Organic Disciples: Seven Ways to Grow Spiritually and Naturally Share Jesus

by Kevin G. Harney, Sherry Harney

Overview

Could sharing your faith be the secret to developing your spiritual maturity?

For many followers of Jesus, discipleship means doing certain things to deepen our connection with Jesus Christ. But our spiritual growth checklists are often disconnected from the mission of reaching a lost world with the gospel message.

Taking a holistic approach that unites evangelism and discipleship, Kevin and Sherry Harney demonstrate how God's plan for our spiritual growth is intimately connected to his mission to the world.

In Organic Disciples, the couple lead ordinary followers of Jesus through seven markers of spiritual maturity, showing how simple shifts in our Bible reading, prayer, community life, giving, service, and other biblical practices can connect us with God's work of reaching people with his love. You'll learn:

• Why true spiritual maturity will always lead believers outward to engage the world with the good news and truth of Jesus.
• How to overcome the common roadblocks and false narratives that stand in the way of spiritual maturity.
• How to design a personal pathway of growth to be more like Jesus in character and mission.

Along with the Organic Disciples book, churches and individuals can utilize a free, self-directed online tool at Organic Outreach.com to help each person identify where they are in their growth journey.

Also look for eight-session small group curriculum—Organic Disciples Study Guide (9780310139089)—to take congregations and Christians deeper on this journey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310120155
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	12/28/2021
Series:	Organic Outreach
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,026,213
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Kevin G. Harney is lead pastor of Shoreline Church in Monterey, California. He is the author of many books, including No Is a Beautiful Word, Seismic Shifts, and the Organic Outreach Trilogy, as well as more than a hundred small group guides, curriculum, and numerous articles written in partnership with Sherry. Kevin and his wife Sherry are co-founders of Organic Outreach International, a ministry that trains and resources global leaders to do evangelism in natural and effective ways. He also does extensive teaching and speaking both nationally and internationally.

Sherry Harney is an author and a speaker who serves as the Spiritual Formation and Discipleship Director at Shoreline Church in Monterey, California. She is also the cofounder of Organic Outreach International. For over three decades Sherry has spoken for local, national, and international groups and events. She focuses on prayer, spiritual formation, leadership, and organic outreach.

Over the past three decades Sherry and Kevin have coauthored and partnered with writers such as Ann Voskamp, Max Lucado, Nabeel Qureshi, Jim Cymbala, Miles Mc Pherson, Mark Batterson, Chrystal Evans Hurst, Christine Caine, Gary Thomas, N.T. Wright, Laura Story, Craig Groeschel, Dallas Willard and many others. Kevin and Sherry have three married sons, and three grandchildren.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Preface: A Dream Birthed in God's Heart: Organic Disciples xiii

Foundations: Three Epic Questions 1

1 How Can I Know I Am Growing as a Disciple? 3

2 Is Discipleship Bigger Than My Relationship with Jesus? 9

3 What Is the Relationship between Discipleship and Evangelism? 19

Part 1 Bible Engagement: The Power of an Unchanging Message in an Uncertain World 25

4 The Living Word Loved the Written Word 27

5 So Many Bibles, So Little Time 37

6 The World Needs Good News 49

Part 2 Passionate Prayer: How Talking with God Opens Our Hearts to the World 59

7 Talking to the Father 61

8 Does God Really Want to Hear from Me? 71

9 Praying for and with the World 89

Part 3 Wholehearted Worship: How Praise, Celebration, and Worship Propel Us Outward and Draw the World In 103

10 Worthy of Worship 105

11 Worship as a Lifestyle 115

12 The World Loves a Good Party! 127

Part 4 Humble Service: How Caring Hearts and Compassionate Hands Show God's Love for All People 135

13 When God Knelt at Our Feet 137

14 Becoming Counterculture! 147

15 Show Me Jesus and Then I'll Hear Your Story 157

Part 5 Joyful Generosity: How Sharing Our Time, Resources, and Abilities Captures the Attention of the World 171

