Eric Swanson Teaching
TEACHING AUDIO
Premium Upgrade Required
Please upgrade to Premium plan to remove the watermark and access Spotify widget settings
TEACHING SLIDES
TEACHING CONTENT
Appendix or Chapter Ten
The Four Greats: Nothing Missing, Nothing Extra, Nothing Optional
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
--Albert Einstein
In May of 2022 I (Eric) was on a Zoom call with thirty or so city movement leaders from around the U.S. and I casually remarked, “You city network leaders have the greatest job in the world,” simply as an expression of gratitude and amazement of the great work they were doing. To my surprise, one of the leaders asked a poignant question.
“You keep saying that we have the greatest job in the world, and we agree. But why do you say that?”
So, I answered, “Because you get to be involved in the three greatest things Jesus said we should do; the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39), the Great Compassion (Matthew 25:31-45) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). In fact, I think we have a Venn diagram here.” So that month we established a challenge: To create a 3-circle Venn Diagram that would best describe these three greats. We had a lot of worthy submissions, but the winning solution was quite unexpected. It came from Rob Kelly from For Charlotte. Rob’s diagram included a “fourth Great” right in the very center of the Venn diagram—the Great Collaboration from John 17:21-23:
"[I pray] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
Wow! We all nodded in agreement. What a powerful and not-yet-answered prayer! But there we had it…The Four Greats. Within the next couple of weeks Rob Kelly suggested we change the three-circle Venn diagram to a Celtic knot (We named the Kelltic Knot as a tribute to Rob) that now also contained the goal that the Four Greats would work together to accomplish. That’s a good place to begin.
Transformed Lives and Cities
To understand our mission, we must first look at the end goal—the telos in Greek—the ultimate purpose of what we're working toward. What is the ultimate goal of Christ's redemptive mission in the world?
So, when God wants to build a city, what might that city look like? Fortunately, in Isaiah God gives us the answer when he outlines his plans for the new Jerusalem. The apostle John quoted rom Isaiah 65 when he also described what the new heavens and new earth would look like in Revelations 21. But for now, let’s go to the original source…Isaiah 65. We’ve put it in the form of a table—quoting the passage on the left side and categorizing that verse in one of the Human Flourishing Domains. This will make more sense later in this chapter.
This is our eternal reality: God's mission ends with a fully renewed, transformed people in a fully renewed, transformed city. As my mentor, Ray Bakke would often say, “The Bible begins in a garden but ends in a city.”
If a renewed city is God’s end and ultimate goal (the telos) of God's mission, could that not be our goal as well?
Having an outline like this also allows us to measure how we are doing in our own cities. We realize the print is tiny in this chart, but you get the idea. So, how does your city measure up? What might you do in just one of these areas to make life a little closer to the way God intended?
Isaiah 65 and Harvard University
In 2016 Harvard University’s Tyler VanderWeele began investigating human flourishing. Eventually his research would include the well-being of over 200,000 individuals across 22 diverse countries. His investigation found that there were five universal measures of human flourishing (that look a lot like Isaiah 65!) In his graphic he defines not only the five domains of human flourishing but also the four “pathways” to flourishing. His diagram looks like this:
The most interesting part of the diagram is that there are only FOUR universal pathways to human flourishing: Family, Work, Education and Religious Communities. Wow! Your faith community is one-fourth of God’s plan to help everyone in your community to flourish. And they cannot flourish without you. And if you are a parent, educator or have a job you also hold the remaining positions to help others flourish. What’s more, the people of God not only influence the “Domains” of Flourishing, but they also can greatly influence the three other “Pathways to Flourishing!”(Arrow outlines are mine…not Harvard’s). If you’re doing your job you are building healthy families, teaching business people how to develop their employees and perhaps partnering with a local school. The people of God are being asked to step up as there’s never been a better time to be the people of God.
The Great Commandment: “Love”
I’m deeply grateful for the insight my friend Mart Green brought to this section, particularly his emphasis on learning to be loved by God as the foundation for loving ourselves and others. His wisdom has enriched this reflection, and I’m excited to weave it into our exploration of the Great Commandment.
