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In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness
Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness
- GenresChristian
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
19 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Wayne Jacobsen
29 books103 followersWayne Jacobsen was a pastor for 20 years and a Contributing Editor to Leadership Journal and has authored numerous books and articles on spiritual formation, relational community and engagement of culture. Wayne also cohosts a weekly podcast at TheGodJourney.com, out of which came his collaboration on the writing of The Shack and helped create Windblown Media, the publishing company behind the phenomenon.
As the director of Lifestream Ministries, Jacobsen travels globally teaching on themes of intimacy with God, the Love of God, and relational church life.
As President of BridgeBuilders, he is also a nationally-recognized specialist and mediator in resolving cultural and religious conflicts. Jacobsen has become known for his expertise in the pros and cons of organized religion.
As the director of Lifestream Ministries, Jacobsen travels globally teaching on themes of intimacy with God, the Love of God, and relational church life.
As President of BridgeBuilders, he is also a nationally-recognized specialist and mediator in resolving cultural and religious conflicts. Jacobsen has become known for his expertise in the pros and cons of organized religion.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 22, 2023
A companion as we travel through the seasons. For me, a needed reminder that it's not all get up and go. I appreciated the rhythm and the parallels with growing grapes in a vineyard. John 15 parallels.
June 9, 2015
Very helpful. i believe Mr. Jacobsen is on to something.
"Nothing can destroy fruitfulness faster than ungodly leadership—men and women who use positions of authority to manipulate and exploit people instead of serving their growth in Christ. This results partly from people who want to lord over others and partly from people who would rather follow a pastor, author, or other influential person than develop their own relationship with Jesus. We can't ignore this danger under the guise of preserving Christian unity. Bad leadership needs to be recognized and resisted. Don't allow anyone to curtail your own obedience to Jesus in the name of loyalty to a man or his institution. Rather find godly men and women whose hearts are more concerned for your fruitfulness, than their own. There you'll find leaders after God's heart."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 1770-1776). . Kindle Edition.
"We often only see ministry in creating organizations and streamlined programs, not as a personal touch with rejected and hurting people. I don't want to indicate that such methods are wrong, but I do want us to take an objective look at how effective they are. What too often happens is that people with the most heart for ministry end up administrating programs instead of spending time with people. Programmed action easily replaces the power and love of God reaching out to touch others through changed lives. We do not find the real ministry of the kingdom by finding a niche in a religious organization. We find it when we see God using us to touch other people. Of course there's a place for coordinated outreach, but I want to encourage those whose obedience doesn't fit such models. Don't be frustrated when other people's efforts receive notoriety that seems to escape you. Don't look for the applause of people. Look only for God's approval. Our ministry is far better measured by our faithfulness to him than by achieving the accolades of the religious sector of our society."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 2290-2299). . Kindle Edition.
"They will tell you of their early days of faith when God first captured their hearts. At the beginning, they knew they were loved and they began each day with fresh excitement and anticipation. Soon, others began to teach them what it meant to be a good Christian, and they began the long, slow descent into the rules and regulations of a religion called Christianity. The religion eventually erased their joy. They became content merely to plod along, unconsciously becoming obedient to human obligations instead of faithful to Jesus. This is not the life Jesus offered his followers. On the night before he went to the cross he told them that his desire for them was "my joy might be in them and that their joy might be full." That doesn't sound like laboring under the onerous demands of religious practice. Jesus showed them that his Father was the most endearing personality in the universe and that he loved them more than anyone else on the planet. He invited them into a relationship that would fill them with unknown depths of joy and lead them to completely fulfilled and fruitful lives. Jesus didn't come to inaugurate a new religion complete with rituals, principles, and obligations that only serve to wear us out. I'm convinced he came for quite the opposite reason. He came to fill up the space in the human spirit that chases after religious ritual in order to satiate guilt. He wanted to set people free. He did not take his disciples to the temple to teach them this lesson. He took them to the vineyard."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 109-121). . Kindle Edition.
