Josiah Smith is the senior leader and founding pastor of New Hope Community Church in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Central Bible College, he has a passion for building up the Church across denominational lines, seeing new churches planted, and teaching the Bible in a practical and understandable way. He is an ordained minister in the Church of God (Cleveland, TN).
You can find Josiah on:
Or check out his work at pathwaybookstore.com.
Resources
Along the Way by Josiah Smith
Unbound by Neal Lozano
When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
Episode Audio:
Chapter 1 - Building a Church on Relationships
Are you tired of going to church each week simply looking for what you can get out of it? What if we stopped looking at church with such a consumeristic mindset? What if we became eager participants in the discipleship journey? How would it change your life? The church isn’t meant to be an organization that puts on an event once a week. It is meant to be a community of people seeking to worship God and grow in our relationship with Christ. But transitioning from a consumer of the church to a participant in the life of the church can be challenging if we’re not ready for it. Josiah Smith’s book, Along the Way, came about because of his desire to see his church make such a transformation. In this chapter, we talk to him about some of the challenges and victories his church has faced along the way.
Chapter 2 - Journeying with Jesus in the Kingdom
Discipleship is a lifelong process. It's tough to remember this at times because we want to have arrived at the destination. We want the journey to be done and to have received our reward. But there are certain lessons that can only be learned during the journey. It's a transformational journey that we take with Jesus and with the people alongside us. In this chapter, Josiah lays out some of the basic principles he's learned for walking this journey with Jesus and others. It's a lifelong journey built on those relationships. And as we travel, Jesus begins to transform us, teaching us the good news of the Gospel and teaching us to let go of things like unforgiveness and our own self-centered desires.
Chapter 3 - How to Walk with Someone in a Coaching Relationship
We often think about discipleship in terms of our own journey. We tend to focus only on ourselves. But as we’ve talked about this week with Josiah, discipleship is a journey we must take with others.That’s why Step 3 in how to create a lifestyle of discipleship is to walk with others. Because we aren’t meant to walk alone. But as in every lifestyle, one habit or activity doesn’t make a lifestyle. A Lifestyle is made up of many habits and routines that once combined, encompass our entire lives and direct the way we live. That’s why Step 3, Walk with Others, goes so well with Step 5, Make other Disciples. Because you can’t disciple others unless you are walking with them. And the best way to make these steps part of your everyday life is to be intentional.
Chapter 4 - Discipleship Starts with Grace
1 John 4:19 says we love because God first loved us. In other words, if we have seen and tasted God's goodness, his grace, and his love, it gives us a desire to begin the journey of becoming like him. So really, the discipleship lifestyle isn't started by us. God's grace and love give us a taste for it that calls us further along the path to becoming like him. And it's this lesson that Josiah unpacks for us in this chapter.
Chapter 5 - Being Intentional About Developing Relationships
We are never passive participants in a discipleship relationship. It's something that takes intentionality. But how is it that we go about developing relationships intentionally? In this chapter, Chris and Josh discuss a few of the lessons they learned from talking with Josiah Smith and the ways they've found to be intentional about walking with others.