When asked which commandment in the Torah was the greatest, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). The key word here is “Love.” All the law and the prophets hinge on this single, transformative principle. Get this one right, and the rest begins to fall into place.
Loving well is the core of our calling. As Paul writes, “the love of Christ compels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Without love, we’re just “noisy gongs or clanging cymbals” (1 Corinthians 13:1). We won’t always get it right—mistakes are part of the journey—but when we return to love, “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8), and we keep moving forward.
Mart’s insight sharpens this truth: to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must first learn to be loved by God. As he put it, “If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, it will be near impossible to love our neighbors unless we honestly learn to be loved by God.” This is a game-changer. When we root ourselves in God’s boundless love, we find the strength to love ourselves and, in turn, our neighbors. Paul prays for this in Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT): “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father… I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand… how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” This passage reminds us that God’s love is the source of our wholeness, enabling us to love ourselves and others authentically.
Loving ourselves is not selfish—it’s essential. If we don’t grasp that we are “fully accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) or hear God’s affirmation, “You are my son (or daughter), whom I love. With you I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), we may struggle to love others without using them to fill our own voids. As 1 John 4:18-19 (NLT) says, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear… We love each other because he loved us first.” When we let God’s perfect love sink deep into our hearts, we’re freed to love ourselves and others without fear or pretense. Holistic mission flows from this foundation—a person grounded in God’s love is on the path to wholeness.
So, if the Four Greats is our change model, what might this look like? Love always involves communication so what are we doing to hear from God and speak to God? But there’s more. As part of his farewell discourse Jesus gave us some last amazing words: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father…and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:21-23) When we are loving Jesus, we find ourselves wanting to follow his path and eventually we gain a greater capacity to truly love others. “What would change in our churches and cities if love really became the metric for success?”
Getting Practical
Learning to love ourselves is particularly important given the mental health crisis we're experiencing today. A 2013 Lifeway study found 23% of pastors acknowledged struggling with mental illness at some point, with about 12% saying they had been diagnosed with depression. Recent studies by Barna, Lifeway and Duke University find that 42 percent of pastors have considered quitting full-time ministry in the past year (2022), primarily due to stress, isolation, and political division within their churches. Addressing this as the church is one of the greatest ways we can impact our cities. We're seeing city movements partner with churches, Christian counselors and mental health agencies to address this crisis together. On the east coast our friend, Eddie Copeland from Church United in South Florida includes in their change model, “Healthy pastors…healthy churches…healthy community.” Everything begins with healthy and whole pastors. On the west coast our friend Eric Marsh from Long Beach Church Collective in California raised tens of thousands of dollars simply to take care of the souls and well-being of Long Beach pastors. From South Florida to Long Beach California, we're seeing city movements partner with Christian counselors and mental health agencies to address this crisis together.
The Great Compassion: Serve
In this second “Great” we start to unpack how we practically how we love our neighbor. We do this through compassion and service. The key passage is Matthew 25:31-45, where on Judgement Day Jesus separates “the sheep and the goats” based on how people looked out for and served the most vulnerable around them. Jesus points out,
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
This isn’t a parable but rather seems to be a real question Jesus will ask us who profess to be his followers. I’ve often thought that if I were a pastor, and I knew that one day Jesus was going to ask those under my care what they did to serve these most vulnerable, I’d do what I could to make sure everyone in my flock would have an answer. What if every small group (to even meet as a small group) had a creative rhythm of providing food, clean water or clothing to others. What if they adopted an immigrant family, did something with jail or prison ministries. Could they at least visit a friend or neighbor in the hospital? What if everyone was welcome at church but what if you became a member by having a story to tell of what you did at least once (a very low bar) in each of these six areas? These folks may search you down and thank you on judgement day.
