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Overview
We are living in days when, as Mike Breen says, we are in a "discipleship crisis...in the Western Church". George Barna's studies have shown that there is currently no discernible difference between the lifestyles of many believers and non-believers. This is the reason for this book: to help you fulfill Jesus' command to "make disciples".
The book is helpful in (at least) two ways. First, the believer can and will grow spiritually by taking on the sessions, one at a time, to learn what it means to follow Jesus. These sessions are meant to be nothing less than opportunities for an encounter with the living Lord Himself. You can begin to monitor your own spiritual progress as Christ and His Book become more meaningful to you day by day. Secondly, the book is a guide to help a disciple-maker take a disciple through it step-by-step, so that together they can work through the stages of follow-up and the beginnings of discipleship. As Josh Hunt, a leading guru of the micro-church, says of the book, "This book will take you step-by-step in laying the foundation every Christian needs to live a fruitful, abundant Christian life".
Special attention is given to having assurance at three levels: Promise-Assurance from the guarantees of God's Word, Proof-Assurance from the evidences salvation gives in your life, and Personal Assurance from the Holy Spirit.
The book helps the disciple to learn the basic truths he or she will to know in order to stand strong as God's child. These include the claims of Christ on the believer, the attributes of God, the Trinity, the two natures of Christ, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit and living in His power. The book also seeks to inculcate the basic skills which a disciple needs to practice in order to be a growing, "self-feeding Christian", such as the need for a solid devotional life in prayer and the Word, a strategy for victory over temptation, the nature of biblical fellowship, how to go through suffering, how to study the Bible with clear understanding and how to share the Good News with others clearly and powerfully. In all, you have an effective method of spiritual growth for believers, plus a practical, effective tool for disciple-makers, for pastors and for churches and mission groups to use.
If you're a pastor, this book will become your great friend. The real key to growth in a church and vitality in ministry does not consist of information related, but in transformation realized. The way that happens is when a pastor gives himself unreservedly to the ministry of spiritual reproduction and multiplication. Too often pastors spend so much time on attracting attenders to their church and involving them through events or other ministries that they miss spiritual reproduction and multiplication of disciples. Yet those are the very elements that actually produce growth in the church. As pastors reproduce themselves, there are then more people with that same pastor's heart who now are mobilized for real personal ministry at street level. So Authentic Discipleship helps meet the pastor's need to reproduce himself in the church.
And leaders who focus on spiritual reproduction and multiplication of real learners and Christ-followers are actually meeting the need for intentional authentic discipleship and participation for which so many are hungry today. This is the reason why so many house churches and cell church networks are growing in the U.K., the States and around the world. As Mike Breen has said: "If you make disciples, you will always get the church. But if you try to build the church, you will rarely get disciples". This book is geared to make the disciples these very networks are trying to produce! So Mike adds: "In "Authentic Discipleship", this engrossing workbook will take you through, step-by-step, the ways we can re-embrace an abundant life in the Kingdom of God as we seek to live out the Great Commission of making disciples who make disciples. I highly recommend this book!"
The book is helpful in (at least) two ways. First, the believer can and will grow spiritually by taking on the sessions, one at a time, to learn what it means to follow Jesus. These sessions are meant to be nothing less than opportunities for an encounter with the living Lord Himself. You can begin to monitor your own spiritual progress as Christ and His Book become more meaningful to you day by day. Secondly, the book is a guide to help a disciple-maker take a disciple through it step-by-step, so that together they can work through the stages of follow-up and the beginnings of discipleship. As Josh Hunt, a leading guru of the micro-church, says of the book, "This book will take you step-by-step in laying the foundation every Christian needs to live a fruitful, abundant Christian life".
Special attention is given to having assurance at three levels: Promise-Assurance from the guarantees of God's Word, Proof-Assurance from the evidences salvation gives in your life, and Personal Assurance from the Holy Spirit.
The book helps the disciple to learn the basic truths he or she will to know in order to stand strong as God's child. These include the claims of Christ on the believer, the attributes of God, the Trinity, the two natures of Christ, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit and living in His power. The book also seeks to inculcate the basic skills which a disciple needs to practice in order to be a growing, "self-feeding Christian", such as the need for a solid devotional life in prayer and the Word, a strategy for victory over temptation, the nature of biblical fellowship, how to go through suffering, how to study the Bible with clear understanding and how to share the Good News with others clearly and powerfully. In all, you have an effective method of spiritual growth for believers, plus a practical, effective tool for disciple-makers, for pastors and for churches and mission groups to use.
If you're a pastor, this book will become your great friend. The real key to growth in a church and vitality in ministry does not consist of information related, but in transformation realized. The way that happens is when a pastor gives himself unreservedly to the ministry of spiritual reproduction and multiplication. Too often pastors spend so much time on attracting attenders to their church and involving them through events or other ministries that they miss spiritual reproduction and multiplication of disciples. Yet those are the very elements that actually produce growth in the church. As pastors reproduce themselves, there are then more people with that same pastor's heart who now are mobilized for real personal ministry at street level. So Authentic Discipleship helps meet the pastor's need to reproduce himself in the church.
And leaders who focus on spiritual reproduction and multiplication of real learners and Christ-followers are actually meeting the need for intentional authentic discipleship and participation for which so many are hungry today. This is the reason why so many house churches and cell church networks are growing in the U.K., the States and around the world. As Mike Breen has said: "If you make disciples, you will always get the church. But if you try to build the church, you will rarely get disciples". This book is geared to make the disciples these very networks are trying to produce! So Mike adds: "In "Authentic Discipleship", this engrossing workbook will take you through, step-by-step, the ways we can re-embrace an abundant life in the Kingdom of God as we seek to live out the Great Commission of making disciples who make disciples. I highly recommend this book!"
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940016517131 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | First Edition Design Publishing |
| Publication date: | 04/12/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 384 KB |
About the Author
Dr. Edward Michael Gross is President of Vanguard Global Network, a pastoral training mission in Columbia, SC which helps to equip the world's churches to fulfill the Great Commission in disciple-making. Ed was a pastor for 22 years, and has served in world missions for the last 15 years. Ed is married to Maxine; they have 6 grown children, and 11 grandchildren. The Grosses live in Lexington, SC.
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