Disciple Making - Bobby Harrington & W. Scott Sager - Spring 2023

This was a super small book (132 pages). It took me about 90 minutes to read. This book is published by Renew.org which is an organization I have really turned on to in the last couple of years. it is a part of their “Real Life Theology Series” which answers 52 theological questions.

After the introduction, this book is built around answering 5 questions about discipleship

  1. Why are the life and teachings of Jesus important for disciple making?

  2. What is a disciple of Jesus

  3. Why is disciple making the core mission of the Church

  4. What is the result of disciple making

  5. how do disciples live in this world

I found their definition of a disciple of Jesus to be really succinct and helpful:

“someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus”

here are some of the quotes I underlined

“By excluding what it means to follow Jesus’ teachings and imitate his life, we share a gospel not taught in the Word of God. God calls us to more than a transaction. God calls us to become disciples of Jesus. (24)

“Although the circumstances of every book in the New Testament vary for each of the recipients, each book was ultimately written to help people come to faith in Jesus and become more and more like Jesus.” (58)

“John the Baptist called his followers into a countercultural life of service to others as they strove to be fully devoted God-followers.” (83)

This book was much more about defining discipleship than depicting what exactly that would look like in ministry/life. I’m looking for a little more practical guide to discipleship ministry as I try to invest more into that personally than this book provided. They did list some resources at the end for further reading and I ordered one of them, The Disciple Making Pastor by Bill Hull. I’m looking for a guide about what to emphasize in discipleship, how to best select candidates/partners, and potential pitfalls (at the practical level) to avoid, I hope that this book by Hull provides those things.

UP NEXT

  1. (continuing to read The New Testament in It’s World little by little)

  2. Is God Anti-Gay? Allberry

  3. Flood and Fury, Lynch

  4. The Disciple Making Pastor, Hull

  5. Revelation for Everyone, Wright

  6. A New Heaven and a New Earth, Middleton

Joel Nielsen