Some people just drain you. You’ve tried avoiding them, reasoning with them, even killing them with kindness—nothing sticks. If you’re being honest, you’re either walking on eggshells or keeping your distance. There’s a better way, and it starts with understanding what’s actually going on.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re going to break down the four types of difficult people, the “thing behind the thing” driving each one, and how the gospel gives you something better than tolerance or avoidance—a path toward real connection, even with the hardest people in your life.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
The four types of difficult people and what’s actually driving their behavior
Why difficult people present one of the clearest gospel opportunities in your life
How to understand “the thing behind the thing” so you stop reacting and start responding
Why you might be on someone else’s “difficult person” list — and what to do about it
When it comes to discipleship, one of the hardest things we often face is knowing who specifically we are supposed to be discipling. Is it one special person, or many?
When folks are forming discipleship relationships, and building healthy missional communities, on many occasions I’ve had people say to me,
“I’m not this huge gatherer and people person. I’m not naturally wired to be the life of the party.”
Unless seeds are planted, watered, and given enough time for growth, there is little expectation of a harvest. That’s how farming works. And it turns out — it works similarly with people and their faith. But what if most of us have been measuring the harvest by the wrong metric this whole time?
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, Caesar challenges the common idea that spiritual harvest means getting a “decision for Christ.” What if the harvest Jesus talked about was actually a harvest of disciples? This episode reframes sowing and reaping — and shows why God always provides for what he calls and commands when you trust him with your words, your time, and your life.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
The truth about the amount of “fruit” that is ready to be harvested
Why the harvest Jesus was after is different from what you were taught
What really constitutes “sowing seeds” in someone’s life
Why sowing and reaping is an ongoing cycle — not a once-and-done event
Wouldn’t it be great if you could actually start doing less stuff and make more disciples? Heck yeah!
Many of us are super-busy on mission and with ministry related activities, but may not be focused on the right things that produce the greatest fruit. (more…)
Most of us have been taught that sharing our faith means finding the right moment to slip in a little “Jesus talk.” We’ve got techniques, bridge illustrations, transition phrases. But honestly? They feel like a sales pitch. And if it feels like a sales pitch to you, imagine how it feels to the person on the other end.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, Caesar breaks down why the old techniques rarely work — and offers a completely different framework for transitioning to spiritual conversations that are actually Good News. If you’ve ever felt awkward, fearful, or fake when trying to bring up Jesus, this one is going to change how you see the whole conversation.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
Why we fear spiritual conversations — and the lies behind the most common excuses
How past “techniques” rarely benefit anyone — and why they feel like a sales pitch
Why the gospel is NOT just a set of facts about sin, hell, and the afterlife
Practical ways to transition to spiritual conversations that are genuinely Good News
Families can be tricky things and we live in a world and time where many are redefining what a family is. So who are we supposed to treat as “family” – or another way of asking this question is:
Who’s Your Daddy?
Imagine that you’ve been living in your house for a few years, going about your busy life: working, raising a family, going to school—all the normal stuff of life that keeps us focused on…well, ourselves. What would you do if all of a sudden you realized your own father, sister, or brother was alone–in terrible need–and had been living right next door?
Maybe they are, and you never noticed.
Who does the Bible say is in “our family”? If we consider ourselves Christians, is it just Christians, or if we are Jewish is it just other Jewish people? Can we get by with only treating people who are just like us and believe the exact same things we believe as family?
Or are we really called to treat everyone like they’re part of the family?
I guess the answer to the question of who you will treat like they’re your family is best answered by asking, would you treat Jesus like a member of your own family? Jesus told his closest friends a story one day to help them grasp the reality of how he sees everyone, and how he would hope we would see and treat others.
“When I was hungry you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, when I needed clothes you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to visit me…. And his friends were like, “…We did…?”
He goes on and says, “I’m telling you the truth: Whenever you did one of these things for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me–you did it to me.”
I see it like this: We have some brothers and sisters out there that are estranged from Dad, from God. They don’t trust him and stopped coming to holiday meals and family functions long ago. They are having a hard time believing that he really loves them. But he does, enough that he sent a Son–Jesus– our own brother, to rescue and save them. It cost him his life, but that’s how much he loves them and wants them restored to a full and wonderful life in his family.
So let’s stop worrying about who’s in or who’s out, saved or unsaved. Let’s treat everyone like family…the way God does.
