn: The difference between a true missional community and all of the other “small groups” you’ve been a part of. Why a missional community is not just another weekly meeting. How a missional community starts in the mirror and with your own family rhythms. 7 Simple steps on how to start a missional community from scratch Free Start-up Guide to get you going quickly. Get started here... Mission happens in the normal stuff of life, with new friends and disciples in tow with the Good News dripping out of your mouth and being proclaimed in every step, bite of food, and breath you take. You will love this new lifestyle! Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others… Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: “How to Start a Missional Community From Scratch” Start-up Guide (Free) Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources  

Has your missional community gotten stuck in a rut or become a “holy huddle” of mostly Christians hanging out once a week? Healthy things always grow… and multiply! Today on the Lifeschool podcast, we’re gonna talk about bringing intentionality and multiplication into everything you do within your missional community. Growth brings change. Everything God created has the seed of multiplication built into it: plants, animals, humans, families, communities, and even the Church. This in many ways is the storyline of the Bible. And it’s still happening today… In This Episode You’ll Learn: The biblical pattern of growth and multiplication. How Jesus’ discipleship commands fulfill this same biblical pattern. The difference between “splitting” your community and multiplication. Ways to prepare your community for growth and sending off. How to talk about the change and grief associated with growth. Get started here... We need to expect growth and multiplication to happen in our communities while letting everyone involved know that this is normal and good. And just like when our children leave home and become adults who start families of their own, there is a grieving process that rightfully occurs when we send “family members” off on mission to start new works. Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Caesar Kalinowski’s Website and Blog with Loads of Resources Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources  

Many in our churches have spent years listening to sermons, studying theology and reading the Word of God, yet still feel intimidated or unable to naturally express the good news of the Gospel into normal life, conversations, and circumstances. Today on the Lifeschool podcast, we’ll give you a proven way to make the gospel beautiful, relatable, and reproducible. We’ll discuss a method and resources designed to help any group of people (church, small group, MC) cultivate a practical understanding of the gospel and how to continue to grow in gospel fluency—the ability to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel in absolutely every area of life. You’re going to want to listen to this episode all the way to the end. In This Episode You’ll Learn: How your upbringing shapes the way you see and articulate the gospel. How your Church and pastors may not be giving you the full gospel. Why Christians often hate talking about spiritual things or faith. How an 8-week experience together in community can change your life! How to get the resources you need to transform your church for FREE. (The free offer has expired, but there are great resources here!) Get started here... As church leaders around the world have started forming new mission-focused, incarnational communities, they have consistently discovered that they need a greater grasp of the transforming Gospel of the Kingdom. When we get this right, everything else changes. Life together in community becomes possible–not out of obligation, but out of a gratefulness and confidence that the Gospel alone can give. Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Get your FREE copy of the Gospel Primer [OFFER EXPIRED] Free Download of the Big 3 For Episode #130  

Happiness is not something you achieve once and for all. Happiness is a muscle, a skill, a way of being that can and must be exercised. In this episode of Lifeschool, we talk with author, theologian, and pastor, David McDonald, about the pursuit of happiness: what it is, how we can get it, and why more Christians aren’t happier people. David tells us we are happy because of what we do and because of who we are becoming. Happiness is increasingly available to us as we shift from lives of passivity to activity, from thinking to accomplishing, and from defending to “being”. In all this, we are not restrained by history, association, birth, personality, or circumstance. In This Episode You’ll Learn: What true happiness is and how the Bible defines it. Some surprising truths about happiness and happy people. Why Christians aren’t typically happier. Why Jesus was probably the happiest person who ever walked this Earth. Steps toward finding more joy and happiness in your life–today! Get started here... As Christians, knowing that we are “saved” doesn’t always produce a life full of happiness. But the Gospel speaks grace over us and into our lives and produces fertile ground for a truly happy life. Will you embark on the pursuit of happiness? Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: David McDonald’s book, The Adventure of Happiness Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources  

Last week saw one of the greatest natural disasters to ever hit America. Thousands of families have lost everything they own, and lives were lost. In times like this it is understandable to wonder, or ask, “Where was God during hurricane Harvey?” In this episode of Lifeschool, we discuss this question and what our response as God’s family might look and sound like when disaster strikes. We’ll also suggest a way to give financially to help the victims of this horrendous tragedy. Why didn’t God cause the hurricane and heavy rains to turn back out to the ocean and miss all those people? Is he not in control of this world that he created? Or maybe God is punishing someone or some group of people as many in the media suggest. UPDATE: Since we recorded this special episode a few days ago, sadly, the death toll from hurricane Harvey has risen from what we discussed.   In This Episode You’ll Learn: How the devastation caused by Harvey is affecting Caesar, Heath and their families Their thoughts and answer to the question of, “Where was God in the hurricane?” Does God simple react to disaster and the forces of nature or is he truly sovereign? How we can speak to others about this tragedy when they ask similar questions. A way to give financially to help the men, women and children ravaged by the storm. Get started here... When we stand face-to-face with God, some day, we will get a fuller answer and understanding to his ways and ultimate purposes in this world. Today we see through a mirror dimly and pray for wisdom, strength and the desire to truly embrace those in need. Right now we have a great opportunity to show God’s great love and generosity in light of those in great need. Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Give to Samaritan's Purse and help the victims of hurricane Harvey today!  

