Cultural Studies… To See Ourselves as Jesus Sees Us 30 Oct 20231 Nov 2023 By Justin Rossow I have had a song stuck in my head for over a week, humming it to myself since we we sang it in worship a Sunday ago:…
Cultural Studies… More Meditation Myths 23 Oct 202323 Oct 2023 By the Disciple Like You Mean It Summer Cohort, 2023(Edited by Justin Rossow) Introduction This blog captures some of the responses to Lesson 6.2 in the online course for discipling…
Cultural Studies… Busting Meditation Myths 3 Oct 20233 Oct 2023 By Justin Rossow Editor's note: this blog recreates Lesson 6.2 in the online course for discipline leaders called Disciple Like You Mean It. Whether you are a small group host,…
Disciple LIke You Mean It… Common Discipling Language 27 Sep 202315 Nov 2023 By Justin Rossow How do you establish common vocabulary for a discipling culture? A pastor friend of mine asked me that recently. He is trying to use consistent language across…
For My Friends Vocation Soup 12 Sep 202312 Sep 2023 By Justin Rossow “Vocation” (not “vacation”) is kind of a fancy word for “calling.” It comes from the same root as “vocal” or “voice.” You have been called by God…
For My Friends Called to Listen, Commissioned to Speak 17 Jul 20238 Jul 2024 By Justin Rossow “What am I supposed to say?” For people who follow Jesus, that question can come up in all kinds of different circumstances. That question can turn a…
Disciple LIke You Mean It… Followers First 22 Jun 202315 Nov 2023 By Justin Rossow A friend recently sent me a link to a sermon he found online—from me! I preached at the Day of Homiletical Reflection in 2011, over a decade…
Discipleship Tools A Print-at-Home Key Concept Calendar 17 Apr 202315 Nov 2023 By Justin Rossow The Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log, especially designed for the season between Easter and Pentecost, includes a Key Concept Calendar in the back. The idea…
For My Friends You Go; and I’ll Walk with You 17 Mar 20238 Jul 2024 By Justin Rossow Our mailbox is 0.7 miles from our front door. It used to be 7 feet. Since our last move, getting the mail has become more than a…
Discipling Leaders Needing Jesus, Every Day 13 Mar 202313 Mar 2023 Desperately Needing Jesus, Every Day A sermon preached at the installation of Pastor Sam Fink at Heart of the Shepherd Lutheran Church, Howell, Michigan, 12 March 2023. By Justin Rossow…
Faith Experiment… My CEF Faith Calendar 4 Mar 20234 Mar 2023 By Justin Rossow I wrote this article for the March, 2023 Michigan In Touch insert to the Lutheran Witness magazine. Thanks to the good people at Michigan Church Extension Fund…
For My Friends Top Blogs from 2022 30 Dec 202230 Dec 2022 2022 was another engaging year for the Next Step Community blog! Close to 12,000 visitors viewed our discipling content almost 19,000 times over the last 12 months. Here are some…
Cultural Studies… Messy Christmas 24 Dec 202215 Nov 2023 By Justin Rossow It’s Christmas Eve, and my daughter was supposed to be home three days ago. She made it to the Minneapolis airport. She made it onto the plane.…
Exegetical Study Jesus, Son of Solomon 11 Dec 202211 Dec 2022 Extended Edition By Justin Rossow and Conrad Gempf I was asked to talk about Jesus as the "son of Solomon" in a devotion for Day 11 of this video devotion…
Exegetical Study… The Winds of Change 30 Nov 202230 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow ‘Tis the season for package arrivals, so when our Alexa lit up last night, we kind of expected more of the same. “Alexa, what are my notifications?”…
Exegetical Study… Walk in Newness of Life 17 Nov 202217 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow We use Romans 6:5 at funerals all the time, but to paraphrase Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that verse; I don’t think it means what you think…
Discipling Leaders… Let Zacchaeus Have His Day 15 Nov 20228 Jul 2024 By Justin Rossow You probably know the story. Or at least the song: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.” You likely know the…
Cultural Studies Your Eternal Life Starts Now 8 Nov 20229 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow In his famous allegorical narrative, The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis has his most reliable character say: “Both good and evil, when they are fully grown, become…
