Discipleship is the most-used word in the church right now, and almost no one can define it.

Most of what we call discipleship isn't. It's a good thing that got mistaken for the whole thing. Bible study, Sunday attendance, serving, a powerful moment at a conference. All real. None of them, on their own, is discipleship.

Jeremy and Alex walk through the activities churches most often confuse with discipleship and explain what each one actually is: a piece, a vehicle, a starting point, but not the destination. Then they give you the definition that ties it together, so you can tell the difference in your own group.

In this episode:

• A plain definition of "disciple" and "discipleship" you can put on the wall and use this week

• Why a missing definition quietly sets your whole group off course

• The ownership principle, and the underground-church story behind it

• What discipleship is not, and why good things like Bible study get mistaken for it

Want a free, proven process for making disciples who make disciples? Start at ordinarymovement.com.

Ordinary Movement is a discipleship platform that equips men and women to be disciples who make disciples. Our focus is on supporting small groups led by ordinary/everyday Christians. We have specialized discipleship tracks that center around Intimacy with Jesus, Intentional Relationships, and Multiplication. Groups are designed for individuals to easily engage in leading groups.

Ready to be a disciple who makes disciples?

If so, come and join us!

Visit ordinarymovement.com to learn more!#discipleship #disciplemaking #disciple

He gave his life to Jesus on a mountaintop in 1971 — and he's been reproducing his faith every single year since. He's in his 70s now. An auto mechanic by trade. No seminary, no title, no platform. And he has no intention of slowing down.

I didn't sit down with Jim Albert to teach. I sat down to get challenged — and to learn from a man who's been making disciples longer than I've been alive.

Jim spent the Cold War running missions out of Vienna into the Eastern Bloc. Today he's leading men into the hardest-to-reach places in India and discipling guys one-on-one in a Fredericksburg coffee shop. We talked about why discipleship is simple but not easy, the difference between making Jesus your Savior and your Lord, the "ABCs" of a quiet time he learned 50 years ago, why so many churches keep majoring on the minors — and the one verb in the Great Commission that most of them quietly ignore.

If you've ever felt too unqualified, too under schooled, or too far along in life to make disciples — Jim is living proof that's a lie. This is exactly the kind of ordinary man this whole thing is for.

Jason Shepperd built a megachurch that has no small groups. Instead, more than 4,000 people across Houston meet weekly in dozens of house churches, each one led by an unpaid lay pastor with a day job: firefighters, business owners, real estate guys doing the actual pastoral work of the church. He calls it "a church of house churches" and it might be the most unusual functioning church structure in America.In this conversation, Jason sits down with Jeremy McCommons and Alex Rossie to break down how the model actually works, why he believes the traditional church model is broken, and what he learned reading the New Testament that he couldn't unsee.We get into:- Why a house church is fundamentally different from a small group- How lay pastors (firefighters, business owners, real estate guys) do the actual pastoring- Why Church Project runs on one-quarter the staff of a typical megachurch its size- Why Jason refuses to call this a "model he invented" and what he means by eDNA- How Church Project gives away nearly half its operating budget every year- Why most church buildings are bad stewardship (and how Church Project's building pays for itself)- The "three D's" that hold the whole structure together- What Jason would say to a 35-year-old church planter who's tired of the traditional modelIf you're a pastor, a small group leader, a church planter, or someone who's quietly wondering whether there's a better way to do church, this one is for you.⏱️ Timestamps:0:00 The stewardship of space and spiritual gifts1:15 Meet Jason Shepperd and Church Project3:30 What is the church, actually?8:45 Why Jason started Church Project12:10 What eDNA means and why it matters16:20 House church vs. small group: the real difference22:00 The three D's: distributed, decentralized, diverse28:40 Sunday gatherings without centralization33:15 What Jason says to pastors considering this model39:00 How Church Project handles finances44:30 Why most church buildings are bad stewardship49:00 Pirates and cruise ships: how to build without tearing down🔗 Resources:Jason Shepperd's site: https://jasonshepperd.comChurch Project Network: https://churchprojectnetwork.com"A Church of House Churches" by Jason Shepperd (book, available on Amazon)"Rethink & Return" podcast by Jason Shepperd📍 About Ordinary Movement:We help ordinary believers become disciples who make disciples. Free training, a simple discipleship process, and a global community of leaders. Start a group at https://ordinarymovement.com#HouseChurch #ChurchModel #ChurchPlanting #Discipleship #SmallGroups #ChurchLeadership