The Whole Disciple Podcast

In this episode, Christy starts the season by teaching how we serve because Jesus first served us. She walks through Isaiah 52–53 to show how God sent his Son to be the Suffering Servant because every one of us needed a Savior. Then, she follows the Apostle Peter as he tells how Jesus’ service in his life, death, and resurrection is an example for us as we serve by giving of ourselves for the good of others.Resources:Join a Serving Team

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Family Member Identity Conversation Guide #7—Living as Brothers and SistersIn this episode, Christy sits down with Sara Henderson and Jason Douglas to discuss what it looks like to live as brothers and sisters in the local church. They describe symptoms for when something has gone wrong in brother-sister relationships and what it looks like when we’re living in God’s design. And along the way, they share snippets from their personal friendships and next steps each of us can take to live with members of the opposite sex as brothers or sisters.

In the end, the final and eternal relationship men and women will have with each other is brother and sister. Because we’re all children of God—with him as Father, through his Son—that makes us siblings to each other. The gospel, and belief in it, creates a family that consists of brothers and sisters in Christ.Because we are truly brothers and sisters in Christ, men and women in the church ought to:Love each otherLabor with one another for gospel and missionRecognize that we need each otherResources:One in Christ

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Family Member Identity Conversation Guide #6—Being Family as Single and MarriedIn this episode, Christy sits down with Elizabeth Hughes and Dave and Lauren Turner. They open up their lives to share their story and how they became family with one another. They share silly anecdotes and meaningful dialogue concerning how their lives are better by sharing them together.

Both marriage and singleness are good and about the gospel—just differently.From Genesis 2 onward, marriage is a normal expectation in human existence—because it is God’s plan to create for himself a great big family, and without marriage, there would have been no way for the earth to be filled with God’s family. And marriage was always about Jesus and the church. Marriage is a God-ordained picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ on display for the world to see.Marriage is God’s idea. It’s good, and it’s about the gospel. And so is singleness.In the new creation, all bad, sad, and temporary things are cast off, and in that mix, Christian singleness perseveres. Singleness is eternal and things that last forever are good. Single people live out the sufficiency of Christ through our undivided devotion to him. Through undivided devotion to Jesus Christ as Christian singles, we can be fulfilled and content with the church as family, even if we never marry or have children.Resources:Single Ever After by Dani Treweek

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Family Member Identity Conversation Guide #5—Being a Multiethnic FamilyIn this episode, Christy sits down with John Messiah (Arabic mobilization director), Eddy Gil (associate campus director at Alamance), and Ricky Phillips (ethnic unity associate) to talk about the joys and challenges of living as a multiethnic church family. We also discuss practical next steps that each of us can take to grow in developing multicultural, multiethnic relationships in the church.Resources:Ethnic Unity Resources

It is God’s plan from the beginning to the very end for his family to be a beautiful array of cultures and ethnicities, with people from all nations. In Revelation 7, we see God’s final vision for his family is to be a great multitude from “all tribes and peoples and languages.”But how did we get there? Through thousands of years of God’s commitment to bring people from all nations, tribes, and tongues into his family. From the very beginning, God has been committed to his family being multicultural and multiethnic—from God’s covenant with Abraham fulfilled by Jesus, bringing God’s blessing to all nations and lived out in the experience of the church from the book of Acts until today.So now we go and tell whoever we come across about Jesus, and we intentionally take steps to seek out the people who we wouldn’t naturally interact with, in order to share the gospel. Then, we watch God gather people into our church from across all cultures and walks of life. When they come, we welcome them with open arms, and just like the apostles in Acts 6, we do our best to make sure nobody gets overlooked and nobody gets left out in our family’s fellowship. Resources:The Summit Church Ethnic Unity sermon series

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Family Member Identity Conversation Guide #4—Being Family with Multigenerational AdultsIn this episode, Christy sits down with Bryan Galloway (shepherding pastor at North Durham) and Dustin Wells (pastor for young adults) to discuss what it looks like to live as family with multiple generations of adults. They talk through the unique challenges for Gen Z and baby boomers at the Summit and churches like it, and how we can move forward in unity, grace, and intentionality.

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Family Member Identity Conversation Guide #3—Being Family with Kids and StudentsIn this episode, Christy sits down with Toiya Williams (director of Summit Kids) and Jeremy Berger (NextGen pastor) to talk about what it looks like to live as family as adults, students, and kids. They cast a vision for living as family with the church, where everyone of every age has a place, and give practical advice for parents and other adults in the church living as aunts and uncles for kids and students.

