The Basics Course
Join This CourseSomebody is actively impacting culture. We can look at our societies and ask a very simple question: Do we see more and more of the kingdom of God coming into our communities and our nations, or do we see more and more of our societies coming into our churches?
God has ordained his bride, the Church, to work for the blessing and healing of our broken nations. As Christians, we are called to engage—to create culture that aligns with reality as God created it—to witness to the truth. To love our neighbors sacrificially, just as Jesus taught. The Basics Course is powerful, proven training that will equip you to identify practical solutions to the challenges facing your community and nation. Two application-oriented “labs” will help you put the training into practice immediately.
This course was developed by Darrow Miller and Bob Moffitt, co-founders of the Disciple Nations Alliance, who have trained Christians in more than 80 nations, helping them to identify and cast off false beliefs and practices, and to live their entire lives “Coram Deo” – In the presence of God, under the authority of God, and to the glory of God.
Get to know Darrow and Bob -- and why they do what they do -- by watching their videos.
Lessons
Lesson 1: Transforming Story -The Breadth of the Story
To understand our world, we must start with God’s story—The Transforming Story. Beginning with creation and ending with the consummation at Christ’s return, we will look at God’s history-encompassing mission to redeem, heal and bless the nations. We also will begin to unpack God’s plan for his bride: the Church.
Lesson 2: Transforming Story - The Depth of the Story
Here, we examine several age-old questions such as “What does it mean to be human?” and “Where is history going?” in light of three major worldview categories: animism, secularism and Biblical theism. We will see how these worldviews shape the way people live and, ultimately, how they shape whole cultures and nations in radically different ways.
Lesson 3: The Power of Story - Worldview Basics
What exactly is a worldview, and what does it do? How does it shape the culture of a nation, city or family—how does it shape the life of an individual? We will learn answers to these questions and will see how the gospel is not simply a message of salvation but, rather, a comprehensive worldview that transforms culture. As Christians, we are called to engage—to create culture that aligns with reality as God created it—to witness to the truth.
Lesson 4: The Power of Story - The Loss of a Biblical Worldview
To truly disciple the nations, Christians must permeate the fallen cultures of our world with the truth, beauty and goodness of God’s kingdom. Here we will travel back in time to see how powerful ideas from the European Enlightenment in the late 17th and 18th centuries led to a cultural shift away from a Biblical worldview toward a deistic worldview and, more recently, to today’s secular, atheistic worldview that is dominant in the West and increasingly influential around the world. We will see how the Church has responded to this shift in both healthy and damaging ways.
Lesson 5: The ABCs of Culture
Over the past 200 years, millions of churches have been planted, and hundreds of millions of people today profess Christ as Lord. Still, corruption, violence and poverty persist in some of the world’s most “evangelized” nations. How can this be? In this lesson, we will see how the lies of Satan exist in every culture, destroying and enslaving generation after generation. We must identify these lies, expose them, and actively replace them with God’s truth.
Lesson 6: Lab - The ABCs of Culture
In this exercise portion of the ABCs of Culture, you identify a lie Satan is using to destroy or enslave your particular culture. You then analyze the impact of this lie: how it is communicated, the behaviors it produces, its wider consequences, and its impact on you personally. Finally, you look at the truth that stands in opposition to the lie and identify ways you can promote this truth in your community, your family and your personal life.
Lesson 7: God's Unshakable Kingdom
The unshakable kingdom is the kingdom of God: It is the eternal realm where Christ the King reigns—where his will is done. Of Jesus’ 40 parables, 18 were focused specifically on God’s kingdom. We will unpack this concept to explore the inside-out process God uses to advance his kingdom in the present day. We will see the roles of the Church in this process, drawing parallels to events in the Old Testament and to parables taught by Jesus.
Lesson 8: The Church as a Window
The Church is like a window through which the broken world can see God’s good intentions for all areas of people’s lives: spiritually, physically, socially, and in wisdom. We will look at several Scripture passages detailing how God wants us to live. While our disobedience creates a wall that obscures the window—keeping the world from knowing about God’s great love for all people—our obedience to Christ’s commandments reveals the goodness of God’s intentions for salvation and restoration both now and in the future.
Lesson 9: The Irreducible Minimum
What is the "irreducible minimum" of God’s intentions for us? What is the most basic thing he wants us to do? Here, we will examine Jesus’ nature as a servant and what that means for those who follow him. We will learn about the “discipline of love”—a simple spiritual discipline to help followers of Christ learn to demonstrate God’s love through serving others.
Lesson 10: Wholistic Ministry - God's Model for Growth and Serving
God’s transforming story includes the reconciliation and restoration of all things that were broken in the fall—it is a comprehensive, wholistic vision (Col. 1:20). This will not be finished until the return of Christ; however, until that time, God has commissioned his Church to reflect Jesus who grew physically, spiritually, socially, and in wisdom (Luke2:52). This maturity produces people who are like Jesus: servants. We will discover how Christians’ loving, sacrificial service has transformed communities from the Roman Empire to a slum in Latin America.
Lesson 11: Seed Projects
God multiplies small actions (seeds) of obedience to extend His Kingdom. Seed Projects are small, short-term ministries done by believers using local resources as a demonstration of Christ's love to those outside the church. This lesson looks at the purpose, benefits and characteristics of Seed Projects.
Lesson 12: Lab - Seed Projects
Now, the work begins. In this session, we put our learning and faith into practice by planning and carrying out a Seed Project. This lesson looks at the importance of planning, and it walks you through the steps of Seed Project planning, implementation, evaluation and reporting—all of which are important to the outcome of the effort.
How It Works
You can work through this course on your own, at your own pace, or you can join a scheduled class and learn together with others and a class facilitator.
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