The Coworkers Podcast

Jesse, Shanee
  • 5.0 (100)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Monthly

Do you want to grow in teaming with others to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you want to help others embrace their unique roles in the work? God wants to use all believers in powerful and diverse ways in His mission. In this podcast, we dig into the Bible, hear from fruitful coworkers around the world, and share practical tools from our almost 20 years of missions experience. Join us on The Coworkers Podcast... Where Every Believer is a Coworker in God's mission.

  1. 5d ago

    What's the Best Way to Plant a Church: Celebrating Different Models of Church Planting

    Listen in as we discuss and celebrate four common models of church plants, and the need to pursue maturing and multiplying for every model. We explain the following models: hive church, cell church, circuit rider, and group to church models.

  2. Oct 23

    What's It Take to Start a Church? (A Handy Guide to Church Formation)

    What does it take to start a church? Listen in as we share a helpful tool for church formation: The Handy Guide to Healthy Church. 1 – Head: Jesus Christ2 – Sources of Power: The Word and the Spirit3 – Types of Ministers: Saints, Shepherds & Servants, Sent-Ones4 – Pictures of Church: Body, Bride, Building, Family5 – Essentials of Church: Baptism, Teaching the Word, Fellowship, Lord’s Supper, Prayer   The New Testament pattern (the Work) is a clear path from entry that leads to multiplying church. Complexity grows as we progress through the components of the Work. Therefore, when we come to church formation, it’s hard to cover all the biblical principles of church in just one session. But we need a starting place as we practically consider how we’ll move a group of disciples to church.Handy Guide for Church:1 – Head: Jesus Christ2 – Sources of Power: The Word and the Spirit3 – Types of Ministers: Saints, Shepherds & Servants, Sent-Ones4 – Pictures of Church: Body, Bride, Building, Family5 – Essentials of Church: Baptism, Teaching the Word, Fellowship, Lord’s Supper, PrayerLet’s go through each point in more detail:1. One Head: Jesus Christ• Eph 1:22-23 "And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."• Eph 4:15-16 "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."• Eph 5:23 "For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior."• Col 1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent."• There is only one head of the church, and that is Christ. No other head.o Pastors/elders are not head of the church.o Denominations/unions/networks are not head of the church.• Christ is authority over the church.o He directs the church's life and mission.o He is the source of all life in the church.o His glory is the aim of the church.• There is no hierarchy in the body of Christ.o Each member is part of the body, has equal access to Christ, and is mutually accountable to submit to Christ's will.Under Christ's headship, the congregation makes decisions according to the Scriptures.2. Two Sources of Power: The Word and the Spirit• Matt 28:18-20 "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."• 2 Tim 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”• Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”• John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”• God has given to the church his Word and his Spirit to accomplish all that He has commanded – to carry out his Great Commission, by proclaiming the gospel, making disciples, forming churches, and entrusting the church to local leaders.• Consistently, through the NT, we see the Spirit-empowered ministry of the Word as the means to multiplying and maturing disciples, churches, and leaders.3. Three Types of Ministers: Saints, Shepherds & Servants, Sent-Ones• Broadly, we see three categories of ministers in the NT:o Saints – all believers – set apart as a people unto the Lordo Shepherds & Servants – pastors/elders and deacons – set apart for the ministry of the local churcho Sent-Ones – missionaries and planters – set apart for the Work among unreached peoples and places4. Four Pictures of Church: Body, Bride, Building, Family• Our vision is to see local churches that look like what God intended. In the New Testament, God uses these four word-pictures to show us who and what the Church is supposed to be. • Body – The Church as the Body of Christ means that the church is meant to be a collection of individual people, gifted by the Spirit, that is joined together as one. We are meant to grow together and to build up the body together under our Head, Jesus Christ.Scriptures: 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16• Bride –The Church is the Bride of Christ. Jesus treasures His bride, the Church, and loves Her. He is actively working to sanctify His Church so that He can present the Church to Himself in splendor.Scriptures: Eph. 5:25-27, 31-32; Rev. 19:7-8; 21:2• Building –The Church is God’s Building or His Temple, the place where the Spirit dwells among His people. The Church is founded on Jesus Christ and made up of believers who are like “living stones” that make up the building.Scriptures: 1 Cor. 3:16-17; Eph. 2:20-22• Family – The Church is the family of God, His Household. We are called His people and the members of His household. This is why Christians refer to one another as brother and sister, because we recognize God as the Father and ourselves as His children.Scriptures: Eph. 2:18-19; Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rom. 8:14-175. Five Essentials of Church: Baptism, Teaching the Word, Fellowship, Lord’s Supper, and Prayer• Acts 2:41-42 “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”• When does a group of disciples become a church? While we’d all agree that the goal of church formation is to see a church mature into the full stature of Christ’s likeness (e.g., the IMB’s 12 Characteristics of a Healthy Church), that’s not where we start. These five biblical minimums need to be in place before a group of disciples can start identifying as a church.

