—- HELPFUL LINKS —-
Discipled by our Culture?: Ethics and Public Policy Center 2021
Many Americans Say Other Faiths Can Lead to Eternal Life: Pew Forum 2018
How Western Christians Think About Their Faith: Baylor University Religion Study
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace Pew Forum 2019
Sharing Faith Is Increasingly Optional to Christians Barna Research
Sexual Brokenness: The Modern Tsunami of Pornography Josh McDowell and Barna Research
The Decline and Renewal of the American Church (Tim Keller) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
The Foundation of a Disciple Making Culture Navigator’s Church Ministry Webinar
The Bonhoeffer Project for Discipling
Practical Conversations About Disciples By Disciples The Practitioner’s Podcast
—- Great Books! —-
4 Chair Discipling
Founder of Sonlife ministries and Author Dan Spader developed 4 Chair Discipling, a simple picture for others to follow. Jesus’ last words on earth had a few very specific instructions: Go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.
Back-Pocket God: Religion and Spirituality in the Lives of Emerging Adults
With Back-Pocket God, a mammoth 10-year research project comes to its conclusion. What have we learned about the changing shape of religion in America?
A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians
William Wilberforce, the British slave emancipator writes about the loss of the true Christian ethos of disciples as society and time trundle along.
INsourcing: Bringing Discipleship Back to the Local Church
Pastor Randy Pope (Perimeter Presbyterian Atlanta) and Katti Murray team up to ask if the primary objective of the church—personally discipling individuals into mature followers of Jesus—has been “outsourced”.
The Great Evangelical Recession
Can we afford Western Christianity’s price tag? John Dickerson’s provocative work suggests believers are becoming much more frugal in their giving – such as 30% less than during the Great Depression of the 30’s, Can we afford to keep borrowing and building the way we do “church” in America?
The Complete Book of Discipleship
Bill Hull, of the Navigators covers just about everything the discipler and the disciple might need to think about to pursue Christ’s “Go and Make” very very well.
The Embarrassed Believer
TV personality and author Hugh Hewitt makes the case that believers need to stop be seen and not heard, winsomely. A classic for modern believers.
How Should We Then Live?
Pastor, Philosopher and Intellectual Francis Schaeffer’s magnum opus on culture and disciples. From the encroachment of the enlightenment to modernity’s vapidness, from art to economics, this is a must-read.
The Magna Carta of Humanity
Will the worldview of The American Revolution sustain the West, or will our societies succumb to the insanity of the French Revolution? A foundational read for the modern disciple by one of America’s great admirers – Os Guinness.
Discipleship
J. Heinrich Arnold’s thoughtful discourse on the relationships of discipling and the dangers of production methods to mass produce Christ-followers.
It’s Not Just You
Counselor and theologian Ashley Chesnut tackles female discipleship in tough terrain. Sexual brokenness – her theme – haunts women too. “It’s Not Just You” offers hope, practical counsel and biblical wisdom for women
The Cost of Discipleship
A classic work by neo-orthodox pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. An uncomfortable and invaluable read.
The Sanity of Belief
From the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics Attorney, Speaker and Theologian Simon Edwards authors a book he wrote to himself – his seventeen-year-old self – to explain why belief in God is rational, sensible and wonderful. Every disciple of Christ should be equipped with this terrific exposition of why a world without God is nonsensical – and why the one with Him is the real deal.
The Christian Leader
Secular models of leadership rooted in pragmatic success dominate Christian leadership in the West. It makes our work impersonal and exploitive. And, at worst, it serves the leader rather than those the leader leads.
We need a different style of leadership—one patterned after Jesus. We need to learn to influence others out of our character, for that is what Jesus did.
The Great Quest
Os Guinness invites us to examine our lives and join the great quest for meaning and a life well lived. For those who are up to Socrates’ challenge, it is a search that is indispensable to making the most of life. Guinness charts the course of the thinking person’s journey toward faith and meaning, calling for a firm grasp of reason, an honest awareness of conscience, and a living sense of wonder.
Good News for Anxious Christians
Phillip Cary explains that knowing God is a gradual, long-term process that comes through the gospel experienced in Christian community, not a to-do list designed to help us live the Christian life “right.” This clearly written book covers ten things Cary skillfully unpacks the riches of traditional Christian spirituality, bringing the real good news to Christians of all ages.
Discipleship is the Core Mission of the Church
Most local churches try to do too many things. They seek to worship God, serve the poor, reach lost people, proclaim justice, support one another, etc. In this eBook, founding and Lead Pastor Bob Harrington pursues the assertion that discipleship is the core purpose of the church.