A resource that we have found very helpful at Disciples Church is a short course called "How People Change" which was written by Paul Tripp and Tim Lane when they were working for the Christian Counselling & Education Foundation. We have seen the Gospel principles outlined in "How People Change" produce a harvest of lasting change in people's lives.
How People Change has an ambitious goal. Our prayer is that God will use this course to change more people's lives as He transforms their hearts by His grace. Our goal is that through this study - offered as part of the discipleship process in our Missional Community Groups - people will live more functionally Christlike lives, even in the middle of life's hardest challenges. We sincerely believe that when God cleans the inside of the dish, the outside will also become clean (Matthew 23: 25). This course is designed to help people understand and participate in the grace-driven, Christ-centered work of personal transformation that God pursues in every situation and relationship in our lives.
Some words of introduction:
Our ultimate goal is to encourage people to:
As we do these things, we will experience the fact that we have been given "everything we need for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1: 3) - all that we need, not just for eternal life, but for a God-pleasing life in the here and now.
Please speak to your Missional Community Group leader about beginning the journey of change. We want to assist you in every way we can to follow Jesus faithfully. Our hope is that going through How People Change will help you see how Jesus changes us - from the inside out!
Some words of introduction:
- How People Change seeks to show you how God works growth and change in our hearts and lives, transforming them into the image of Christ. It is intentionally Christ-centered and heart-focussed.
- Many people in our culture would call How People Change a self-help course because it leads people through steps of self-examination and change. However, the Bible would use two words for this material. The first word would be Gospel. This course is a study of what God has done in Christ to transform us from idolatry-enslaved sinners to people who are like Him, zealous to do what He says is good in a world that is terribly broken. This course celebrates the truth that Jesus came to save us because we are unable to save ourselves. His work addresses the deepest and most personal issues of human experience. This course calls people to know their world, to know themselves, and to know the Lord and His grace. And it calls them to a personal commitment to a lifelong process of transformation into the image of Christ. The second word the Bible would use for this course is discipleship. Discipleship is walking with someone as he or she learns to walk more faithfully with the Lord. Rather than helping themselves through this course, people are being discipled by the Lord as they disciple one another.
- When you go through the How People Change course, you should not treat the material as a compilation of abstract information. It is not a theology course, but a God ordained opportunity to know, confess, repent, obey and grow. As you humbly examine yourself, looking into the mirror of God's Word and seeing your heart, you will experience opportunities to grow and change.
- How People Change systematises God's work of heart and life transformation, but it's vital to remember that living an authentic Christian life is more than a system of change or a set of techniques. This is why How People Change does not rest on a model or formula for change, but on the presence and power of a living, active Redeemer.
Our ultimate goal is to encourage people to:
- look at themselves in the mirror of God's Word
- know and rely on Christ's grace; and
- step out into life with renewed faith and courage.
As we do these things, we will experience the fact that we have been given "everything we need for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1: 3) - all that we need, not just for eternal life, but for a God-pleasing life in the here and now.
Please speak to your Missional Community Group leader about beginning the journey of change. We want to assist you in every way we can to follow Jesus faithfully. Our hope is that going through How People Change will help you see how Jesus changes us - from the inside out!