  3. Sep 28

    JD Greear on Thriving for Life (and Not Shipwrecking Your Faith!)

    Our friend JD Greear, best-selling author, preacher, and pastor of The Summit Church RDU, joins us to share wisdom on longevity in ministry: how do we continue thriving spiritually and in ministry as we age, especially as we see so many ministry leaders experience moral failures?

  4. Sep 14

    Keep Your Soul: Obsessed with the Word, Holding Fast to God

    I (Shanee) have been studying Deuteronomy all summer, and wanted to share with you a special lesson from the Lord from Deuteronomy: We must guard our souls diligently, lest we fall into idolatry and disobedience, by being obsessed with God's Word and holding fast to God. I also share some ways that this lesson has helped me to re-intentionalize rhythms for guarding my soul and our family's souls diligently as we start a new school year. Enjoy!

  5. Aug 31

    Summer Spotlight: Dealing with Personal Failure: Self-Talk and Walking in the Light

    How we respond when we fail reveals a lot about our hearts and how well we are believing and applying the gospel to our lives. Listen in as Jesse shares about how God unexpectedly used a recent "failure" in Jesse's life to reveal pride and shame in his heart, and to open up some powerful communication in our family on how we should respond when we fail.

  6. Aug 24

    Summer Spotlight: Should Missionaries Pursue Multiplication or Maturity? Movements or Healthy Churches?

    There is a lot of discussion in the missions world on "multiplication vs. maturity" or "movement vs. healthy church." How should we think about these 2 different emphases in the work? Which is more important? Listen in as Jesse shares from Colossions that all missionaries must be furiously committed to both.

  7. Aug 17

    Summer Spotlight: From Shame to Radiance

    Shame is a universal emotion, but God does not want His beloved children to live in ongoing shame. Listen in for 3 necessities to be delivered from shame- Know you are acceptable to God; see yourself as God sees you; and tell the hard parts of your story to others.  Psalm 34:5- “Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” Resources Mentioned: Curt Thompson- The Soul of Shame; The Soul of Desire Brene Brown- Daring Greatly Lysa Terkuerst- Forgiving What You Can't Forget John Bradshaw- Healing the Shame That Binds You Jamie Ivey- If You Only Knew Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast- Therapy and Theology: Good Guilt vs. Destructive Shame; Therapy and Theology: Stop the Shame Scripts Holding You Back Connect with Us: The Coworkers Podcast website Email: coworkersstudy@gmail.com

  8. Aug 10

    Summer Spotlight: Shame: What Does the Bible Actually Say About It?