God’s family is a real family—with grandparents and parents and aunts and uncles and teenagers and kids—and when we live with the local church as family, we live out our discipleship across generational lines, both giving and receiving from those older and younger than us, as well as those who are our age, in a complex web of relationships that overlap and interweave.Christy explores this through Paul’s second letter to Timothy with four main points: 1. The church is God’s family. 2. When we believe the gospel, it creates new family bonds. 3. Biological/adoptive parents have a unique responsibility for the children in their homes. 4. Every generation is responsible for guarding the good deposit of the gospel and passing it down to the next generation.

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Family Member Identity Conversation Guide #2—Being a Member of a Local ChurchIn this episode, Christy sits down with Summit Church Campus Pastors Eric Gravelle and Warren Neverson for a chat about church membership. They talk about the challenges people face when considering church membership, give clear encouragement for those who are hesitant about joining a church, and cheer on church members who serve faithfully!

The question is not if every follower of Jesus should be a member of a local church but simply which one. God’s design for our lives as disciples is to be members of a local church. It’s a nonnegotiable in what it looks like to be a disciple-making disciple.1 Timothy 3:15–16 reminds us that all the instructions about what a local church is and how we should act in one are rooted in the gospel and in God’s mission to make disciples of all nations.Local churches are characterized by a combination of components:Right preaching of the gospel according to the ScripturesRight observance of baptism and communion Leadership and service of the elders and deaconsCovenant commitment of the believing members to God and one anotherGod designed us to live our lives in a web of familial relationships of covenant commitment—making a promise to God and one another to grow as a worshiper, family member, servant, steward, and witness. And we live that out as we baptize one another, share in communion, follow the leadership of the elders and be cared for by deacons, go tell the world about Jesus together and celebrate when new brothers and sisters join our family, and encourage one another toward hope as we wait for Jesus Christ to return again in glory and lead us to eternal life in the new creation.Resources:One in ChristSummit Church Membership CovenantStart the Membership Process at The Summit Church

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Family Member Identity Conversation Guide #1–God Made Us for FamilyIn this episode, Christy sits down with Lesley Hildreth, John Muller, and David Talbert for a conversation about living with the local church as family. Each guest shares their own journey to living with the local church as family, and then gives pointed and practical advice on how to take your next step to living with the local church as family. Then, we land the plane by each of them sharing how people can join in the family community at the Summit Church through small groups, women’s and men’s discipleship.

To be a healthy disciple of Jesus, you must live your life in and with a church family because God made us for family and made a family for us.God made us for family, and specifically to share in his communion of love. Romans 8:5-17 explains how we have received the Spirit of adoption, and we cry to the eternal Father, as our Father and because of that, we know and the Spirit knows that we really are now children of our Father, God. Children, we share in the benefits of his Son, Christ, with whom we are now heirs.God made a family for us–the church. The Bible’s story of God creating a family starts way back with God’s promise to Abraham to be the father of many nations that was fulfilled in Jesus. That by faith in Jesus, we join God’s family.So, when we believed in Jesus, we received everyone else who has trusted him as brothers and sisters, and ought to live that out by living with the local church as family.

Thank you so much for listening to Season 2 of The Whole Disciple Podcast! We hope this podcast is helping you grow deeper spiritually and also as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Share these episodes with family and friends to help them grow as well!Season 3 of The Whole Disciple will be back early next year with our Family Member season! Stay tuned!

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Worshiper Identity Conversation Guide #6In this episode, Christy sits down with Josh Ingram and Gus Pacheco for meaningful conversation about baptism and communion. They talk through why baptism and communion are some of the most exciting practices in the church, as well as discussing practical tips for how everyone can engage in a way that helps us all grow together to be more like Jesus.

In this episode, Christy rounds out her teaching on the ordinances by focusing on communion. Communion is the church’s gospel meal with two components: bread and wine. And the Bible says that as we eat the bread and drink the wine, we remember and proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.Christy walks through the significance of bread, wine, remembrance, and proclamation in communion and ends with some practical tips for how to engage in communion in a way that helps you grow to be more like Jesus.

In this episode, Christy teaches about the God-ordained practices of baptism and communion.She explains that baptism and communion are God-ordained gospel responses for us to grow to be more like Jesus. Baptism is our gospel portrait, and communion is our gospel meal.These practices are gospel responses that we experience not just with our minds and hearts, but with our bodies. Christy then dives deep into how baptism is about the gospel and talks about God’s plan to use baptism to make his church more like Jesus.