"He lived in the care of his Father, with an eye and ear out for what his Father was doing. He wanted them to know that same relationship. He didn't come to start a new religion or to promote a new morality. He came to reconnect us to the Father, knowing that relationship would shape us in ways laws or rules never could. He had a way for them to live that would transform their lives and make them fruitful in the world. This was done not with techniques and strategies, but through living in the Father."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 901-905). . Kindle Edition.
"Nothing can destroy fruitfulness faster than ungodly leadership—men and women who use positions of authority to manipulate and exploit people instead of serving their growth in Christ. This results partly from people who want to lord over others and partly from people who would rather follow a pastor, author, or other influential person than develop their own relationship with Jesus. We can't ignore this danger under the guise of preserving Christian unity. Bad leadership needs to be recognized and resisted. Don't allow anyone to curtail your own obedience to Jesus in the name of loyalty to a man or his institution. Rather find godly men and women whose hearts are more concerned for your fruitfulness, than their own. There you'll find leaders after God's heart."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 1770-1776). . Kindle Edition.
"We often only see ministry in creating organizations and streamlined programs, not as a personal touch with rejected and hurting people. I don't want to indicate that such methods are wrong, but I do want us to take an objective look at how effective they are. What too often happens is that people with the most heart for ministry end up administrating programs instead of spending time with people. Programmed action easily replaces the power and love of God reaching out to touch others through changed lives. We do not find the real ministry of the kingdom by finding a niche in a religious organization. We find it when we see God using us to touch other people. Of course there's a place for coordinated outreach, but I want to encourage those whose obedience doesn't fit such models. Don't be frustrated when other people's efforts receive notoriety that seems to escape you. Don't look for the applause of people. Look only for God's approval. Our ministry is far better measured by our faithfulness to him than by achieving the accolades of the religious sector of our society."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 2290-2299). . Kindle Edition.
"They will tell you of their early days of faith when God first captured their hearts. At the beginning, they knew they were loved and they began each day with fresh excitement and anticipation. Soon, others began to teach them what it meant to be a good Christian, and they began the long, slow descent into the rules and regulations of a religion called Christianity. The religion eventually erased their joy. They became content merely to plod along, unconsciously becoming obedient to human obligations instead of faithful to Jesus. This is not the life Jesus offered his followers. On the night before he went to the cross he told them that his desire for them was "my joy might be in them and that their joy might be full." That doesn't sound like laboring under the onerous demands of religious practice. Jesus showed them that his Father was the most endearing personality in the universe and that he loved them more than anyone else on the planet. He invited them into a relationship that would fill them with unknown depths of joy and lead them to completely fulfilled and fruitful lives. Jesus didn't come to inaugurate a new religion complete with rituals, principles, and obligations that only serve to wear us out. I'm convinced he came for quite the opposite reason. He came to fill up the space in the human spirit that chases after religious ritual in order to satiate guilt. He wanted to set people free. He did not take his disciples to the temple to teach them this lesson. He took them to the vineyard."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 109-121). . Kindle Edition.
"He lived in the care of his Father, with an eye and ear out for what his Father was doing. He wanted them to know that same relationship. He didn't come to start a new religion or to promote a new morality. He came to reconnect us to the Father, knowing that relationship would shape us in ways laws or rules never could. He had a way for them to live that would transform their lives and make them fruitful in the world. This was done not with techniques and strategies, but through living in the Father."
Jacobsen, Wayne (2011-11-03). In Season: Embracing the Father's Process of Fruitfulness (Kindle Locations 901-905). . Kindle Edition.
April 8, 2016
Understanding fruitfulness through the musings of Wayne's experiences as the son of a vineyard keeper, I grew in my understanding of the seasons of life. This book caused me to visit a vineyard in California to see how the vine and the branches are connected. It made the words of Jesus more alive to me: "I am the vine; you are the branches.....the one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me......Remain in Me."
November 24, 2013
This book is breath of fresh air, and frees believers to embrace the season they are in as individuals.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews