This week's download, Transforming Nominal Christians, is designed to help you assess how well your church challenges and disciples attenders. The piece below gives another model for the idea of discipleship: re-parenting.

To seize upon one of our Lord's favorite metaphors, the "fish" business these days is not as simple as it once seemed. The human fish now come out of outrageously polluted cultural waters, and they bring all the effects of their pollutedness with them. So how do you develop leaders–productive disciples of Jesus–from such a population?

The word re-parenting comes to mind. It suggests an effort at conversion, discipleship, and leadership development–a thorough renovation of one's life in line with Paul's strong words: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." Not just a nicer person, but a new creation. Re-birthed! And if re-birthed, then also re-parented.

Re-parenting is selective. You pick a specific group of people and tell them why you've picked them. You tell ...