Invitation the fruit of hearing and doing
I am dismayed at times when I hear that groups of churches are focusing on discipleship by taking congregational members through a book in the bible or a theme. The results of doing this over the years are that it does not provide personal growth, it just does not do what hearing the word and doing does. Our bible studies today whilst vitally important can sometimes be a smokescreen concealing the fact that we don’t know how to make disciples. The training that leads to doing what we hear from Jesus involves the puposeful disruption of our automatic thought, feelings and actions. Invitaton is one of various intentional practices in which our whole self is retrained away from the old kingdom. Invitational action gives the chance to think about how we have been thinking. For most of us it elicits fear and once you feel the fear through the possibility of invitation we can then by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, disrupt this automatic thought. This is hear and do discipleship