Review - Real-Life Discipleship

"Real-Life Discipleship: Buliding Churches that Make Disciples" is a new book by Jim Putman published by NavPress. It's a concise and well-written book aimed at church leaders to address a critical question: "Is your church making disciples... who make disciples?" and that gives them the principles and tools to be able to answer 'yes'. As the senior pastor of Real Life Ministries Putnam's approach is both biblical and very practical, and has been successful at his and other churches.

Real-Life Discipleship reexamines the goal and methods of discipleship. Part One sets the stage for discipleship and describes three keys for effective discipleship: an intentional leader, a relational environment, and a strategic, reproducible process. Part Two takes a close look at five maturity levels of seekers and believers, then gets into the details of their process: Share, Connect, Minister, Disciple. Part Three addresses some important questions on developing leaders within your church. "The leadership of the church must view its job as that of making disciples who can make disciples."

I had a a mixed but overall good impression in reading this book. In some ways it seems like many other old and new books on discipleship, hearkening a return to how Jesus did things - most of which fail to provide practical insight on how to actually do that in the 21st Century. The 'process' in Real-Life discipleship is more of a framework than something you can directly implement. That is both a plus and a minus - you will definitely need to consider further how to apply the principles here to your specific situation. In addition, there is a supplemental Training Manual that gives some more specific ideas and studies.

The material in Real-Life Discipleship is very solid, and Putnam does a great job in addressing a tough subject in a short space, covering both the rationale and process for discipleship. NavPress is known for its commitment to discipleship, so it's a natural addition to their lineup. I would recommend it to pastors and church leaders whose churches are not doing as well as they could be in making and reproducing disciples.

Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches that Make Disciples is available at Amazon and other book retailers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".