Compassion and Service is Central to Being a Christ-follower
Loving our neighbor through service is not peripheral to someone who wants to be close to God. Rather it is central. Rick Warren, influential founding pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Church, points out that “There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that talk about the poor, the orphan, the widow, the immigrant, and the vulnerable.” As Rob Kelly humorously notes, “If you took all those verses out of the Bible, the Bible would look like Swiss cheese.” So, the second “Great” is all about how we treat “the least of these.” It’s a big ask but a growth barrier for believers is that the well-being of their neighbor is on their radar as much as they think about their own well-being. It’s not so much what we do but that we do. Ideally serving the most vulnerable is part of the rhythm of our lives but we have to start somewhere. As a pastor friend of mine once told me, “People don’t serve twice until they’ve served once.” He’s right you know. Have you and those in your family or church served once?
The Great Commission: Make Disciples
When Jesus gave the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, his central command was clear: “make disciples of all nations.” This call is far more than simply making converts or gathering crowds. It’s about inviting people into a lifelong journey of following Jesus, learning to obey him, and becoming more like him in every area of life.
To fulfill this commission, three core activities work together logically and cohesively: evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Evangelism is the starting point of making disciples. Before someone can follow Jesus, they must first hear the good news of who Jesus is and what he has done for them. As Paul reminds us in Romans 10:14, people cannot believe in Jesus unless they have heard of him. Therefore, evangelism—sharing the gospel message and inviting people into a relationship with Jesus—is essential. It’s the doorway through which people enter the path of discipleship. Without evangelism, the mission to make disciples never begins. So, let’s start with evangelism.
The best transformational city networks attempt to keep evangelism front and foremost on their radar screens. Fortunately, we have some help. We in City Leaders Collective (www.cityleaderscollective.org) partner with our friends like Kevin Palau and Chris Gough of Luis Palau Associates to create “E-teams” (Evangelism Teams) for every city movement. What we say about city movement leaders (“There must be one person in every city who wakes up every day thinking about the holistic well-being of everyone in the city”) is also true about evangelism. “There must be one person who wakes up every day thinking about the spiritual well-being of every person in the city.”
E-Teams are designed to serve as intentional, collaborative groups of local evangelism leaders, pastors, and influencers who align around a shared vision to elevate gospel engagement in their city or region. Rather than functioning as isolated efforts or individual evangelists, E-Teams work strategically to foster a culture where evangelism is woven naturally into the fabric of local church networks. Their purpose is to move from scattered initiatives to a unified, citywide movement that advances the good news of Jesus in both word and deed that fit within the larger city transformation movements. Ideally E-Teams are not just about evangelistic activity—they help shape a city’s culture of evangelism through intentional partnerships, shared learning, and collective action.
But evangelism is not limited to E-Teams alone. Many city networks are working to bring evangelistic initiatives like Alpha into their network of churches. The Alpha Course, originally developed at Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London in 1977, was reshaped by Nicky Gumbel in the early 1990s into a globally recognized evangelistic ministry. What began as a basic introduction to Christianity became a dynamic course inviting open discussion about faith. The course's simple format—shared meals, accessible talks, and open small group discussions—proved remarkably scalable. Since then, Alpha has spread to over 146 countries, with more than 28 million participants and tens of thousands of courses running each year across a wide range of denominations. The format—typically including a shared meal, a talk (or video), and small group discussion, where questions are valued as much as answers. Alpha’s approach creates a safe space where anyone can ask questions about faith without judgment, a philosophy that would prove to resonate across cultures and denominations worldwide. Studies show Alpha has significant impact: in one global survey, 82% of non-Christians who attended described themselves as followers of Jesus by the end of the course.
In the fall of 2023, Transforming the Bay with Christ (TBC.city)—one of the largest transformational city networks located in the San Francisco Bay Area, launched and fully funded region-wide “Explore God” campaign (exploregod.com). This seven-week evangelistic experience invited people across the Bay Area to engage life’s biggest questions in a way that was both intellectually honest and spiritually compelling. Explore God was uniquely curated for the Bay Area mindset and offered free to churches and para church ministries. Resources included Sunday message outlines, social media content, video-driven small group curriculum, student and children's ministry materials. Over 220 churches and Christian organizations preached aligned messages and mobilized their communities around this effort. TBC fueled a robust digital and outdoor advertising campaign spanning internet platforms and electronic billboards across the Bay Area. The result: more than 10,000 people indicated first-time decisions to follow Christ. It was a visible sign of unity and harvest across the Bay.
