POD© Theology
But other seeds were planted on good ground and produced grain. They
produced one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted.
Matthew 13:8 (GW)
The idea behind the POD name is a seedpod, such as the seed case for lima
beans. Every bean plant begins when the farmer plants a single seed in the
ground, which “dies”, then sprouts, and grows into a new plant that in turn
produces new seedpods. The little seeds grow within the pod until they reach
maturity; then, the pod splits open, releasing the seeds that can be planted
individually to produce new plants and pods. This process repeats until the
end of time.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
John 12:24 (ESV)
The way the process begins is with the total commitment of the seed. The
seed that is intended for planting must not be eaten. Instead, it is set
aside and put in the ground by faith. Either it will rot or come alive as a
new plant. Once the seed is planted and exposed to moisture, there is no
turning back. In the same way, a discipleship POD begins when a leader
commits to invest him or herself in discipling a person or group of persons.
One or more disciples gather with the leader in a “pod” or group for
teaching, sharing, prayer, outreach and service. These disciples are
encouraged to invest themselves in other new disciples to keep the process
going.
and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses
entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV)
The group will use the Discipleship Essentials workbook, which is based on
the Gospel of John, which was written to teach us about Christ and to
facilitate faith in Him that we might have life.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which
are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you
may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 (ESV)
All the lessons have been developed from the major themes and teachings
found in the book. I hope you will be blessed as much in studying God’s Word
together with the others in your POD as I have had in preparing the
materials.
Pastor Pete Beck III