The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ

Bill Hull, The Complete Book of Discipleship, On Being and Making Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs, NavPress, 2006) Any time a book has `The Complete Book of...' anything in its title, my first instinct is to find holes in the `completeness' of the material. The burden of proof on an author such as Mr. Hull is especially difficult when the subject has a 2000 year history, with such lustrous authorities as Basil the Great, Anthony the Great, St. Benedict, St. Francis, Ignatius of Loyola, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. My overall reaction is that while the book doesn't have much to say about the first 1900 years of Christianity, or the whole matter of Catholic monasticism in general, the book does do a credible job of covering the subject for 21st century Protestants, especially those who may have been inspired by the life of Herr Bonhoeffer. If I were to fault the book on any one major point, it would be the lack of a comprehensive Bibliography, especially one aimed at covering those first 1900 years. This is an excellent second book on Discipleship, after reading Bonhoeffer's 'The Cost of Discipleship'. If one reads about church attendance in pre-Revolutionary War New England, you may be surprised at the laxness of church membership in the 1720's, which lead to a multi-tiered policy of admission to the church's sacraments. Pastors, even powerful, well-known pastors, would let you in to communion and baptize your babies on very weak criteria for membership. But for the full-fledged member, the expectations are very high. Today, the expectations among the clergy for dedicated members seems to have dropped to nothing, and all emphasis is put on both encouraging drawing in and holding new members and on Missional projects. Both are worthy Christian activities, but it still means strong `discipleship', along with `spiritual formation' disciplines seem to have diminished to insignificance for adults in small to middle-sized churches. Thus, one of the strengths of this book is to include thoughts about both discipleship and spiritual formation, although the emphasis is certainly on the former. Another casualty of `casual' church and denominational affiliations, at least among Protestants, may be the fact that we have lost sight of the theological grounds of `good behavior' by Protestants. The Reformation discarded the entire Catholic notion, common in the 15th--16th century, that one can pay off sin by a wide variety of sacramental means such as confession and non-sacramental means such as the purchase of indulgences and by acts of charity. Of course, one can also insure ones path to heaven by avoiding sin. But Luther and Calvin and all the other reformers endorsed the doctrine of sola fide, or justification by faith alone. But that opened up the can of worms over the motives for behaving oneself. The Protestant answer is that by achieving grace, through faith and the will of God, one is imbued by a love of the Christ Jesus, and wish to emulate him, follow him, be like him, as much as humanly possible. Ironically, this is exactly what the Catholic monastic orders do so well, and what the modern Protestants do not so much. Discipleship is basically the disciple of being a Protestant disciple of Jesus, as much as that is practical in the modern world and the modern church. There is a 40 page history of discipleship, divided neatly between Catholic and Protestant exemplars (Some of the facts in this history are a bit loose. For pre-Reformation figures, go to good scholarly sources). It is no accident that 25% of this history is spent covering the teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the closest thing Protestantism has in the 20th century to a saint. Based on my earlier theological sketch, Bonhoeffer hits the nail on the head when he says `Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ'. For a Protestant, our lives should be all about emulating Christ in both thought and action. Bonhoeffer says `An abstract Christology, a doctrinal system, a general religious knowledge on the subject of grace...render discipleship superfluous...and are essentially inimical to ...following Christ.' One may go so far as to paraphrase Bonhoeffer by saying that Christianity without discipleship is not Christianity. At the heart of Hull's presentation is a six-fold definition of `being conformed to Christ's image. This is a far simpler job, but with similarities to, Jonathan Edwards markers of those who are among the elect, since it relies only on behavioral markers. The signs are transformed mind, character, relationships, habits, service, and influence. The last marker is especially important, because it highlights the fact that good discipleship works best in small groups, where discipleship leaders can foster the growth of discipleship in others. It should be no surprise that spiritual formation also works best in small groups, and this book is all about doing both. But it is also about being Missional, about going out into the world and demonstrating the kind of life which monks live in the safety of their cloisters. The Missional aspect of life is not done simply because it's a good thing to do. It is a matter of survival. If a group's activities become too ingrown, if they never venture outside the church, they will simply wither and die out. A gut impression I get from a lot of books on spirituality and Christianity in general is that there is a lot of wind, but little substance. While this may not be a complete diet, this book does offer concrete nourishment for Protestant discipleship.

