Making disciples is one of the things I'm most passionate about. Therefore, when I saw that Mission Frontiers had an offer to send you for one of 3 books if you'd do a review of it, I gladly accepted and chose the book titled "Transforming Discipleship" by Greg Ogden.Ogden's book is a treatise on making "self-initiating, reproducing, fully devoted followers of Christ." He takes the reader through a period of evaluation of the current state of discipleship in the Church, some of the reasons for the dire state and then proceeds to make a great case for discipleship being more about relationship than programs, something that I think is often not reflected in the practice of churches and believers. Finally, he gives practical how to's for changing the situation and actually making "self-initiating, reproducing, fully devoted followers of Christ"
Chapters one and two looked at the current state of the church. Specifically it focused to what extent believers are or are not: proactive ministers, disciplined in their way of life, affected by discipleship in their entire life, a counter cultural force, essential chosen organisms, Biblically informed, and people who share their faith. An honest review paints a sad picture of our current situation. He then lays out some of the causes of this situation: a diversion from the primary calling of making disciples, an emphasis on programs instead of relationships, reducing the Christian life from one of taking up our cross and following Jesus to cheap grace, and others. This first part of the book really dragged for me. Of course, to Ogden's credit, he mentioned in the introduction, that many don't need to be convinced of the need for discipleship and may want to skip the first part. I guess I fall in that camp, but since I'd promised to review the book, felt as if I should read its entirety.
The second part of the book focuses on Jesus and Paul as models of disciplers. His thesis is that Jesus met people where they were at and adjusted his leadership style to the needs of his disciples. This is basically the Biblical basis for what he's proposing.
The third section of the book is really the meat of the matter. It's where he lays out a process of discipleship, which he defines as, "An intentional relationship in which we walk alongside other disciples in order to encourage, equip, and challenge one another in love to grow toward maturity in Christ. This includes equipping the disciple to teach others as well." Ogden makes a compelling case that our churches try to take too many short-cuts to get quick results among the masses. He quotes Robert Coleman a couple of times, who said, "One must decide where he wants his ministry to count - applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen ones who will carry on his work after he is gone. Really it is a question of which generation are we living for."
Ogden strongly urges people to make disciples in "triads." His experience seems to be the overwhelming support for this, and he certainly didn't give any Biblical rationale for it. He did mention that the larger the group, the less likely there will be for transparency and true accountability. His reasons for having a group of 3 rather than one on one are all reasonable, but I kept finding myself asking, "Why not four or five?" He says there are three necessary ingredients in these small discipleship groups: transparency, God's Word and accountability. He promotes that these groups go on for about one year before each member starts a new triad. One of the benefits he extols regarding triads is that it seems less like a teacher-student relationship and more like three people coming alongside one another. This makes the reproduction easier and is even helped my allowing a rotation of leading the meetings for the first year.
In short, Ogden's book promotes a very practical approach to making disciples. It's not flashy. It's not fast. It's slow and methodical - just as I believe Jesus intended discipleship to be and most of all it's effective. We're all on a journey to spiritual maturity that will last our entire life. If more of us would adopt Ogden's approach in "Transforming Discipleship" we'd see believers slowly, but surely growing into maturity and over years, we would see churches being transformed into the radiant bride of Christ.
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Regarding your question about whether 4 or 5 would work, I interviewed Ogden and asked what he had learned after writing the book. His response: four works better than three because when someone is traveling the rest of the group isn't reduced to a one-on-one dynamic.
In applying this book I have also adapted Ogden's triad model to meet less often, with the agreement that participants will start their own groups while continuing to meet with me. This makes what they are learning from me far more practical as they seek to apply it, and creates the structure for me me to offer coaching and for them to benefit from peer coaching as they are learning to disciple others.
--Robby Butler with Mission Frontiers
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