    Shame  and being set free from shame is such a hot topic, in both Christian and secular circles. Resources abound, but what does the Bible actually say? As we completed a biblical survey on shame, we were surprised at how much the Bible had to say on this topic! Listen in as we share key biblical principles that are necessary in order to deal with the universal emotion of shame. Biblical Survey on Shame: I. Genesis 2-3- Naked and unashamed… No sin, nothing to hide from one another or God, perfect unity in relationships, acceptance of one another. After sinning, they hid and covered themselves and were afraid… shame leads to fear, hiding parts of ourselves, isolation, and disconnection. Shame came when sin entered the world.  Now, there are two general sources of shame- directly from personal and/or corporate sin, or indirectly due to the brokenness in the world.  There are also biblical examples of people trying to make others feel ashamed for things they shouldn’t feel ashamed of, such as barrenness. So there is appropriate shame and inappropriate shame.  II. Appropriate shame due to sinful behavior in Proverbs and prophets:Proverbs: There are ways of foolish or sinful living, such as dishonesty, gluttony, and laziness, that are shameful, that bring shame on oneself and one’s parents or spouse. -Prov 10:5 -Prov 12:4 -Prov 13:5 -Prov 17:2 -Prov 18:13 -Prov 19:26 -Prov 28:7 -Prov 29:15Sexual sin/misconduct is especially shameful: -Lev. 20:17 -2 Sam. 13:12-13 -Matt. 1:19 -Rom. 1:27Isaiah: A life of rejecting God and worshipping idols is the most shameful life. Idolatry always leads to shame and disappointment. -Is 30:3-5 -Is 41:8, 10, 11 -Is 42:9-11 -Is 42:17 -Is 45:16-17, 19, 24-25 -Is 49 -Is 50:6-9 -Is 51:7, 12-13 -Is 61:7 Sometimes shame is due to both sin and resulting defeat from enemies and/or God’s judgment: -Ezra 8:22 -Ezra 9:6-7 -Neh. 1:3 -Daniel 9:7 III. Shame not directly due to personal sin, but due to perceived failure, deficiency, or defeat:Barrenness was considered shameful by society: -Gen. 30:23 -1 Sam. 1:6 -Luke 1:6 Being defeated by enemies feels shameful: -1 Sam. 17:26 -2 Sam. 10:5 / 1 Chron. 19:5 -2 Kings 18 -2 Chron. 32:21 2 Sam. 19:3, 5-Shame due to disapproval from others, but not necessarily personal sin.Sometimes shame is a result of seeing others’ devotion and our lack of devotion (comparison): 2 Chron. 30:15 Now let’s see how God responds. IV. When shame is an appropriate response to sin and a part of true confession and repentance, God is always ready to receive His children, welcome them into His Presence, replace their shame with gladness, and heal their faithlessness.  -Jer. 3:19-25; 4:2, 4, 14 -Jer. 31V. When people continue in shameless sin, pride, and idolatry, God shames and judges them. In the book of Jeremiah, God’s people are persisting in unrepentant idolatry, defiling God’s places of worship with idolatry, and prophets are lying to the people in the name of God. God warns His people many times, but they are stiff-necked, stubborn, and unashamed of their idolatry. “They do not know how to blush.” God shames Israel and sends judgment upon them- for their unrepentant idolatry, for changing their glory (God) for that which does not profit (false gods), which is appalling, evil, and bitter. But God’s heart is ALWAYS that His judgment (and shaming words) would lead to them feeling a proper shame over their sin, confess, turn back to God, and be restored. He remains ready to receive them, heal them, and turn their shame into joy. God’s judgment of Israel’s shameless idolatry and refusal to repent in Jeremiah:-Jer. 2:11-13, 26, 36-Jer. 5:3, 30, 31; 6:13-15-Jer. 6:13-20-Jer. 7:18-20 -Jer. 8:5-6, 9-Jer. 10:14-16-Jer. 11:12-15-Jer. 13:24-27-Jer. 17:13-Jer. 23:40 The book of Jeremiah ends with God’s judgment on foreign nations and Israel’s enemies who rejected God and continued in shameless sin, pride, and idolatry (Jer. 46-51). Their sin and idolatry led to their shame, disappointment, and God’s judgment. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise that His enemies would be ultimately shamed, and His people would be ultimately honored.  Jer. 46:12, 24 Jer. 51:17, 47-53 Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Zechariah all continue the theme of unrepentant idolatry leading to shame and God’s judgment, and when repentant, to restoration with God.  Ez. 7:18; Ez. 16:61, 63; Ez. 32:24, 25, 30 Ez. 39:25-26 Ez. 43:10-11 Ez. 44:10-13 -Hosea 2:5; Hos. 4:7, 18; Hos. 9:10; Hos. 10:6. NT examples of God shaming prideful, unrepentant, shameless people: -Luke 13:16-17 -1 Cor. 1:27 -Rev. 3:18 VI. God promises not to let His people be put to shame (be ultimately defeated, ridiculed, or proven wrong), but to in the end to defend them, give them justice, honor, and eternal life. God’s enemies will ultimately be put to shame. -Psalm 25:2-3, 20 -Psalm 34 -Psalm 71:1, 13, 24 -Ps 97:7 -Daniel 12:2 -Rom. 5:3-5 -Rom. 9:33 -Rom. 10:11 -Phil. 1:20 -Heb. 11:16 -1 Peter 2:6-7 VII. Jesus was shamefully treated (ridiculed, mocked, considered a failure, embarrassed, dishonored)- by others and b/c of our sin- in our place on the cross. On the cross he took not only our sin, but also the accompanying shame, for us. On the cross, he defeated Satan and all his enemies, putting them to shame. -Psalm 22 -Isaiah 53 -Luke 18:32 -Heb. 12:2 -Col. 2:15 -Rom. 8:1VIII. Jesus-followers are commanded by Jesus to follow Him and not be ashamed of Him, the gospel, or suffering for the gospel, at all cost. -Jeremiah warned the people of judgment for their sin and idolatry, in the face of persecution and rejection (and feeling shamed), and trusted God to ultimately honor him and shame the people.-Jer. 17:  -Jer. 20:11, 18-  -Jer. 37-38- -Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26 -Rom. 1:16 -1 Thess. 2:2- -2 Tim. 1:8, 12 -2 Tim. 1:16 -1 Peter 4:16 -Heb. 2:11 IX. Believers have been set free from sinful lifestyles that lead to shame, unfruitfulness, and death. Believers should live honorable lifestyles that will not put them to shame, but that results in fruit, sanctification, and eternal life, and puts their opponents to shame. -Rom. 6:21-22 -Phil. 3:19 -2 Tim. 2:15 -Titus 2:8 -1 Peter 3:16  -1 Peter 5:2 -Jesus taught His followers to purposefully humble themselves, take lower positions, and allow other people to exalt us, instead of exalting ourselves, which could lead to shame (embarrassment). Luke 14:9. -Believers can be put to shame by other believers’ behavior. 2 Cor. 7:14. X. Sometimes believers need to rebuke one another for doing shameful things. -1 Cor. 6:5 -1 Cor. 14:35 -1 Cor. 15:34 -Eph. 5:12 -2 Thess. 3:14 -Titus 1:11 -We also can call out and rebuke others’ sin without shaming them. 1 Cor. 4:14. XI. Sometimes, people “shame” others in order to express their anger, contempt, or criticism, and when it is unfair, we can refuse to be ashamed. -1 Sam. 20:30, 34 -2 Sam. 6:20-22 -Job’s friends tried to shame him many times: 6:20; Job 8:22. Job 10:15 Job 11:3; Job 19:3In the face of unfair criticism, Paul defended his ministry and refused to be ashamed: 2 Cor. 10:8; 2 Cor. 11:21

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Do you want to grow in teaming with others to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you want to help others embrace their unique roles in the work? God wants to use all believers in powerful and diverse ways in His mission. In this podcast, we dig into the Bible, hear from fruitful coworkers around the world, and share practical tools from our almost 20 years of missions experience. Join us on The Coworkers Podcast... Where Every Believer is a Coworker in God's mission.

Information

  • Creator
    Jesse, Shanee
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    203
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2020 The Coworkers Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Coworkers Podcast

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