Discipleship Pathway

I still distinctly remember the moment I became a follower of Christ. It was in a trailer on a piece of hunting property near Ballinger, TX. That experience was so vivid, so powerful. I just knew my life was going to change.

The only problem is, it didn’t. After the first few amazing weeks, all the bad habits, all the irritations, all the things that had pushed me to find a different way in Jesus seemed to seep back in. The anger, the temper, the worries about work and money. I didn’t seem to be doing any better as a father or a husband. I thought God was supposed to fix me! I was pretty frustrated.

But, in looking back over my life, I can see just how much my life has changed since that moment in the trailer. It just took a lot longer than I had thought.

The fact is, as I’ve learned from hard-won experience, and a little education, instant transformation isn’t the way faith actually works. Our walk with Jesus is a process—a lifelong process. And, in fact, this idea of faith as a process is a core principle of Methodism. It’s the theological principle of sanctification; the idea that coming to faith in Jesus isn’t the end of our spiritual journey, but the beginning. It’s the point from which we begin to work with the Holy Spirit to grow into the image of Christ.

Now, eventually, I did begin to catch on. But then I hit another roadblock. I couldn’t find any practical guidance on what that growth might actually look like. I would dig into the church bulletins and website and ministry fairs and see all these wonderful-looking—but random—programs being offered, without any way for me to fit them into my own spiritual journey.

So, for the last several years, I have wanted to create that practical guidance that I didn’t get. To make something for the church to (1) make it clear to everyone that faith is about growth, and (2) provide some guidance on how that growth might be accomplished.

And the result of that effort (or maybe the first step) is what we will be talking about in worship this month: our Discipleship Pathway. (If you’re reading this online, you can click here to see a copy.) Our discipleship pathway is based on the three elements of our congregational mission: Seek, serve, share: We seek to grow in our love of God through deepening spiritual practices; we grow in our love of neighbor through service, and we share our love of God and neighbor with the world.

What the Pathway does is to collect in one place all the growth opportunities we currently provide and show how those opportunities for growth might fit into a personal growth plan. Of course, our Pathway also recognizes that everyone is unique. Everyone’s going to have to find their own pathway to growth. But hopefully our Discipleship Pathway will make it easier to get started.

So, I hope you’ll join us this month as we explore our Discipleship Pathway.

-Pastor Tommy

Ms. Beth is excited to continue with the Bible Challenge for October! On the last Sunday of October (10/25), children can say the next 12 books of the Bible to Ms. Beth and win a prize! Those books are Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings,

1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

Join our church family in supporting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on Saturday, October 3 at 10:00 A.M. at Purser Park in Harker Heights.

Help us as we join with hundreds of thousands of people across the country who are walking in the Out of the Darkness Community Walks to prevent suicide and support AFSP's mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.

Click on the button below to support the Salado United Methodist team. On this page, you can provide financial support to help us reach our fundraising goal. And we would also love it if you clicked the “Join Our Team” button and showed up to walk with us.

Help us as we help save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide. For more information visit American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

Jesus’ instruction couldn’t have been more clear: “Love one another” (John 13:34). Yet as we find ourselves in the midst of another election season, the love seems a little hard to come by. We are informed over and over again, through every possible media channel, that “we” are the good guys and “they” are the bad guys. Instead of loving our neighbor, we’re invited to hate them.

So, this year, as we have done for the past three major election cycles, we will finish October and begin November with a sermon series aimed at hopefully bringing down the temperature around the elections just a little bit. The name of the sermon series is “Love One Another,” and in the series, we’re going to explore some of Jesus’ final instructions to his followers, and to us: to love one another, abide in God’s love, and not lose hope. God is in control.

In support of getting this message out, we will once again be ordering “Let’s Love One Another” yard signs. So, when the time comes, don’t forget to get some for yourself and take a few extra to share with your friends! Let’s do our part to share God’s love and to love one another.

Click here for detailed descriptions about each Sunday School Class!

Click here for activity details!

Church Family

Elizabeth Willborn, JL Alley,

John Garcia, Monica Durham & Family,

Bill Griffin, Weeta Evans,

Jim Wyllie, CJ Harbuz

Family & Friends

Tom & Michelle Kyle, Ms. Moore,

Brenda Scott, Deanna Sallee, 

Kenneth Shannon, Alicia Rampe, 

Tamara Turner, Viola Cleo Bradshaw,

Cordelia Vogel, Cade Neimeth,

Frances Porter, Gabe Goodin,

Dave Gardner, Reagan Williams,

Sherry Brinlee, Leroy Reynolds,

Alice Croix Collins, Corbie Jacobson,

Jerene Carney, Mason,

Wilson and Molly, Derek Cooney,

Jolene Eckler, Parmley Family,

Levi Pritchett, Sepulveda Family,

June Sanders, Linda Eimen,

Olga Correa, Cynthia Merritt,

Karen Stalcup, Nolan Corder,

Glenna McDaniel, June Ritterbush,

Tiffany Chesson, Brian Osborne,

Reed Watson, Becky Watson & Family,

Catie Cash, Marget Cabrera,

Mr. Barrier, Margaret Blanton,

Zina Griffith & Family,

Jeanne Green, Liles Family, Cassie

Suzanne Kessler, Max Webb,

Ralph Sowards, Lucas Brandt,

Kay Bernethy, Lourdes Hilfman,

Renee Carter, Charles King,

SUMC Committees

Military

Pete Alderman, Jeffery Barnes,

Amy Cook, Gerald Montanona,

Daniel Collins, George Robey,

Oscar Fernandez, Jacob Nelson,

Taylor Wood, J.J. Kelly,

Ryan McDonald, Keary O’Connor,

Michael Gordon, Jason Lowerey,

Jake Bradshaw, Devan Patterson,

Ben Smith, John Schook,

MK2 Benjamin Perrin, Patrick Reinbold,

Chris King, Dylan Dexter, 

John Hawkins, Katie Kyle,

Seaman Hall, Oscar Little,

John Little, Ian Deakins,

Joseph Van Cura, Zac Garmong,

Cole Azua, Richard Bean III,

Morgan Bean, Scott Heflin

Give online at saladoumc.org.

Click on the Donate tab at the top of saladoumc.org, or you can visit directly by going to saladoumc.org/donate. 

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