16 What More Could He Give? 173

17 The Adventure of a Generous Life 183

18 Generosity Reveals the Presence of Jesus in Our Lives and in the World 197

Part 6 Consistent Community: The Power of Togetherness in a Polarized World 203

19 God Needed Nothing, but He Invited Us to Be Hit Friends 205

20 Better Together: Why We > Me 213

21 The World Will Know We Are Christians by the Way We Love One Another … and Them! 225

Part 7 Organic Outreach: Love as I Have Loved You 233

22 The Evangelist of All Evangelists 235

23 Sweaty Palms and a Dry Mouth: Facing Fear 245

24 The Thing We Say We Value Most, We Do the Least 255

Closing Thoughts: The Joyful Journey of a Disciple: Upward, Inward, Outward 265

Notes 267

Editorial Reviews

'Kevin and Sherry Harney are some of the most genuine, faithful, faith-filled, and effective church leaders I know. I've had the privilege of seeing their hearts and the impact of their ministry firsthand. When they speak, I listen. They are a deep well of lived truth and grace. Let's all grow into more effective organic disciples by diving into this important new book together.'

Craig Springer

'I love this book! It is one of the most inspiring and practically engaging books on discipleship that I have ever read. It is not about a formula or a system. Instead, it will stir your heart for more of Jesus and his love for people. The Harneys remind us that evangelism and discipleship never got a divorce. They are married and intended to work in union through the life of the believer and the church. The authors' braiding together of prayer, worship, and Spirit-led action will compel you as you are going about your day to go and make disciples.'

Nancy Grisham

'Kevin and Sherry Harney love the Lord Jesus Christ and think strategically as force multipliers. Organic Disciples is carefully designed to effectively force multiply for the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Lieutenant General Eric P. Wendt (retired)

'As they did for evangelism with the Organic Outreach book series, Kevin and Sherry Harney bring practical application to discipleship as it was intended to be. Organic Disciples exposes the missing link between discipleship and evangelism, laying out a path that leads Christians through the one with the outcome of the other—exactly what Jesus demonstrated in the Bible.'

Walt Bennett

'I have long relied on the brilliant evangelism leadership of Kevin and Sherry Harney, and I could not be more thrilled for their newest contribution about holistically connecting discipleship and evangelism in the church today. This work is long overdue, and there is nothing out there quite like it. A must-have for your ministry library.'

Michelle T. Sanchez

'This book in three words: exponential spiritual impact. Read and apply its message and it will impact your life, the lives of those you influence, and the many others whom they will, in turn, shape for Christ. Organic Disciples presents a biblical plan for changing yourself, your church, your community, and ultimately the world.'

Mark Mittelberg

'In a world with so much confusion about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, the Harneys not only shed light, they lay out biblical principles and practices that can lead us toward the life of fruitfulness we long for. So many have failed to see (and live into) the intimate connection between evangelism and discipleship. Organic Disciples fills this major void.'

Kevin Palau

'Organic Disciples offers a simple way to help your church raise up and multiply disciples. The seven markers provide helpful, clear language to assess where you and your church are in your discipleship journey, as well as identify opportunities to teach and grow. I love that this book, in addition to being theologically rooted and based on research with hundreds of churches and ministries, creates the bridge between discipleship and evangelism that is often missed. This book invites you not only to deepen your discipleship journey but also to be a disciple whose heart breaks for the people around them.'

Eliza Cortés Bast

'I have known Kevin and Sherry for more than two decades, and I trust them to lead Christians deeper in discipleship and boldly into the world with the life-changing good news of Jesus. Organic Disciples will help you do both.'

Lee Strobel

'For the longest time, it seems that many in the church have pitted discipleship and evangelism against one another. For many churches, it does seem more emphasis is placed on discipleship to the neglect of evangelism. However, as Kevin and Sherry Harney rightly point out, the more Christians become like Jesus, the more they will engage in Jesus' mission. My hope and prayer is that the global church will embrace the biblical vision laid out in this book.'

Josh Laxton

'I welcome how Kevin and Sherry reunite evangelism and discipleship, creating a natural, step-by-step approach to fulfilling the Great Commission. Using the stories of Jesus keeps the Bible as the textbook, while their personal stories make it practical. This book is incredibly valuable.'

Anita Eastlack