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Worshiper Identity Conversation Guide #5In this episode, Christy sits down with Curtis Andrusko and Raudel Hernandez to talk about preaching. They share their own stories of how they became preachers and then pull back the curtain on their sermon preparation process. Then, they talk through some practical steps for church members to be actively engaged in the sermon and listen to preaching in a way that helps them grow more like Jesus.

God expects his people to gather together to preach and hear the Bible. In this episode, Christy teaches from Colossians 1:24–29 about how preaching brings the Word of God, in order that the people of God would be more like Jesus. She ends with some practical next steps to grow as a worshiper through preaching:Listen and Prepare with ExpectationParticipate in the SermonReflect on the SermonUphold the Preachers with Prayer and Prioritize the Gospel Above All

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Worshiper Identity Conversation Guide #4In this episode, Christy sits down with Kyle Wilkinson, Janetta Oni, and Abby Hernandez to talk about worship through song. They all share their stories of how God grew in them a passion for worship through singing and how music fuels their love for God. They also talk through some of the complexities of gathered worship through singing, including how music affects our emotions and the challenges of worship music in a multicultural church family.

God expects his people to gather together to worship. Our weekend worship gathering is his idea, not ours. The practices of singing, preaching, baptism, and communion are ordained by God for our gathering to help us grow to be more like Jesus. In this episode, Christy teaches about worship through song by looking at Colossians 3:16 and the three different directions for our singing in that verse:Downward—God toward usOutward—Us toward each otherUpward—Us toward God

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Worshiper Identity Conversation Guide #3In this episode, Christy sits down with Pastor Chris Gaynor to talk about the ups and downs of prayer in real life. Pastor Chris shares his story of how he became passionate about prayer and pours out rich wisdom from his lifetime in ministry. Along the way, he explains some helpful and practical steps to help disciples of Jesus grow in praying.

Prayer is one of the most basic discipleship activities. In a really simple way, we might say prayer is just communicating with God—speaking and listening to him.Which means, prayer is ultimately about relationship. Through his life, death, and resurrection in our place, Jesus reconciled us to God and into a loving relationship with him—where he loves us and now, we love him back with our whole heart. And prayer is the ongoing expression of that right relationship with God in Jesus. Prayer is the way we delight in and wrestle with and just live daily life in relationship with God.This one time, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, said “Pray like this” and then gave us an example of how to pray. A lot of Christians call this “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “model prayer.” In this episode, Christy walks through The Lord’s Prayer line by line to help us understand how Jesus taught us to pray.

Discipleship happens in relationships, and we want to help! We’ve put together a discussion guide for you to facilitate conversations just like this one with the biblical community in your life!Worshiper Identity Conversation Guide #2In this episode Christy sits down with Eric Stortz and Michal Rudolph to talk about all things Bible reading in real life. They share their own passion for Bible reading, and give  some really practical advice for reading the Bible in different seasons of life. We get down to some of the nitty gritty of what to do when you sit down to read and how to do that in relationship with other Christians. Resources:Michal’s Practical Guide for Bible ReadingHow to Read the Bible Daily Revival on the Summit App

You can’t be a whole disciple without the Bible. From the very beginning of following Jesus, Scripture has been there—shaping how we hear the good news, believe it, and live it.In this episode, we explore Peter’s words in 2 Peter 1:16–21, where he compares his breathtaking experience on the Mount of Transfiguration with something even better: the Word of God. The Bible, he says, is a lamp that shines the light of Christ into our lives.We’ll talk about:Why the Bible is better than even the most powerful spiritual experiencesHow Scripture brings the light of Jesus into our heartsWhat it looks like to read the Bible with expectation and careThe Bible isn’t just words on a page—it’s where we encounter the living Christ by the Spirit’s power.

Worshipper Identity Conversation Guide #1: Discipleship happens in relationships. Use our Worshipper Identity Discussion Guide #1 to spark conversations with your small group, friends, or family.Season 2 of The Whole Disciple Podcast is all about our identity as worshippers. In this episode, Pastors Jonathan Welch and Joseph Scarfone share their stories of becoming worshippers of Jesus—and what it looks like to worship God in the whole of life.In this episode about Worshipping God Above All Else, we talk about:How everyday moments—driving, eating, parenting—can become worshipHow to practice Bible reading, prayer, and church life without falling into “do more, try harder”Why worship is both a me-thing and a we-thing, and how to build rhythms of worship in communityResources mentioned:The Valley of VisionBe Thou My VisionNo Greater Love: A Biblical Vision for Friendship — Rebecca McLaughlin

Season 2 of The Whole Disciple Podcast is all about our identity as worshippers. Each episode will explore what it means to live as people created for worship—and how that shapes every part of following Jesus.What is a worshipper, and what does that have to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ?In this episode, we explore how the gospel—“Jesus in my place”—is good news for worshippers. God made us to know, love, and obey Him, but we’ve all traded His glory for lesser things. The good news? Jesus lived the perfect life of worship we never could, and through Him we’re invited into true communion with God.We’ll also talk about how worship is both a me-thing and a we-thing—loving God always leads to loving others—and how the primary practices of a worshipper (Bible reading, prayer, and gathering with the church) shape our lives around Him.