In December of 2024 Sam Williams and I went to Hanoi Vietnam to be part of Love Hanoi’s (hif.vn/love-hanoi/) “Christmas Hope” celebration. Led by ex-pat pastor Jacob Bloemberg, Christmas Hope was a celebration of music, dancers, entertainers and great food booths. Believe it or not 20,000 Vietnamese showed up for this evening festival and around 5,000 raised their hands and came forward when a visiting evangelist introduced this crowd to Jesus.
God is at work…even in unlikely places like San Francisco or Hanoi. He’s at work in your city too. What will you do to share the Good News?
So, evangelism serves as the entry point, where the gospel message is proclaimed to those who have not yet encountered Christ, creating the initial moment of faith and conversion. This evangelistic work fulfills the "Go" aspect of the commission (thanks Mart), reaching across cultural and geographical boundaries to introduce people to the transformative reality of following Jesus. Without evangelism, there would be no new believers to disciple, making it the essential foundation for all subsequent disciple-making activities.
Discipleship represents the developmental phase where new converts are nurtured into spiritual maturity through teaching, modeling, and mentoring relationships. This corresponds directly to the commission's instruction to teach new disciples "to observe all that I have commanded you." Hopefully and aspirationally, discipleship transforms converts into devoted followers who not only understand Christian doctrine but hopefully embody Christ-like character and competence in ministry. The discipleship process creates a multiplying effect, as mature disciples become equipped to evangelize others and mentor new believers themselves, thus perpetuating the cycle of spiritual reproduction that lies at the heart of the Great Commission. This process has been going on for 2,000 years.
Church planting emerges as the structural expression of successful evangelism and discipleship, providing the communal context where these activities can flourish sustainably. As disciples multiply and mature, they historically form faith communities that serve as bases for continued evangelistic outreach and ongoing discipleship development. Churches become the institutional framework that supports long-term disciple-making, offering worship, fellowship, accountability, and organized mission efforts (think of the Four Greats) that extend far beyond what individual believers could accomplish alone. This creates a self-reinforcing ecosystem where established churches plant new churches, which in turn engage in evangelism and discipleship, generating an ever-expanding network of disciple-making communities.
These three activities create a synergistic relationship where each element strengthens and depends upon the others. Evangelism without discipleship produces shallow converts who lack the foundation for spiritual growth or reproduction. Discipleship without evangelism becomes inward-focused and fails to fulfill the mission's expansive vision. Church planting without both evangelism and discipleship results in institutionalism without genuine spiritual transformation. Together, they form a three-fold cohesive strategy for fulfilling Christ's mandate to make disciples of all nations, ensuring that the gospel spreads both extensively through evangelism and intensively through discipleship, while church planting provides the enduring structure for this work to continue across generations.
The Great Collaboration: Together
“Together” is the operative word here that multiplies the impact of the other three Greats. When we love together, serve together and make disciples together we multiply exponentially our impact. Think of it this way; the apostle Paul uses the word “co-laborer” some dozen times in his letters. He uses this word to describe Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, Philemon, Timothy and others. The Greek word that translates as “co-laborer” is synergos, from which we get our English word, synergy—1+1=>2. What is true for individuals is true in spades for churches. Each church, when working together, multiply one another’s impact and effectiveness. Jesus actually says that if we get this unity thing right it will be the greatest testimony and will help people understand that Jesus is sent from God and that God loves every person as much as he loves his own son Jesus. Barna’s Reviving Evangelism (2019), produced in partnership with Alpha USA, reported that 32% of non-Christian Millennials said they would be more interested in Christianity if they saw churches working together more. That is the power of unity. Can we move towards being an answer to his (still unanswered) prayer in John 17?
“The Father of Modern Management”
Several years ago, Sam Williams and I heard Peter Drucker, “the father of modern management” speak at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles at a boutique event sponsored by a group called FaithWorks. Here’s what he said about the need for churches to work together:
“The Church is the only institution capable of re-civilizing broken urban environments. [However], the Church is the most fragmented institution in every city. [Therefore] we must apply the principles of partnership and collaboration, creating a seamless Church partner to work with other sectors in improving the city.”
