Boundaries: Your Discipleship Your Responsibility

by Natalie Holmyard

Boundaries: Your Discipleship, Your Responsibility

This will be the third and final Bulletin for now, around the topic of boundaries.  I hope and pray that the preceding 2 Bulletins have helped you transform in this area. Thank you to those who have sent encouraging feedback around how this has helped you in your walk in the Kingdom of God.  I pray it continues to do so.

In our last 2 Bulletins, we talked primarily about:

This month, we are going to explore how being discipled and, in turn, discipling, is part of our everyday load, which we must carry, train in, be conscious of, work out and be transformed in – this side of Heaven.
 
In fact, may I be so bold as to say, it is the most important part of our load and indeed our Self Government Jurisdiction!

Recently, I have been in many conversations where the topic of discipleship has been spoken about in reverent, if not fearful, terms.
 
For a believer, our personal discipleship should be the most “natural” and life-giving part of our journey.  Instead, it is so often misunderstood and complex, leading people to shy away from all it has to offer us – sometimes in fear and anger.  It also can cause many believers to become apathetic and lazy in their response and actions.  

Over the last 2 months, Bruce has written the most wonderful 2-part teaching on Discipleship – I hope you have read this through many times, and have it pinned somewhere that you can refer to it often.  He outlines some of the major benefits and obstacles to discipleship.  Thank you, Bruce, for this rich treasure and wealth.
 
In our walk in discipleship – the 4 major obstacles David and I have personally experienced and have seen extensively in others in our garden are:

It became very obvious to David and I after being introduced to Dennis and Bruce’s teaching, that we were “weighed and measured and left found wanting”. Daniel 5:27

Thankfully, we knew (by the power of the Holy Spirit) that we must change this situation first, by being disciples and allowing ourselves to be discipled!
 
We lived on a separate continent from both Bruce and Dennis. Our lives up until this point had no clear definition of our “loads” and “burdens” – in fact most of our life seemed like a burden. We certainly had no clearly defined boundaries, and the concepts of Self Government and jurisdictional government, including a working “garden”, were non-existent.
 
How then, did we possibly manage to become disciples?
 
We decided to be obedient to the word of God.
Nothing more, nothing less.
 
We committed to following all of the “counsel” (to the best of our ability), afforded us by Dennis, Bruce, Dudley and many other authors whose books we devoured, and we went to work.
 
For over a decade, that “counsel” was mostly through audios, written materials and in-person functions we would somehow manage to afford to go to (by Father’s absolute grace).  We had little to no face-to-face input, save for a few visits over a number of years from Bruce and Vanessa. It was tough – but the Holy Spirit was with us; we were not alone.

When Dennis and Bruce said via their teachings to do something – we did it.  Even when their “do it” didn’t have a precise plan or strategy for us personally – we created our own with the leading of the Holy Spirit.  
 
We became accountable to each other as husband and wife.  
 
We became honest about where we were at in our self-government and family government jurisdictions to Bruce, wherever and whenever possible.  
 
We developed a plan and a strategy (our own personal and family Strategic Life Roadmaps), and we went to work, week after week, month after month, year after year.  We still follow the core of that same plan and strategy today!
 
One extra thing we did, which I believe helped us to keep up the discipline of discipleship, is we put ourselves in the position to be used by those around us who were in need.
 
From 2006 until 2026, we have run over 120 small groups – varying from small and intimate book study/prayer groups to rather large GoLife and GoBusiness groups of 12 or more people.  (I was shocked to actually see this figure – I was able to verify this as we have tracked every group we have ever facilitated in our SLR).
 
Facilitating groups has helped to keep David and I in training.  Hard and fast.  Some of these groups have resulted in beautiful, long-lasting fruit.  Some of these groups ended in complete and utter disaster!  They were most definitely a key component in the making of who we are today.  We took the heart of our own discipleship and made it transparent to our family and those who were in our groups.  Sometimes (maybe more than sometimes), the small groups were of more benefit and training for David and I than the members, but Father is the ultimate steward, and He wastes nothing.  Every minute we spent in prayer, preparation and facilitation, He has multiplied in His presence in our lives – for that – I am so honoured, humbled and grateful.

When Father brought Bruce and Dennis into our sphere, we knew that discipleship was beginning with the end in mind. We saw the fruit of a life well disciplined, governed and discipled.  We knew the only way to bear such fruit began with obedience and sacrifice.  We also knew that we could not rely on another’s discipleship in the making and shaping of our own character. This was our load to bear.  In fact, in rejecting personal discipleship, we were creating burdens that others would have to carry.  
 
For all of us today, reading this Bulletin, we have been around long enough to know that our own discipleship falls firmly in our lap.  We also know the excuses we keep in place to keep us from growing and maturing in this area.  Perhaps you can see yourself above in the top 4.  
 
Now is the time to walk in the reality of where you are.
Now is the time to put all of the years of teaching you have been given to use.
Now is the time to grab someone and say, “Will you come alongside me in discipleship?”
 
You have everything you need to be a disciple. 
Will you be obedient to the word of God?
 
God bless you,
Much love, 

Natalie.