Healthy disciples are always growing as worshipers, family members, servants, stewards, and witnesses. But how do we know what that looks like? A part of that is asking, “What’s my next step?”But in order to answer the inward-focused question, we first have to look outward. Before we ask, “Am I?” we look to Jesus and say, “He is.” Only when we look to him do we see ourselves rightly, because our very life is “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Before any of our discipleship identities, we are identified with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. Even our personal reflection must always put the gospel above all.This is exactly what Jesus commissioned us to do. After his resurrection and before he ascended into heaven, Jesus gave final instructions to his disciples (like, the 11—but also us) that involved a whole lot of acting and obeying.We often call Matthew 28:18–20 the “Great Commission.” This is what it says: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”So where do we go? We go everywhere. Everywhere there are people, we go to be disciples who make disciples. Sometimes, we go across the street. Other times, we go around the world. And what do we do? After we’ve responded to the gospel, believing in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we get baptized. Then, after we’re baptized, it’s pretty simple—we just do everything Jesus tells us to do and lead others to do the same. So simple … 🙂 It sure does sound simple, but it’s a whole lifetime of next steps to keep growing in obeying Jesus, being like him, and leading others to know, love, and obey him above all else. Some practical next steps might be:Worshiper—pray, read the Bible, engage in weekend worship servicesFamily member—join a small groupServant—join a serving teamSteward—give the firstfruits of your financesWitness—tell one person about JesusSo what’s your next step to grow as a whole disciple?ResourcesWe Make Disciples, Not Just Converts (J.D. Greear)Join a Women's Bible StudyJoin a Men's Bible StudyJoin a Small Group at The Summit ChurchJoin a Serving Team at The Summit ChurchGive the First-fruits of Your Finances at The Summit Church

What does it really look like to grow as a whole disciple—day by day, season by season?In this episode of The Whole Disciple, Christy sits down with Kivett, Lauren, and Richard—three members of the Summit Church family—for a real, honest conversation about how they’ve grown in the five identities of a disciple: Worshiper, Family Member, Servant, Steward, and Witness.Through everyday stories of parenting, college ministry, church life, and learning to trust God in hard seasons, you’ll hear how discipleship is often messy, but always worth it. Whether you're just beginning your walk with Jesus or looking to take your next step, this conversation will encourage you to grow as a disciple who makes disciples.📖 Learn more about becoming a whole disciple at https://summitchurch.com/disciple

What is a disciple? In a general way, “disciple” just means being a follower or student of something or someone. As Christians, we mean that we are followers or students of Jesus Christ, which is a very special kind of disciple. If you’re a disciple of anyone else, the entire focus of your discipleship is about what you do. You are measured by your own work against the standard of your master’s work.But being a disciple of Jesus isn’t like that at all. Jesus has already completed the work of a disciple. He’s the perfect human, and he has gifted his perfection to you before you even thought about growing as his disciple. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not about what we do; it’s about who we are in Christ. It’s not about action. It’s about identity.At The Summit Church, we realized we needed a way to talk about our identity in Christ, to give us a way to describe who we are in him and who we are becoming as whole disciples. We identified these five identities of a disciple to help us do that:Worshiper: seeks to know, love, and obey God above all elseFamily Member: lives with the local church as familyServant: gives of themselves for the good of othersSteward: uses their time, talent, and treasure to know God and make him knownWitness: proclaims Christ in word and deedThese identities are not random or isolated, but are unified in Jesus. So growing as a whole disciple is growing more into Christ and becoming more like Christ.ResourcesSummitchurch.com/disciple

In this episode, Christy sits down with Pastor Bryan Loritts to talk about what it means for Jesus to be the center of all things.Pastor Bryan shares some of his story of how he first met Jesus through the investment of his church and his parents. Then, as he became a Christian, his parents discipled him by training him in the faith through reading the Bible, prayer, telling others about Jesus, and caring for people in need.Pastor Bryan explains how Jesus being the center implies both a vertical and a horizontal dimension. The gospel should always seep out of your life in transformative ways relationally. The gospel should always be bearing fruit in impacting others. Just like what we see in Ephesians 2, that begins in the vertical and immediately moves into the horizontal.As parents, we ought to hold Jesus at the center through intentional decisions of disciple making, while at the same time maintaining a healthy gospel distance between their successes and their failures. Parents can’t take credit for the work of the Holy Spirit. When we think about Jesus at the center of the church, Pastor Bryan explains that the number one enemy to engaging in the Great Commission to make disciples is busyness. If we want to be able to do the work of Jesus, we have to have a lot of margin in our schedules, and that takes intentionality for all of us. We have to learn to say no.

