DiscipleShift


Book Description

Question: What is the God-given purpose of the local church? Answer: Relational discipleship. DiscipleShift walks you through five key "shifts" that churches must make to refocus on the fundamental biblical mission of discipleship. These intentional changes will attract the world and empower your church members to be salt and light in their communities. Over the last thirty years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. While many of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship. Making disciples—helping people to trust and follow Jesus—is the church's God-given mandate. Devoted disciples attract people outside the church because of the change others see in their Christ-like lives. And discipleship empowers Christians to be more like Christ as they intentionally develop relationships with non-believers. Through biblical and professional insights, Jim Putman and Bobby Harrington discuss the transformational effectiveness of making disciples and just how to do so, in practical terms. You’ll learn: The specific roles of a disciple-making pastor. The components of person-to-person discipleship. How each ministry in your church leads to discipleship. How to implement discipleship in your church. Disciple-making leaders will not produce perfect churches, but they will create effective churches.




Deep Discipleship


Book Description

Everyone is being discipled. The question is: what is discipling us? The majority of Christians today are being discipled by popular media, flashy events, and folk theology because churches have neglected their responsibility to make disciples. But the church is not a secondary platform in the mission of God; it is the primary platform God uses to grow people into the image of Jesus. Therefore, as church leaders, it is our primary responsibility to establish environments and relationships where people can be trained, grow, and be sent as disciples. There are three indispensable elements of discipleship: Learning to participate in the biblical story (the Bible) Growing in our confession of who God is and who we are (theology) Regularly participating in private and corporate intentional action (spiritual disciplines) Deep Discipleship equips churches to reclaim the responsibility of discipling people at any point on their journey.




Discipling


Book Description

Before ascending to heaven, Jesus instructed his followers to "make disciples of all nations." But what does this command actually entail? What does it look like for Christians to care for one another's spiritual well-being and growth? In this introduction to the basics of discipling, veteran pastor and author Mark Dever uses biblical definitions and practical examples to show how Christians can help one another become more like Christ every day. The eighth volume in the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series, this short book explains how discipling should function in the context of the local church, teaching pastors and church leaders how to cultivate a culture of edification and growth in their congregations.




The Lost Art of Disciple Making


Book Description

"Every believer in Jesus Christ deserves the opportunity of personal nurture and development." says LeRoy Eims. But all too often the opportunity isn't there. We neglect the young Christian in our whirl of programs, church services, and fellowship groups. And we neglect to raise up workers and leaders who can disciple young believers into mature and fruitful Christians. In simple, practical, and biblical terms, LeRoy Eims revives the lost art of disciple making. He explains: - How the early church discipled new Christians - How to meet the basic needs of a growing Christian - How to spot and train potential workers - How to develop mature, godly leaders "True growth takes time and tears and love and patience," Eims states. There is no instant maturity. This book examines the growth process in the life of a Christian and considers what nurture and guidance it takes to develop spiritually qualified workers in the church.




Disciple


Book Description

Our whole society relies on discipline. People going to work each day, doctors following procedures, pilots checking equipment, all rely on each person following a set of rules – a discipline. Following Jesus is synonymous with living disciplined. The current times demand disciples, not just churchgoers or Christians. In this new book from Pastor Phil Pringle brings lessons from his 43 years in Church ministry, and serving the global Church.




The Disciple Maker's Handbook


Book Description

Many people believe that discipleship is important, but they need help. In fact, the vast majority of Christians report that they have never been personally discipled by a more mature follower of Jesus. Is it any wonder that they have a difficult time knowing how to disciple others? If making disciples of Jesus is the greatest cause on earth, how should we equip people to do it? This handbook is a practical guide for how to embrace the discipleship lifestyle – being a disciple of Jesus and how to make other disciples of Jesus. With contributions from pastors and teachers like Francis Chan, Jeff Vanderstelt, Bill Hull, Jim Putman, KP Yohannan, and Robert Coleman, the authors present seven elements that are necessary for disciple making to occur: Jesus—the original disciple maker and centerpiece of discipleship. Holy Spirit—fuels the disciple-making process. Intentionality—making disciples utilizing a strategy and a roadmap. Relationships—creating a loving, genuine connection with others who trust and follow Jesus. Bible—using the Word of God as the manual for making disciples. Journey—forging a traceable growth story from a new birth to spiritual parenthood. Multiply—reproducing the discipleship process so that the disciple becomes a disciple maker. Whether you are a parent who wants to disciple your children, a small group leader who wants to disciple those in your group, or a church leader who wants to disciple future leaders, the seven key elements in this handbook form a framework for understanding discipleship that can be applied in countless situations. In addition, there are questions provided in each section to help you think through how to apply the material to your disciple making efforts.




Real-Life Discipleship


Book Description

Is your church making disciples . . . who make disciples . . . who make disciples? Real-Life Discipleship explains what should happen in the life of every Christian and in every small group so that the church becomes an army of believers dedicated to seeing the world saved. With the overriding goal to train disciples who know how to make more disciples, this book offers proven tools and strategies from Real Life Ministries, one of America’s fastest-growing churches. In this book, you will learn: How to create churches that succeed and grow How to intentionally disciple believers in every stage of their spiritual development How to find and develop leaders in your church This book also contains these helpful features: A summary and profile of each stage of spiritual growth Recommended resources for disciple-makers Spiritual facts A presentation of the gospel Discover what the Bible says about true and effective discipleship with these strategies and practices in this great church resource.




Conversion and Discipleship


Book Description

Discipleship occurs when someone answers the call to learn from Jesus how to live his or her life as though Jesus were living it. The end result is that the disciple becomes the kind of person who naturally does what Jesus did. How the church understands salvation and the gospel is the key to recovering a biblical theology of discipleship. Our doctrines of grace and salvation, in some cases, actually prevent us from creating an expectation that we are to be disciples of Jesus. A person can profess to be a Christian and yet still live under the impression that they don’t need to actually follow Jesus. Being a follower is seen as an optional add-on, not a requirement. It is a choice, not a demand. Being a Christian today has no connection with the biblical idea that we are formed into the image of Christ. In this ground-breaking new book, pastor and author Bill Hull shows why our existing models of evangelism and discipleship fail to actually produce followers of Jesus. He looks at the importance of recovering a robust view of the gospel and taking seriously the connection between conversion—answering the call to follow Jesus—and discipleship—living like the one we claim to follow.




Transforming Discipleship


Book Description

Greg Ogden recovers Jesus' method of accomplishing life change by investing in just a few people at a time. In this revised and updated edition Ogden sets forth his vision for transforming both the individual disciple and discipleship itself, showing how discipleship can become a self-replicating process with ongoing impact from generation to generation.




The Meanings of Discipleship


Book Description

Discipleship is a foundational concept of Christian life which has become a popular and ubiquitous description of belonging and growth in early 21st ecclesiastical language. Discipleship courses and popular writings abound and the term is used liberally in official church documents and strategies for growth and development, particular in a western context. But does recent use of the word risk reducing the wide range of meanings of discipleship to something less rich and inclusive than is warranted? With contributions from an array of leading thinkers, scholars and theologians, including Rachel Mann, Kirsteen Kim and Anthony Reddie, this book argues that there is need for more clarity, precision and depth in defining what meaningfully and constructively is construed as discipleship. Beginning with an overview of how the concept of discipleship has been understood in history, the volume goes on to consider some of the key figures who have shaped our understanding of the concept, and finally to reflect on what discipleship might look like in contemporary society.