Discipled by Jesus is a powerful, yet practical manual for not only growing as a disciple but for making disciples. The principles in this book are drawn directly from Scripture and have been proven effective for over 40 years. This book is a must read for people who want to grow in their walk with Jesus, small group leaders who want to cultivate connection with the Master, and for pastors who want to grow their churches on the Biblical plan.
Jesus is alive! So why do we follow him like he's not? Sometime during the centuries between Jesus' time on earth and ours, we started to believe that living vicariously through the ancient disciples was the closest we could ever get to being discipled by Jesus. But Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. He is alive, and because of his great love for each of us, Jesus is ready, willing, and able to do for us what he did for the twelve. Robert Gelinas dives into the Bible to show us the Jesus of the gospels, and the Jesus who is alive and yearning to disciple each one of us today. Isn't it time we allowed ourselves to be discipled by Jesus?
Want to make disciples, but not quite sure how? Learn from the Master. Making disciples is tough. To walk someone from no knowledge of Christ to a deep, transforming relationship… that’s a challenge. But it’s our job. In Discipling as Jesus Discipled, you will be equipped to follow Jesus’ masterful strategy of making fishers of men. Through an interactive study of Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and various “mission trips” in the Gospels, you’ll learn: Three words that capture how Jesus made disciples Seven disciplines of a successful disciple-maker How to make the Great Commission a way of life Strategies for making disciples who make disciples You have one life, but when you impart it to others for the sake of Christ—and in the way of Christ—your life will multiply for the glory of God. Ready to learn from the Master?
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.
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.
You are the right person for this job! Its one of those words that seems to hold so much meaning but somehow resides just out of our reach: disciple. How do I become one? And how do I become a disciple-maker? Theres no secret formula, nor is there a one-size-fits-all plan for disciple-making, but there are examples to follow. And there are certainly adventures to be had! Disciple-making at its core is learningand demonstratinghow to relate lovingly to God and to others. These pages are at once practical and packed with stories; they are big-picture-minded and strategy-filled. Read on to see how a disciple-making lifestyle will affect your view of: belonging hospitality relationship-building asking the right questions community and how to best love others In fact, discipleship is already in the heart of every Christian. Dont let your fear, your insecurities, or your busyness get in the way. If you know how to be a friend, you already know most of what you need to be a disciple-maker. Take one step of obedience. Just go.
For far too long, the church has tried to make disciples using a one-size-fits-all approach. Some churches advocate 1-on-1 discipling, others try getting everyone into a small group, while still others training through mission trips or service projects. Yet others focus all their efforts on attracting people to a large group gathering to hear biblical teaching and preaching. But does one size really fit everyone? Based on careful biblical study and years of experience making disciples in the local church, Bobby Harrington and Alex Absalom have identified five key relationships where discipleship happens in our lives. In each relational context we need to understand how discipleship occurs and we need to set appropriate expectations for each context. Discipleship That Fits shows you the five key ways discipleship occurs. It looks at how Jesus made disciples and how disciples were formed in the early church. Each of the contexts is necessary at different times and in different ways as a person grows toward maturity in Christ: Public Relationships: The church gathering corporately for worship Social Relationships: Networks of smaller relationships where we engage in mission and live out our faith in community Personal Relationships: Small groups of six to sixteen people where we challenge and encourage one another on a regular basis Transparent Relationships: Close relationships of three to four where we share intimate details of our lives for accountability The Divine Relationship: Our relationship with Jesus Christ where we grow through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit Filled with examples and stories, Alex and Bobby show you how to develop discipleship practices in each relational context by sharing how Jesus did it, how the early church practiced it, and how churches are discipling people today.
The most comprehensive volume ever produced in defense of the Gospels and Acts The four Gospels and the book of Acts tell stories of Jesus’ life and the birth of Christianity. Are these stories true history or just religious fiction? Christians accept the stories as true and say that the entire Bible is a reliable communication inspired by God. Against this, non-Christians have argued that the Bible is a book of legends, myths, and historical inaccuracies—just another example of human religious endeavor. In this volume, four world-class New Testament scholars address challenges to the reliability of the Gospels and Acts. In order to identify the most important challenges, the authors drew from the literature of skeptics and New Testament critics, plus they included questions that many Christians ask as well. The result is the most comprehensive defense of the Gospels and Acts that has ever been published. The primary purpose of the Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible is to equip readers to defend the reliability of Scripture and the historic evangelical understanding of its teachings. It is designed for use by general readers, though scholars will find it a probing and welcome resource as well. A secondary purpose is to encourage awareness and discussion of Bible difficulties that are not commonly mentioned from the pulpit or even the seminary lectern. This is not a verse-by-verse commentary. The authors were provided an index that identified verses known to be relevant to the topics of apologetics and biblical reliability. They restricted their comments to these verses, plus any others that they recognized as germane to the aims of this project. Typically, each commentary note begins by stating the challenge or challenges regarding the text at hand. We attempt to state the case in all its potency, as a critic would state it. This approach takes seriously the critical viewpoint and helps ensure that the reader feels the full weight of the challenge. The contributors take each challenge seriously and seek to describe viable solutions that support faith and align with a high view of Scripture.
The Disciple Dilemma explains the realities and limitations of using classic business logic and strategy within the Christian community and makes the case that Christian leaders must restructure their organizations to conform to Christ's mission.
"A must-read for every leader." —Dan T. Cathy, Chairman and CEO at Chick-fil-A, Inc. Preston Poore has spent decades in corporate America. Despite all the excellent advice he was given for growing in leadership, there was something missing: a way to bring his Christian beliefs to bear in his professional life, not just his personal life. So Preston sought his own answer to how his faith could impact his management of hundreds of employees. What he discovered was this: the first step wasn't adjusting his leadership style. Instead, he needed to let God change him before he could effect real change in his workplace. And in order to model discipleship to his team, he needed to first be discipled by the Spirit. Here, in the day-to-day practice of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, Poore found where his faith and exceptional leadership intersect. Through personal stories, biblical principles, and hands-on workplace guidance, Poore offers readers a unique look at this seldom-discussed connection. He challenges struggling leaders to engage in the hard work of daily discipleship. And he charges experienced leaders to return to the fundamentals of their faith, encouraging them to disciple other Christians with leadership potential. For anyone wrestling with how to bring faith to the workplace, whether it be a cubicle or a boardroom, Discipled Leader reveals that leadership doesn't begin behind the desk--it begins in the soul.