Our church has been pursuing Christ's call to disciple making in earnest for about three years now. What a sad testimony that is! Why did it take so long for us to get on track with God? Well, at least we are walking in step with Jesus now regarding the Great Commission. God has taught us a lot, but the biggest room in our house is still the room for improvement. Bill Hull's book came to my attention at just the right time. Doesn't that sound like the Lord? Let me share some highlights from this treasure trove on discipleship.First of all, Bill has been on his discipleship journey for about forty years. He has been writing about this topic for a long time, too. I found that he sees things quite a bit as God has been teaching us, except he has a greater depth and breadth that are helpful and inspiring. This is one of those books from which you will be quoting. Not only is there a wealth of information, but Bill challenges his reader to the core.Bill deals with the "elephant in the room" - consumerist non-discipleship Christianity. He shows how this capitulation to our culture has robbed the church of her obedience, power, and vibrancy. He also addresses the false notion that discipleship can be thought of as a program for new believers that can be checked off the list and moved beyond. Discipleship is a lifetime journey. Bill gives his readers a brief overview of the history of discipleship in the church, beginning with the Greco-Roman world up through Dietrich Bonheoffer. At the end of the book he catches us up on present thoughts and practices. He also covers the marks of a disciple, the stages of discipleship, what is involved in spiritual transformation, the various approaches to disciple making, the role of small groups in the process, how discipleship works in the church, leaving a generational legacy through discipleship, and, finally, the future of discipleship. At the end of the book, referring to some of Barna's research, he gives five examples of churches which seem to be doing a good job at making disciples, each one doing it a different way.Some of the "gems" that I have taken from my first reading of this book are below. I suppose everyone will be impacted slightly differently, depending on where we are in our own journey, but I believe any serious disciple will benefit from giving this work a chance.Bill shares that most churches do a pretty good job at focusing on growth in the knowledge of the Bible, learning ministry skills, and focusing on inner character transformation. Where we break down is usually in the area of being personally accountable to a mentor and in making a commitment to invest in at least one other person at any given time. At our church, we probably need to focus on being accountable to someone we love and trust. We have talked about it a lot, but it is still fairly rare. Bill talks about entering into training rather than simply trying harder. He emphasizes the importance of cultivating the inner life, something that is a little foreign to many evangelicals formed by our consumer culture. Bill also is big on having a manageable way to measure progress. This is another area in which we can improve. This does not mean we become regimented or program-oriented, but it does require giving some thought to providing a way to facilitate growth.One of the best sections for me addresses the need for leaders to "detox" by giving up the "gods" that traditionally rule over our concept of church "success" and which militate against true discipleship. The first of these is the worship of attendance. Quoting Dallas Willard, Hull writes:We must flatly say that one of the greatest contemporary barriers to meaningful spiritual formation into Christlikeness is overconfidence in the spiritual efficacy of "regular church services."... One way to give up the god of attendance is to replace it with a different goal. When our goal moves from wanting recognition from others to the transformation of others, we put the god of attendance in its place. (p.265)Secondly, leaders must stop bowing down to the god of "increase." I will quote one line: "Perhaps the toughest place to decrease is in the influence and power we hold over people around us. Any leadership based on increasing the leader is wrong." (p.267) The third "god" that must be dethroned in our lives is "competence."The culture honors competence. But the myth of competence is thinking that we'll outgrow our weaknesses, sins, fears, and disappointments. The myth is that we'll reach a place of spiritual competence where we'll "get it together." Those times never come. In fact, as we become more like Jesus, our dependence on God increases... Our wounds and weaknesses are real; our inabilities are exposed for others to see. When we lead with our weakness and our wounds, we gain a powerful way to touch others around us. (p.268-9)Hull exhorts leaders to focus on the development of the inner life and giving ourselves over to the principle of discipleship. "The principle of God's plan of discipleship is the impact of one life on another - the character, skill, and perspective of one godly person influencing another willing person." (p.270)A final benefit is that this book provides a wealth of lists of reading materials for the person who wants to go deeper into learning about this most interesting and important topic. You really should read this book! Seeing God's Smile

Used for my Biblical studies

Good resource. Helpful history of disciple making in the church. Well written. Inspiring in places. More an essay on why discipleship matters than a guide to practical disciple making. I’ve been hand training men in practical discipleship for 35 years and I’m glad I read it.

Learned a lot by reading this book and look forward to thinking about some of the principles against my life and my ministry. Highly recommend

Solid

From page one, the book captivated me. You will certainly come away with clarity on what discipleship is and what it is not. It is a must-have in preparation for where ever discipleship needs to take place. Great for Christian administrators, educational leaders, small group leadership, etc. Also, this book is a must-have in your library for every believer in fulfilling the great commission

I was looking for help in deciding whether one-to-one or group discipling is best. This book outlined the essential purpose and objectives of discipleship with some options for delivery and gave very helpful background. The notes and bibliography is extensive. It's from the US so some interpretation of examples is needed. It's somewhat dated now so more current content could prove valuable.

C'est un très bon livre chrétien sur le discipulat, ça ouvre nos yeux sur notre vie chrétienne, chaque chrétien est appelé à être disciple de Christ et à le suivre !

Arrogance and an inflated view of self is becoming common, however, Jesus walked this earth with humility at the centre of His life. A disciple or follower of Jesus as Bill Hull outlines in this book also must have humility central in his life. I find myself experiencing transformation and very frank prayer times now.

Great balanced comprehensive book that illuminates the right and wrong way to becoming imitators of Jesus Christ. Must read for all serious followers.

By far the best book on discipleship I have read. Thorough, clear and inspiring. If you're serious about following Jesus and making disciples for him, get this book.