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    The Road to Amazing: Basics of Christian Practice
    The Road to Amazing: Basics of Christian Practice
    The Road to Amazing: Basics of Christian Practice
    Ebook96 pages1 hour

    The Road to Amazing: Basics of Christian Practice

    By Clayton Oliphint and Mary Brooke Casad

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    About this ebook

    After you invite Christ into your life, then what? The Road to Amazing, part of The Basics Series, answers questions about the essentials of Christian practice. Used as a standalone study, the book provides a suggested course of action that will help you understand who God is and who you are as a child of God. Or if you’re a small-group leader, the book can also be used as a 4-week study. It is designed to stimulate “holy conversation” among members of your class and equip them in the faith so they can be sent out to serve in Jesus’ name. Includes a Leader Guide with everything a group leader needs to plan and facilitate the study along with options for tailoring sessions to the time-frame and style of each group. 

    A well-crafted road map to transformation for Christ followers filled with practical lessons and impactful stories that touch the heart and challenge the mind. —Jane Boatwright Wood, President, The Foundation for Evangelism

    Through inspirational stories and insightful interpretation of Scripture we are invited to receive God’s grace-filled love and share it with others. —John L. Hopkins, Bishop of the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church

    Clayton Oliphint and Mary Brook Casad are faithful and fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ who have much to share with others about the basics of Christian practice. I have been blessed and challenged by their personal testimonies in this book. —Zan W. Holmes, Jr., Pastor Emeritus, St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbingdon Press
    Release dateFeb 2, 2016
    ISBN9781501813146
    The Road to Amazing: Basics of Christian Practice
    Author

    Clayton Oliphint

    Since 2001, Clayton Oliphint has served as senior pastor at the 6,000-member First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas. Dr. Oliphint received a B.A. in History and Religion from Austin College and Master of Divinity and Doctor of Divinity degrees from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Clayton and his wife, Lori, both “preacher’s kids,” are the parents of three children.

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      Book preview

      The Road to Amazing - Clayton Oliphint

      9781501813146_Cover.jpg

      The Road to Amazing

      The Road to Amazing

      The Basics

      The Basics

      Citizens of Hope: Basics of Christian Identity

      978-1-5018-1309-2 Study Book

      978-1-5018-1310-8 eBook

      978-1-5018-1311-5 Leader Guide

      978-1-5018-1312-2 Leader Guide eBook

      The Road to Amazing: Basics of Christian Practice

      978-1-5018-1313-9 Study Book

      978-1-5018-1314-6 eBook

      978-1-5018-1315-3 Leader Guide

      978-1-5018-1316-0 Leader Guide eBook

      Get in the Game: Basics of Christian Service

      978-1-5018-1317-7 Study Book

      978-1-5018-1318-4 eBook

      978-1-5018-1319-1 Leader Guide

      978-1-5018-1320-7 Leader Guide eBook

      For more information, visit www.AbingdonPress.com.

      Title Page

      23004.png

      Copyright Page

      The Road to Amazing

      Basics of Christian Practice

      Copyright © 2016 by Abingdon Press All rights reserved.

      No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228-0988; or e-mailed to permissions@umpublishing.org.

      ISBN 978-1-5018-1314-6

      All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Dedication

      To our families:

      (Clayton) Lori, Erin, Katy, Grant

      (Mary Brooke) Vic, Carter, McCrae, Melissa, Revol, Patrick, Ana—

      Each of you, in your own way, makes the road we walk amazing!

      Contents

      Contents

      About the Authors

      Introduction

      How to Use This Book

      1. Baptism: The Journey Begins

      2. Defining Moments on the Journey

      3. Transforming Journey

      4. The Road to Amazing

      Acknowledgments

      About the Authors

      About the Authors

      23028.png

      Clayton Oliphint and Mary Brooke Casad are siblings who share a passion for discipleship and helping others grow as followers of Jesus Christ. They grew up in four United Methodist congregations in Louisiana and Texas where their father, the late Ben Oliphint, was pastor. Following his election to the episcopacy in 1980, he served the Topeka and Houston areas. Both Clayton and Mary Brooke are married to fellow preacher’s kids who share their rich heritage of faith and ministry.

      Clayton is senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas, a church of six thousand members. He received his undergraduate degree from Austin College and a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Perkins School of Theology. He and his wife, Lori, are the parents of three children. Beyond his church and local community involvement, he serves on the steering committee of the Office of Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships of The United Methodist Church, and as a director of the Texas Methodist Foundation Board.

      Mary Brooke is former Executive Secretary of the Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church. She served as Director of Connectional Ministries in the Dallas area from 1997 to 2007. Currently, she is a trustee and past chair of the Foundation for Evangelism and a director of the Texas Methodist Foundation Board. She has a degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University and is the author of several Bluebonnet the Armadillo children’s books, written to teach Texas children about their rich local heritage. She and her clergy husband, Vic, have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren. They live in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

      Clayton and Mary Brooke are coauthors of The Basics series. Drawing on their rich faith heritage, they write with a warm storytelling approach that resonates and helps make practical connections between faith and action.

      Introduction

      Introduction

      For many centuries, the word journey has been used when describing the life of a follower of Jesus. It is a word that helps us understand that being a Christian is not reaching a fixed point—rather, we are walking the road that leads to salvation and freedom, striving to follow the example of Christ. The journey is not always smooth or easy, but it is filled with remarkable moments of insight and blessing. Along the way, Jesus shows up and surprises us. He is our traveling companion, walking the road with us, even when we are not aware of his presence.

      Each summer, the church Clayton pastors hosts a Vacation Bible School in an apartment complex close to the church campus. Most of the children come from homes where the parents do not speak English as their first language. One summer, the theme of the VBS was Bible stories. Each day featured a different story from the Bible: Jacob and Esau, David and Goliath, Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes, and Jesus on the road to Emmaus. On the last day of the school, the teachers asked the children, What was your favorite story that you learned this week? Some said, I liked David and Goliath. Some said, I liked the one about the loaves and fishes. Others said, I liked Jacob and Esau. But one little boy raised his hand and said, My favorite is that story about the road to amazing. It is the story of faith for me.

      That little boy had remarkable insight. The journey with Jesus is truly the road to amazing! Beginning at our baptism, this journey with Jesus takes us to unexpected places. We must decide who this Jesus is and what he is all about. If Jesus is the Messiah, what implications does this have for our lives? What does it mean for us to follow him on this amazing journey?

      The journey is also a pathway to transformation. As we walk this road of faith, we are constantly challenged to grow in God’s grace. This transformation means taking a hard look at our lives and values, and casting off those things that do not reflect or embody the love of God. It also means that as we walk with Jesus we confront injustice and spiritual forces of wickedness at work in the world.

      What makes this road so amazing?

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