Discipleship That Fits

Bobby Harrington is the co-founder of discipleship.org and the founding and lead pastor of Harpeth Christian Church (19 years). He is the chairman of the board for the Relational Discipleship Network and the co-author of DiscipleShift, Dedicated: Training Your Children to Trust and Follow Jesus, and Discipleship that Fits. He has been married to Cindy for over 35 years and they have two adult children who are disciples of Jesus. Alex is a visionary speaker, consultant, writer and practitioner on mission and discipleship, especially the practicalities of building a movement around missional communities. Originally from England, Alex has served in church leadership for over two decades, and has helped many churches and denominations develop intentional disciple making processes. Married to Hannah and with three sons, the family are part of Grace Church in Long Beach CA, where Alex also leads Dandelion (www.dandelionresourcing.com), an organization that empowers disciple making leaders and churches.  

Introduction - For far too long, the church has approached discipleship with the assumption that there is a single model or context for discipleship. Some churches advocate 1-on-1, others try small groups, while still others emphasize mission trips or discipleship through large group teaching and preaching. But this one-size-fits all mentality doesn't work in real life. We need to understand how discipleship occurs in different relational contexts and we need to set our expectations to match the context. Chapter 1: Our Public Relationships The public context for discipleship refers to the ways in which the church gathers corporately, as a body of Christ followers, and includes people into that community. This is the discipleship context for inspiring people and creating move-mentum through public preaching. In most churches, this typically happens at a Sunday gathering of 150+ people during a worship service. Chapter 2: Our Social Relationships Though we identify corporately with a larger body of believers, most of us can only have social relationships with a group of between 20 and 70 people. This is the context for community, mission, and practicing our faith. It is the ideal context for a missional community. Chapter 3: Our Personal Relationships Who do you look to for support and help? Who challenges you and speaks into your life when needed? These are the relationships that provide support and challenges, and it includes the typical small group gathering of 6 to 16 people. Chapter 4: Our Transparent Relationships These are the relationships where we are vulnerable and intimate---the safe relationships in our life where we can be completely honest. This is the typical gathering for an effective D-Group, a same-gender gatherings of 2 to 5 men or women where more intensive discipleship occurs. Chapter 5: The Divine Relationship Every Christian believer is ultimately a disciple of Jesus, following him through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an essential relationship where the Holy Spirit empowers our identity, reveals our gifting, and enables us to walk in truth and love. This is the context in which we practice the individual spiritual disciplines like prayer, fasting, silence and meditation. Conclusion Summarizes the content and includes a Q and A section on some of the practical questions.