We don’t want to re-hash what we wrote about earlier in The Whole Church chapter, but we do want to reinforce the idea that unity is a great multiplier of our holistic work.
When Mart Green was trying to visualize what collaboration might look like, what came to mind was a series of interlocking gears. “One gear is not all that impressive but you put gears together it is incredible what they can do!” He expresses the Four Greats as:
-
Go: The Great Commission
-
Do: The Great Compassion
-
Love: The Great Commandment
-
Together: The Great Collaboration
Now imagine this Four Greats gear interlocking with another gear…then another…then another. That’s how transformation happens.
The Four Greats as a Fractal
Fractals are complex patterns that repeat at different scales — meaning, the whole pattern is reflected in its constituent parts. So, if you look at a leaf from a maple tree, you will see that the leaf looks like the maple tree in miniature. You see the same pattern repetition in many things, from snowflakes to Nautilus shells. What makes fractals so remarkable is that they allow structures to be efficient, scalable, and resilient. The Four Greats also have a fractal structure in that I can practice them as an individual, we can practice them as a family. My church can practice the four greats as can “the church in the city.” They can scale in any environment, where I live, learn, work, worship or play.
The Four Greats as the “Operating System” of Every City Network
We’ve saved the best part of this chapter for last. Yes, you read that right. The Four Greats can serve as the “Operating System” (“OS”) for every transformational city network around the world. The idea of an Operating System comes from the world of computers. Every computer has an OS that sits atop the hardware of your laptop. The two most popular Operating Systems today are Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS. If both of us have a Macbook Pro we share the same operating system. What makes our computers different is the programs we run on the operating system. I might use Google Sheets while you prefer Excel. I might use PowerPoint and you like ProPresenter. Same OS…different apps.
Now think of the variety of transformational city movements worldwide. Movement.org, City Leaders Collective, City to City, Transform Our World, Frontline Ministries, et al. Collectively these organizations have hundreds of cities around the world that are engaged in city transformation. Most of the time we cannot communicate effectively because we don’t speak the same language. Common language is the key to “interoperability”—the ability to exchange good ideas and best practices with one another. It was God himself who said, “If they speak the same language then nothing they plan will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6). Apart from administration and fund-raising can you think of anything outside the Four Greats that God wants you to do in your city? This isn’t about control. It’s about communication, contribution and collaboration.
Back in the early 1980s young Microsoft founder Bill Gates was just dreaming about what Microsoft would become. He envisioned “a computer on the desk of every home and office and Microsoft software running on every computer.” Today Microsoft is the leading Operating System in the world with roughly 70% of computers running on Microsoft Windows. What if we had a vision for “a transformational city network in every city in the world and the Four Greats Operating System on every city network?” What if we encouraged ALL transformational city networks to adopt and run off the same operating system? Take a look at the diagram below. Every program or partner must help us accomplish part of the mandate found in the Four Greats.
Caveat: You Don’t Have to Do It All
We, in the city transformation space realize that most every city movement was born out of one of the Four Greats. So, perhaps you started with a desire for pastoral unity (the Great Collaboration) or disaster relief (the Great Compassion), or a unified evangelistic campaign (the Great Commission) or maybe a city-wide prayer event (the Great Commandment). But little by little we encourage you to keep your eye out for what God might want to do in the other Greats and embrace them as a constituent part of who you are and what you do. We increasingly find that the Four Greats create the meta-story in which every church and most every nonprofit in your city can find their place in that big story. Through the Four Greats, you tell that story. We’ve found also that you can account for the Four Greats without having to actively do all of them. One city movement we know of doesn’t do any direct evangelism or church planting but they do account for it by asking all the churches in their network to send in their conversion and baptism numbers each year. These numbers are published in their annual reports. The same could be said about the other three Greats.
