GCD Weekly Newsletter — 01/07/22

Here's whats new at GCD this week...

Dear GCD Reader,

The beginning of the year was like being shot out of a cannon at my church. We have one long-time staff member retiring in a few weeks, and we’re hiring back three part-time job openings to account for her role and our church growth. That’s a lot of change for a small church. Also, we’ve had three of our church members die in the last five weeks. As the lead pastor of the church, all this transition has brought me to see more clearly the truth of Paul’s words about gospel ministry: “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16). The answer to his rhetorical question is, of course, no one.

And at the start of a new year, our insufficiency is a good truth to ponder because the one who writes about his insufficiency at the beginning of a letter also writes near the end of the same letter about what Jesus reminded him when he was at the end of his rope: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). What Paul heard from Jesus serves as a reminder of what is true for every believer this year. If you are in Christ, God’s grace is sufficient for you in the new year.

This Week at GCDiscipleship.com

• “Writers’ Coaching Corner (January 2022): Surprise” by Benjamin Vrbicek 

  Each month I take one paragraph from a GCD article to highlight some aspect of what makes for good writing. I’ll point out what made the writing work so well and how we can incorporate more of that writerly goodness into our craft. This month I use Chrys Jones’s article “Christmas Is for Misfits” to talk about the principle that good writing messes with the bull and gives a knuckle sandwich.

• “Death Comes in Slow Drips” by Chrys Jones 

  If you didn’t get enough from Chrys Jones from the highlights in Monday’s article, his article in January just happened to fall in the same week. At the beginning of a year, he writes about an important truth on the danger of sin: slow and steady, when it comes to sin, will lose the race. A few drops of lust today could add up to an affair next year. A couple of drops of envy tomorrow might add up to a severed friendship next month.

• “Receiving Grace through Gospel Disciplines” by Mitch Everingham

  At the beginning of a year, it’s always good to reevaluate how we understand what are variously called spiritual disciplines. A graduate of our Writers’ Mentoring Cohort makes the case for calling them “gospel disciplines.” When describing how he used to see Bible reading and prayer, he says, “I was living as though grace were a one-time event, poured out at the cross and then into my life when I first believed, rather than seeing it as a rich reservoir from which I needed to drink daily.”

We’d Love Your Thoughts

We’d love to hear from you. Please send me feedback about our articles (or anything else!) at Benjamin@GCDiscipleship.com. And if you’ll allow us, we’ll share your comments in future emails.

Speaking of Writing…

Our Friday article comes from a recent graduate of our Writers’ Mentoring Cohort. We’re have one or two spots left for the next season that starts Monday, January 10. It’s a coaching group that I went through last year, and I’m so glad I did. On our website we write, “Over six months, a small cohort of writers will be given access to community and coaching to help shape and sharpen the writer, their process, and their craft. Through six monthly video calls with a small group of writers and high caliber coaches, you will be equipped to write resources that make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus.” You can get more information about the Writers’ Cohort here.

Thanks for reading,
Benjamin Vrbicek | Managing Editor