169. Formal Discipleship Convos: Structuring Disciple Makers

Brian and Cammie cap off this compassion series with a catch-all discussion that divides all of us - Politics.  There is us, and then there is the other, when it comes to politics, but when we're all one in Christ what do you do with the other in politics?  There's a lot for us all to grow in here, and the Prophets Zepheniah & Jonah point the way in lessons learned about humility.  If you're interested in going further with what we do in the church when one believer differs from another believer on Bible topics, this 4 Chair Sermon is one of our classic must-listens.   

It's a big world with billions of people and millions of problems, so what does it take to pick your part, and get on with doing what Jesus has placed in front of you to do about it?  Malachi & Haggai have a lot to say about this.

Good questions build good bridges.  You don't have to have the same side, to understand how someone arrived at their side.  For example: Climate Consciousness, Pro-Life, and LGBTQ.  Compassion knows how to find the gospel on either side of today's most polar issues.

Sometimes, compassion is hardest to practice with the people you're closest too - family!  When is time to set a boundary and hold your boundary, but then when does it become time to cross your own boundary to bring compassion and mercy to the other side?  

Our compassion funnels into so many different choices of generosity, but are we compassionate enough to be generous with our taxes?  When would Jesus have us scrutinize the stewardship and recipients of aid, and when would he have us be supportively glad that our taxes are at working doing something (anything) about it? 

Is AI making everything easier and bringing us together, or is about to fragment and virtual us further?  Brian and Cammie tag four dilemmas AI is developing, and how to compassion finds the AI answers to pulling us closer to Jesus and others in the middle of those dilemmas.     

This week on The Shape of the Circle, Cami and Brian sit down with Troy Cotton to move past the Sunday school answers and get into the "26-part formula" of systemic reality. Using the prophet Amos as a guide, the team wrestles with the gap between righteousness (equity) and justice (the action required to restore it). From the streets of Milwaukee to the suburbs of Muskego, we’re pulling no punches on why some schools feel like state-of-the-art launchpads while others—literally converted from old jails—still feel like prisons to the kids inside them.Troy shares the raw, unfiltered reality of "competing with the government," where the system often incentivizes singleness over marriage and punishes promotions with the loss of vital benefits. We explore the heavy conversations about image and safety that "SPF-50" families rarely have to navigate, ultimately looking for the Way of the Cross in a segregated world. This episode is an invitation to stop yelling across the fence and start feeling the "weight of the other side" through a Holy Spirit moment of true compassion.

Is it possible to do all the "right" things but still have a heart that is far from God? Today on the podcast, we’re starting a new series on the Practice of Compassion. We’re looking at the Book of Hosea to see how our relationship with God dictates how we show up for our neighbors. If you’ve ever felt like your faith was more about "checking boxes" than genuine heart-change, this episode is for you. 

If you need more time and more structure, here's how you use more scripture and the book Leading Leaders, in a formal Disciple-Maker-Making phase of growing with Jesus. This episode is one of many on our discipleship grid for discipleship conversations.

If you need more time and more structure, here's how you use more scripture and the book Leading Others, in a formal Disciple-Making phase of growing with Jesus. This episode is one of many on our discipleship grid for discipleship conversations.