Who does the gospel say Jesus is? Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior.Jesus Is the Son of GodWhen Christians say and believe Jesus is the Son of God, one of the most important things that we mean is that everything it means to be God, Jesus is. The book of Hebrews says it this way: “He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3 ESV). In other words, all that God is—Jesus is that. He is the exact imprint of God’s nature.He’s the one through whom we were created, and we are his. He’s the God we were made to know, love, and obey above all else. He’s the God that we reject when we walk our own path in sin and rebellion. He’s the God who delivered us out of sin and darkness and brought us into his kingdom of light. He’s the God who deserves all worship and adoration from all people across all time. He’s the head of our church family. He’s the one we serve. He’s the one who has given us everything we have. Everything it means to be God, Jesus is. Everything God has done, Jesus did. Everything God deserves, Jesus deserves.Jesus Is the SaviorBecause he is Savior, we say, “Everything it means to be human, Jesus is.” In his humanity, Jesus became just like us. The book of Hebrews says it this way: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things” (Hebrews 2:14). In other words, Jesus became a human just like you and me so that he might save us. Because he is human, we can say, “Jesus in my place.”That makes Jesus himself the Whole Disciple. He is the fully mature human that we are becoming. He’s the perfect worshiper, who worshiped God perfectly every day of his life. He’s the perfect family member, who loved people as family. He’s the perfect servant, who came not to be served but to serve. He’s the perfect steward, who used God’s resources to know God and make him known without fault. And he’s the perfect witness, who preached the good news about himself to the world.

In this episode, Christy sits down with Pastor J.D. Greear to talk about what it means to prioritize the gospel above all, and what that looks like in real life.Pastor J.D. shares his story of how he first became a follower of Christ as a young man. His story opened up an opportunity for us to discuss how your being saved always happens at an exact moment, but we don’t always know exactly when that moment is. But if we’re trusting him now, like sitting in a chair, then we know for sure that we are saved.Why does The Summit Church prioritize the gospel above all? Pastor J.D. explains that it is because Jesus made reaching the lost the mission of his own life, and when he left earth, he gave us the identity of being his witnesses. So as we prioritize the gospel above all, we are walking in the paths that God laid out for us and emphasizing the things Jesus says are most important.What does it look like for us to prioritize the gospel in our own lives? We prioritize the gospel by preaching the gospel to ourselves every day. Pastor J.D. walked us through the gospel prayer he wrote about in his book Gospel, that says, “In Christ there is nothing I can do to make you love me more, and there is nothing I have done that can make you love me any less. You are all I need for everlasting joy. As you’ve been to me, so I will be to others. As I pray, I’ll measure your power to save by the resurrection and your willingness to save by the cross.”As we grow as disciples, we take intentional steps to remember the gospel, and as we do so, it forms us so that we actually become like Jesus Christ.ResourcesGospel by J.D. Greear

Being a disciple is all about the gospel. Believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ is how we became disciples, continuing to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ is how we grow as disciples, and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is how we make disciples. “Gospel” means “Good News”, and at the Summit, we explain that good news as “Jesus in my place.” Jesus lived in my place. He died in my place, and in his resurrection he gives us his place of life forever.Jesus’s life is good news because our lives are a mess. God made all humans to live in a loving relationship with him. He loves us, and he made us to know, love and obey him above all else. But not one of us has chosen the life God made for us. So, Jesus came to live the perfectly life of obedience we didn’t live.Jesus’s death is good news because we had all received that bad news that we deserved the punishment of death. But God still loves us, so, not only did he send his Son, Jesus, to take on himself the punishment that we deserved. Then, Jesus came back to life! When Jesus died in our place, he didn’t stay dead, and in Jesus’s resurrection, he gives us his place of life forever. Life is a God thing. He is life and he gives life. So, Jesus’s place is the place of eternal life. And through his resurrection, he gives that life to usJesus offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe. Will you believe in Jesus today? Who will you tell the gospel to?Resources https://vimeo.com/summitrdusermons/review/963185559/f630086145