Discipleship in the Methodist tradition affirms that there is always more work for God to do in the human heart. A Disciple's Heart attempts to reclaim and, in a sense, reinterpret for today John Wesley’s understanding of this transformation of the heart, which he called “Christian perfection,” with the goal of equipping participants to continue to grow into the likeness of God’s love in Christ. Designed to be used in a small group and, if desired, a congregation-wide emphasis, the Companion Reader, designed for both group members and leaders, provides background and deeper understanding of each week’s theme from a distinctly Wesleyan perspective. The Rev. Dr. James A. Harnish retired after 43 years of pastoral ministry in the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He was the founding pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando and served for 22 years as the Senior Pastor of Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa. He is the author of A Disciple’s Heart: Growing in Love and Grace , Earn. Save. Give. Wesley’s Simple Rules for Money , and Make a Difference: Following Your Passion and Finding Your Place to Serve . He was a consulting editor for The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible and a contributor to The Wesley Study Bible . He and his wife, Martha, have two married daughters and five grandchildren in Florida and South Carolina. Justin LaRosa is a United Methodist Deacon and a licensed clinical social worker. He has served Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa since 2005, first as the Minister of Discipleship and now as the Director/Minister of The Portico, a community gathering space where people come together for conversation, connection, and community change. Justin has co-authored three studies for Abingdon Press: A Disciple’s Path: A Guide for United Methodists ; A Disciple’s Heart: Growing in Love and Grace ; and Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas . He and his wife Caroline have a daughter, Isabella, and a son, Russell. A Disciple's Heart - Companion Reader Growing in Love and Grace By James A. Harnish Abingdon Press Copyright © 2015 Abingdon Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-63088-257-0 Contents Introduction: A Matter of the Heart, 1. Where Do We Go from Here?, 2. Walking the Way of Salvation, 3. By the Power of the Spirit, 4. The Company of the Committed, 5. On Fire with Holy Love, 6. All the Way to Heaven, Notes, CHAPTER 1 Where Do We Go from Here? Our destination was the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The question was how to get there. My eyes were focused on my iPhone. Our hostess was going by memory, having spent the summer in the Berkshires for many years. My wife had the tourist map in her hands. I kept saying we'd never get there if we kept going the way we were heading. My wife kept insisting that it was straight ahead. It turned out that she was correct. If they had followed me, we would have gotten somewhere, but it wouldn't have been the place we wanted to be! Whether we use Google, a printed map, or our intuition, two questions are critical to every trip we take: Where are we now? and Where are we going? Where we begin determines how we get to where we want to be. The same principle holds true for the spiritual journey in our relationship with God. The sheer pace of change around us can create a sense of personal and spiritual whiplash. The confusing and sometimes conflicted directional signs that we depended on in the past can leave us wondering if the path we are following in the present will get us where we want to be in the future. The nonstop chatter of the noisy world around us can drown out the deepest voice within us. We need an inner compass that is fixed on "true north" to guide us through the unexpected twists and turns of our lives—a spiritual GPS to keep us on the right path. For people of biblical faith, the whole story of God's relationship with the creation in Scripture becomes the map we follow. As Christian disciples, we find our "true north" in the words, will, and way of Jesus Christ. His life, death, and resurrection set our course for the abundant life he promised. Like the voice in the GPS that redirects us when we turn in the wrong direction, the Holy Spirit becomes the inner voice that redirects us when we drift away from the path. Where the Journey Begins One of my pastoral mentors liked to say that none of us wants to begin where we are; we would rather begin where we would be if we had started when we should have. But there's no way around it. We have to begin where we are, bringing with us all the doubts, questions, fears, and hopes that emerge out of the experiences that have shaped our lives to that point. Then, somewhere along the way ... • We hear Jesus offer the invitation, "Follow me." Like his first disciples, we may not know where this journey will take us, but we trust that he knows the way better than