The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Many of you listening today see the value in being a part of a local church. Week after week you join with other believers to worship, pray, and hear a message from the Word of God. What sometimes happens is that church attendance becomes a tradition or a ritual.  A man got out of his seat on a Sunday morning and as he was leaving the church said to someone, "Well, that's over." &qu...

It was a heart-breaking conversation. The mother and father sat in my office. They were at their wits end. Their son was in jail, now for the third time for drug possession and now he had stolen a car. They wanted me to visit him in jail. I made my way to the local police department where he was being kept and introduced myself as a local pastor. I asked to see the young man. I sat, waiting, looki...

One day in New York City, right outside of the United Nations Building, there was a street evangelist preaching right on the street corner.  He was trying to get the attention of the people walking by.  He was preaching on hell and was warning people about the reality of hell. “I warn you,” he roared, “that in hell there will be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth!”  An old woman in the crowd...

There was once a college student who was having a hard time understanding all the injustice in the world. He spent a great deal of his time feeling angry and frustrated. When he could stand it no longer, he went to the dim and seldom-used chapel on campus. He paced up and down the aisles, slapping the back of the empty pews. He yelled, he cried, and he raged at God saying, “God You created the wor...

Here is America, we have never had more access to the Bible than we do today. Many of you listening own several copies of the Bible. What a blessing and a great privilege that is. You likely have the Bible on your cell phone, or on your tablet. We definitely have access to the bible through the internet. With all this access, how do we know if the Bible we have today is credible? How do we know it...

A little girl was working diligently on a school assignment when her father came into the room and asked what she was doing. She told him she was working on a plan for world peace.  Her father said, “Wow, that’s a pretty big task for a little girl.” The girl replied, “Oh, no, don’t worry daddy, there are two other girls in my class helping me with it.” Peace is something everyone wants, yet few se...

A farmer placed a weather vane inscribed with the words “God is love” on top of his barn. One day a traveler stopped by the farm and watched the weather vane moving with the breeze. Then, with a smirk on his face, he asked, “Do you mean to say that your God is as changeable as the wind?” The farmer shook his head and replied, “No. What I mean to say is that no matter which way the wind blows, God...

They thought it was just kids playing pranks, but it turned out to be an angry 72 year old man, instead. From 2003-2005, a number of former teachers and school admins in NYC reported a rash of vandalism at their homes. They would wake up to punctured car tires from roofing nails scattered across their driveways… and garage doors & mailboxes splattered w/paint. Some victims complained of being...

In 1977 my family was saved in an Assemblies of God church in Texas.  I’m so grateful they did.  I was just a little boy when my parents placed their faith in Jesus. The church taught our family how to follow Christ. But growing up I struggled to understand God’s grace.  I grew into adulthood with a belief that God was hard to please.  There had been a lot of emphasis in my life on doing good work...

John Wesley was an evangelist who was used by God mightily in the 1700’s.  One night he returned home from a service and was surprised to find an intruder in his home. The thief, however, found his victim to have only a little bit of money and some Christian literature. As the robber was leaving, Wesley called out, "Stop! I have something more to give you." The surprised robber paused. &...

I’m not sure who said it first, but there’s an old quote that says, “One can acquire everything in solitude except character.” To develop character, we need one another. We need interaction. We need the opportunity to love, serve, grow, share, learn, and forgive. None of these Christ-like character traits can be developed in isolation. We need one another. Last year I was talking with a good frien...

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Rudyard Kipling was England’s most popular writer.  The news got out that his publishers paid him $1 for each word that he wrote and published.  Some Cambridge students heard about this and sent him $2 with a note that said, “Please send us two of your very best words.”  Kipling sent a note back with two words, “thank you.” These really are two of t...

I was reading this week about Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Homes, who served the court in the early 1900’s.  One day he was on a train and when the conductor called for tickets, Justice Holmes couldn’t find his ticket and he seemed very upset.  He searched his pockets and fumbled through his wallet without success.  The conductor was sympathetic.  “Don’t worry, Mr. Holmes,” he said.  “The...

Billy Graham once told the story about a young president of a company who instructed his secretary not to disturb him because he had an important appointment. The chairman of the board came in and said, “I want to see Mr. Jones.” The secretary answered, “I’m terribly sorry but, he cannot be disturbed; he has an important appointment.  The chairman of the board became very angry. He banged open the...

I once read of a study that took place in Alameda County, California.  Researchers studied the lives of 7,000 people over a period of nine years.  Their research showed that in that nine year span – people who were isolated were three times more likely to die than people with strong relational connections. They also found that people who had bad health habits (smoking, drinking, poor diet, no exer...

A few years back, a couple of my family members were fishing at a remote lake in Oklahoma. The lake is surrounded by forest with the exception of one campground and a boat ramp. They were fishing as the sun was going down. It was cloudy and they noticed lightning off in the distance. After dark, without warning, the wind began to blow hard across the lake, it began pouring rain, and then it began...

Joni Eareckson Toda – dove into the Chesapeake Bay a strong, athletic young girl.  A split second later she was paralyzed from the neck down, completely helpless, and still under water.  Though rescued from drowning by her sister, the doctors could not rescue Joni from the paralysis that swept over her body. Medically, Joni came to accept the fact that she couldn’t be healed.  But what about God? ...

I remember reading about a family in Charleston, NC who were the winners of what was at that time, the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.  Sometime after they had won the $314.9 million ticket that thrust their family into the public spot light, the wife told reporters, “We’ve had so much trouble because of this lottery. I wish all of this never would have happened.   I wish I would have tor...

A couple of years ago, I attended a major church leadership conference. During the afternoons, a menu of workshops and breakout sessions were offered to the pastors and attendees. On the schedule I saw a workshop on creating a discipleship culture in the local church. Discipleship was something our church was struggling with, so I decided to attend. On my way through the hallways of the convention...

A few years ago I was in Haiti on a missions trip. There is much about the trip that stays with me, but one experience made an impact. It was a traffic intersection. We happened to be driving through a busy part of town during rush how. There was an intersection where six roads came together. Cars, trucks, and buses had converged from every direction. Each driver was inching his way forward. Horns...

One of the most striking pictures in the New Testament is found in John chapter 13. The setting is an upper room. Jesus has gathered with his disciples to eat the Passover meal. We know this particular event as the last supper. In verse four Jesus does something truly amazing. The Bible says,  “he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that,...

Today as I record this podcast episode, it’s about a week and half after Christmas day. Like most families, we gathered on Christmas in our living room to exchange gifts with one another. It’s always a blessing to show our love for one another by selecting an gift that we think will be of value for our families. But imagine with me, the sadness my family would have experienced if I refused to open...

I was once asked by a man who had recently placed his faith in Christ, “Pastor Loren, what comes after salvation? Is that all there is?” He was sincere in his question, but I had to chuckle. Salvation is both the end and the beginning. It settles our record with God. We have been saved or justified by faith. Our sins have been forgiven, but the process of living for Christ has just begun. The answ...

One Sunday when I was growing up, our pastor preached a sermon on the return of Christ. I remember it being a powerful message and they way he shared it, it seemed like Christ was coming that very night. While I very much wanted to go in the rapture of the church, I remember sitting in my pew a little concerned. I began to daydream about my future. I was kind of hoping Jesus wouldn’t come back rig...

Do you remember the four-minute mile? Athletes had been trying to beat this time since the days of the ancient Greeks. Someone found some old documents of how the Greeks tried to accomplish this. They had wild animals chase the runners, hoping that would make them run faster. They tried tiger’s milk: not the stuff you get down at the supermarket, I’m talking about the real thing. Nothing worked, s...