Do you ever feel like if you have to answer one more question or make another decision today your head is going to pop off? Does it seem harder to remain patient with others as the day wears on? In this episode of Lifeschool, we talk about the concept of “decision fatigue,” why it may be the culprit for many of your bad decisions, and why we often find it hard to stay on mission. Author and Science Editor for the New York Times John Tierney says, “Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily, sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket. No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price.” In This Episode You’ll Learn: The difference between lacking will-power and decision fatigue How to know if you’re suffering from decision fatigue How decision fatigue affects our best discipleship and missional efforts How to reduce decision fatigue on a daily and lifestyle basis Get started here... If you’ve ever wondered why you have not had success with certain things you hoped to get done, it could be related to decision fatigue. Instead of hoping each day that you’ll make the right decision (get up early for the gym, write that book, call your parents more often, etc.) you will find hope in this week’s episode! Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.   Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: The Gospel in Everyday Life FREE Webinar Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources  

Jesus talks about money and related issues of the heart more than he talks about heaven and hell or pretty much anything else. Pretty interesting, huh? In this episode of Lifeschool, we look at how our ultimate understanding of the gospel affects how we view and use money, and how our generosity flows from our understanding of grace. Who sets your priorities when it comes to money? Whose money and resource is it–really? If you lost all of your money tomorrow, how would your IDENTITY and security change? In This Episode You’ll Learn: Why Jesus connected money with the desire of our hearts How money can affect our significance and our sense of security in life How to determine if you are living as a “conduit” or a “barrel” when it comes to God’s provision and endless supply of resources What “gospel tipping” is and how small acts of generosity affects our hearts A perspective on retirement and leaving an inheritance that may surprise you Get started here... All of us can break free from our slavery and attachments to money by trusting and treasuring Jesus, who was willing to pay the ultimate price. His generosity and sacrifice guarantee our significance and security–forever! Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.   Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: The Gospel in Everyday Life FREE Webinar Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources  

How different do you think your schedule and calendar would look like if God managed it for you? Crazy, right? In this episode of Lifeschool, we talk about how we prioritize our time and focus in life...not so much how we squeeze more out of our work day or schedules. Sort of time management for the rest of your life. Personal capacity, the environment we were raised in, or our season of life can all affect how much we get done or accomplish. Everyone is unique. But it’s important to see time as a finite resource that we have to “spend” and it has to be managed and spent like any other resource. In This Episode You’ll Learn: What God’s priorities are when it come to how we use our time How to determine our primary motivation behind how we spend our time Should Christians calendars look different than non-believers? 5 categories of life that require time and intentionality if we want to flourish How to get our free priority evaluation tool Get started here... There are plenty of websites, courses and gurus out there who can help you get more productivity out of each day, but what we’re talking about this week is getting more life out of LIFE. You know what? You get to! Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: My FREE Gospel in Everyday Life Webinar The Gospel is the starting point to being rightly motivated and finding right priorities in all of life. Caesar  Kalinowski's Website and Blog with Loads of Resources Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources  

We still hear a lot of “missional” talk these days… It’s the sexy phrase in the church world. But what is truly missional? What does it mean, and is your church or small group really all that missional? In this week’s episode of Lifeschool, we’ll define it for you–what it is and is not–and we may pick a few scabs and pour a little salt into some wounds… Let’s get started! Many of our friends (like you) are working in churches, or a part of a small group or “missional community” that are trying to figure out if they are really doing this right? Can you relate? Is this whole “missional” thing just a passing church fad, or is there really something more to it? In This Episode You'll Learn: Where this term missional comes from, and a true definition (from the Bible) Why all of this scares A LOT of pastors and elders to death! What “missional” is NOT Is being a missional church really a new thing? Steps to take to begin to move your church or community toward an abundant missional life and ministry. Get started here... You really can get the equipping that you need to break old patterns and lead others on mission. If you’ve never been discipled in a way where the gospel was applied and transformed every area of your everyday life, you will need to humble yourself and start slow. It’s ok... the journey starts now. Your family, neighbors and your church will thank you! Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started. Download today's BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others... Thanks for Listening! Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.   Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:  My FREE Gospel in Everyday Life Webinar The Gospel is the starting point to being missional and rightly motivating yourself, family and community on mission. Caesar  Kalinowski's Website and Blog with Loads of Resources Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources