Joining Jesus on His Mission will alter the way you see your life as a follower of Jesus and take you beyond living your life for Jesus to living life with Jesus. Simple, powerful and applicable insights show you how to be on mission and recognize where Jesus is already at work in your neighborhoods, workplaces and schools. You will feel both relief and hope. You may even hear yourself say, "I can do this " as you start responding to the everyday opportunities Jesus is placing in your path.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the power of Jesus shouting from the cross, "It is finished!" that we forget that Jesus started something too. Uncovering the inner dynamics of Jesus's work with the disciples, veteran church planter Steve Addison reminds us that Christianity is a movement with a unique design for expansion.

The way Jesus disciples people is simple and results in unschooled, ordinary followers participating in the mission of the Father and discipling others to do the same. Joining Jesus--Show Me How will help you regain the clarity and simplicity of how Jesus disciples people in the gospels so that you can disciple your children, friends, neighbors or fellow church members to get up, follow Jesus and join him on his mission, too.

Following the work and presence of God’s Spirit into communities across North America, the authors find stories of people—ordinary, humble, and faithful people—in the Christian Reformed Church in North America who are sharing themselves with those they meet. We believe stories we tell reflect these questions: What is the Holy Spirit’s invitation to the church today and what is the implication for the future? Our answer is to go local, to look at what is set before us, to admit we are disconnected from our neighbors—the person right next door or the person in front of us. We realize we need to find ways to connect with them and stay put by remaining faithfully present. More broadly, the ministries we feature illustrate that the job of the church is to trust God and not to make things happen by ourselves. Don’t be afraid of the changes around you. Listen to the Spirit’s prodding. Embrace your place and love the people in the tangible, ordinariness of life. Inspired by an incarnational theology that emerges from an imaginative, missional reading of Luke 10, in which Jesus sends out disciples to every town and palace, the authors visit workers who labor in the harvest fields of the Lord’s uncommon, upside down kingdom. A kingdom that—at this point mostly under the radar—has already come.

What does it mean to ‘take up your cross daily’? “Sell your possessions and give to the poor”--really!? “Deny yourself,” Jesus says. How does all of this fit together in a world two thousand years removed? Joining Jesus on the Way, takes a look at the discipleship teachings of Jesus through the lens of the Gospel of Luke. Luke’s unique emphasis on discipleship has long been recognized among the Gospel traditions. One might even call Luke’s Gospel a discipleship manual. In Luke, Jesus prepares his disciples for the power packed ministry they will live out in Luke’s second volume, Acts. Jesus teaches his disciples about self-denial, obedience to his commands, proper attitude toward possessions, faith and prayer, and, after his resurrection, promises them the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to continue the ministry he began. Most of Jesus’ discipleship teachings are found in the “travel narrative” portion of the Gospel of Luke. In these ten chapters, Jesus is traveling up to Jerusalem and his ultimate destiny, the cross. This is a journey on which Jesus invites all would-be disciples to join him. On the way, we learn what it means to be true followers of Jesus. The ultimate goal of the journey is the cross, which every disciple must bear, but the journey does not end here. Death to self means resurrection to new life in Christ. Two thousand years later, Jesus is still calling his followers to join him on the way, but we don’t always know how to answer that call. It’s not necessarily our fault, as we seem to hear very little these days about true discipleship. Some are answering the call but don’t know what to do next. Their pursuit of Jesus is avid, but they need someone to help them along the way. This book is written to be that help. In Joining Jesus on the Way, Mayo considers the implications of Jesus’ discipleship teachings for would-be disciples both then and now. This book is written to challenge 21st century believers to deepen their walk with Jesus, and to choose to take up that proverbial cross and follow him daily.

WHAT MAKES A COMMUNITY EXTRAORDINARY? When people live in community moved by the gospel and marked by the Spirit, great things happen. They commit to one another. They grieve together, sing together, eat, pray, and play together. They love, serve, honor, encourage, and provide for each other gladly. And they live on mission together. Hearts are healed, walls come down, and outsiders come in. No competition. No pretense. No vain conceit. Just full hearts breaking bread and giving freely. It is nothing short of amazing. Most of us live in a shadow of what God intended for us. Life in Community calls us into the light. Reclaiming Scripture’s stunning vision of gospel-centered community, it inspires us to live in love unbounded. Read it, live it, and join the movement: Help unleash the power of extraordinary community. 6-Week group study included.

Whether the issue of the day on Twitter, Facebook, or cable news is our sexuality, political divides, or the perceived conflict between faith and science, today’s media pushes each one of us into a frustrating clash between two opposing sides. Polarizing, us-against-them discussions divide us and distract us from thinking clearly and communicating lovingly with others. Scott Sauls, like many of us, is weary of the bickering and is seeking a way of truth and beauty through the conflicts. Jesus Outside the Lines presents Jesus as this way. Scott shows us how the words and actions of Jesus reveal a response that does not perpetuate the destructive fray. Jesus offers us a way forward—away from harshness, caricatures, and stereotypes. In Jesus Outside the Lines, you will experience a fresh perspective of Jesus, who will not (and should not) fit into the sides.