S6E3: The Power of Daily Habits | You Reproduce Who You Are

What is your life currently reproducing? Disciple multiplication does not begin with a program. It begins with a person—and often, it begins with the leader. In Season 6, Episode 3 of the Disciples Made Podcast, Jason Phelps and Brian Phipps explore how daily habits shape spiritual formation, leadership, and ultimately a culture of disciple multiplication. This episode continues our exploration of ideas from the upcoming book Breaking the Addition Addiction by Brian Phipps, Craig Watson, and Ed Wilgus. One of the biggest distinctions in this conversation is the difference between simply being around Scripture and actually abiding with Jesus. Brian puts it this way: “Sermon preparation is a leadership exercise. Abiding is a following exercise.” The question shifts from: “What do You want me to say to Your people?” to: “Jesus, what are You saying to me?” That shift matters because people are more likely to reproduce what they experience in us than what they merely hear from us. In this episode, you’ll hear: • Why “you reproduce who you are” matters for disciple multiplication • How practices become habits and habits become rhythms • The difference between preparing from Scripture and abiding in Scripture • Why church leaders can spend enormous amounts of time around the Bible without personally abiding with Jesus • How personal rhythms eventually become shared expectations and culture • Why preaching alone cannot create an abiding culture • What makes disciple-making truly reproducible • Why the goal is not to reproduce ourselves, but dependence on Jesus • The leadership question every disciple-maker should ask: What is my life currently reproducing? The goal of disciple-making is not to create copies of ourselves. It is to help people develop rhythms of dependence on Jesus that form them into His likeness, clarify their character and calling, and equip them to help someone else do the same. Before you ask your staff, elders, small-group leaders, or church members to change their habits, look at your own. If someone copied the way you engage Scripture, pray, rest, listen to Jesus, respond in obedience, and invest in others, would you be encouraged by what they became? Start with one rhythm. Live it. Let Jesus form you through it. Then help someone else do the same. 📘 UPCOMING BOOK: BREAKING THE ADDITION ADDICTION This podcast season is built around ideas from the upcoming book Breaking the Addition Addiction by Brian Phipps, Craig Watson, and Ed Wilgus. The book is being written for church leaders who want to move beyond simply adding more people, programs, and activity—and build cultures where disciples actually make and multiply disciples. Breaking the Addition Addiction is not available for purchase yet, but throughout this season we’re giving you an early look at the principles, stories, and practices behind the book. Stay connected with Disciples Made for future book updates and disciple-multiplication resources. Learn more: https://www.disciplesmade.com Subscribe to the Disciples Made Podcast for more conversations on designing churches, leaders, and disciple-making environments for multiplication. It’s time to break the addition addiction and start designing for multiplication.