The Four Greats create four natural “lanes” in which everyone can run as fast as they like in their lane. But it works best if they stay in their lane. If the Great Commission folks hound the Great Compassion folks (“Hey, while you were building that handicap ramp, did you tell the homeowner about Jesus?”) Waaa, waaa, waaaaaaaaaa…that just lays a guilt trip on those who want to “show” more than “tell.” The best results are when everyone stays in their lane without meddling into another's. The way God made us is that each of us needs to feel like we are taking the action that is closest to God’s heart. No one wants to be involved in God’s 35th most important job.
Conclusion
We like to say that the Four Greats are both complete and indivisible. By “complete” we mean that we cannot find a “fifth great” that compels us towards the mission. By “indivisible” we mean that you also cannot take anything away from them and still be on mission.
In the summer of 2022, I was sitting around a picnic table in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with other leaders who were passionate about city transformation. During lunchand Mart Green asked me what I was learning in City Leaders Collective. I sketched out our Four Great framework and with a big grin on his face, Mart reached into his satchel and pulled out a printed sheet of paper containing his creative version of the Four Greats. He discovered it before we did but we both saw it as a wink from God that we were on the same track…the right track. (For Mart’s thoughtful insights on the Four Greats go to https://martgreen.net/.)
As we became more aligned in our mission, we developed a “challenge coin” (turned into a key chain). On one side was our expression of the Four Greats. On the other side was Mart’s expression: “Go, Do, Love, Together.” The idea was simple; we would give the coin to leaders in our networks and if they accepted it, they must produce it when asked and tell a story of what they did that week to advance at least one of the Four Greats. If they did not have the coin or have a story to tell they were obligated to buy the other a beverage or a meal. Most every leader took the challenge.
The Four Greats framework is your new best friend as it provides a holistic approach to mission that reflects the very nature of God and the ultimate purpose of his redemptive work in the world. As we love God and neighbor and self, serve those in need, make disciples of Jesus, and do it all together in unity, we offer our communities a foretaste of the eternal reality that awaits—a renewed people in a renewed city where God dwells with his people forever.
This is not just about individual transformation or even church growth—it's about seeing entire cities transformed as the unified Church of Jesus Christ embodies his mission in every sphere of society. When we get this right, when we live out these Four Greats together, we become the very people God intends us to be, and the world will know that the Father sent the Son and loves them even as he loves his own Son. Remember: The Four Greats framework is your friend, designed to help you celebrate progress, not to overwhelm you. Every step forward in any of the Four Greats is a significant win that moves you closer to God's heart and helps transform your city. Together, you can do this!
For Reflection and Discussion
1. Looking at the Four Greats framework, which one resonates most with your heart right now? Remember, God often calls us to start where our passion already is—whether that's deepening love (Great Commandment), serving others (Great Compassion), sharing faith (Great Commission), or building unity (Great Collaboration). How might taking even one small step in that area create momentum for the others?
2. When you imagine your city becoming a place where everyone can flourish as God intended (like the vision in Isaiah 65), what would be different? Which of the Four Greats do you think would have the greatest impact in addressing your city's most pressing needs? How might your family, church, nonprofit or transformational city movement already be contributing to this transformation, even in small ways?
3. Eric and Mart describe how the Four Greats work like fractals—patterns that repeat at every level, from individual to family to church to city. Where have you seen evidence of this in your own experience? How might practicing the Four Greats personally prepare you to see them lived out more broadly in your community?
4. Choose one of the Four Greats and identify one specific action you could take this week to move forward in that area. This could be as simple as having a meaningful conversation with God (Great Commandment), helping one person in need (Great Compassion), sharing your faith story with a friend (Great Commission), or collaborating with another believer on any project (Great Collaboration). Remember: any progress is a win worth celebrating and serves as an invitation for others to join you!
5. The Four Greats are designed to work best when we don't try to do them alone. Who in your life could you invite to join you in practicing one of the Four Greats? This might be family members, friends, small group participants, or ministry partners. How could you support each other's growth while staying in your preferred "lane" without guilt or pressure?
6. How will you keep track of your growth in the Four Greats over the next month? Consider creating a simple way to note when you practice each one—not as a burden, but as a celebration of how God is working through you. At the end of each week, which wins will you celebrate? How will you encourage others who are also taking steps forward in their Four Greats journey?