Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ (IVP Essentials)
Overview
We grow in Christ as we seek him together. Jesus’ own pattern of disciple-making was to be closely involved with others, allowing life to touch life. By gathering in twos or threes to study the Bible and encourage one another, we can most closely follow Jesus’ example today. With Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ, you have access to a tool designed to help you gain a solid foundation on this journey. This hands-on book from long-time pastor Greg Ogden helps individuals and groups practically live out the pattern Jesus established of “doing life together.” Ogden’s classic easy to follow workbook will deepen your knowledge of essential Christian teaching and strengthen your faith.
Each week contains the following elements:
- A core truth presented in a question-answer format
- A memory verse and accompanying study
- A field-tested inductive Bible study
- A reading on the theme for the week
- Questions to draw out key principles in the reading
This text is great for use in small groups, one-on-one, in mentoring pairs or triads, as well as individual study. Discover the fullness of life in Christ with Discipleship Essentials, crafted to help us influence others as Jesus did. And in the Logos Bible Software edition, this fully indexed text enables near-instant search results for words, people, places, and ideas, while Scripture references appear on mouseover in your preferred translation. With the most efficient and comprehensive research tools all in one place, you can deepen your study with just a few clicks; and Logos tablet and mobile apps let you take your study with you, making it especially convenient for meeting with groups.
- Includes a new foreword by the author
- Contains a new section on stewardship
- Comprised of material for individual use as well as group discussion
- A Word from the Author
- Getting the Most from Discipleship Essentials
- Part One: Growing Up in Christ
- Part Two: Understanding the Message of Christ
- Part Three: Becoming Like Christ
- Part Four: Serving Christ
- Bonus Section: Money
- Appendix: Building a Discipleship Ministry
Top Highlights
“Discipling is 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.” (Page 17)
“1. The first and key role of the discipler is to issue an ‘invitation to accountable relationship.’” (Page 11)
“4. The discipler models transparency by sharing personal struggles, prayer concerns and confession of sin.” (Page 12)
“2. Initially, the discipler is the group convener and guide.” (Page 12)
“Celebration of Discipline. He says that spiritual disciplines are those practices that put us in the presence of God where we can have an intimate relationship with him.” (Page 15)
One of the most serious challenges facing the church in North America is that of undiscipled church members. Greg Ogden’s work seeks to move Sunday-only consumer Christians into the adventurous life of following Jesus on a daily basis in authentic community. It provides an indispensable resource to help local churches address this challenge.
—Eddie Gibbs, senior professor, School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary
Greg Ogden’s engaging book sets the expectation that every follower of Jesus has the joyful responsibility to invest into two or three regularly and purposefully for the kingdom. For the past ten years, Discipleship Essentials has provided an engaging and balanced approach to the task of raising up mature believers who will then themselves invest in others. I can only imagine that in the next ten years thousands more will be shaped toward maturity because of his important work that gives each believer the inspiration and the framework to do what they were made to do: advance the kingdom by making mature disciples.
—Timothy J. Yee, minister of young adults, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, California
Discipleship Essentials is the most effective tool I know of for use in encouraging actual growth in personal discipleship. I give it to all of the pastors I am working with in congregational transformation and missional engagement because growing disciples is essential to their congregations’ vitality.
—E. Stanley Ott, president, The Vital Churches Institute
- Title: Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ
- Author: Gregory J. Ogden
- Edition: Expanded
- Publisher: InterVarsity Press
- Series: Essentials
- Publication Date: 2007
- Pages: 237
Greg Ogden (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) lives out his passion of speaking, teaching, and writing about the disciple-making mission of the church after spending twenty-four years in pastoral ministry. Most recently Greg served as executive pastor of discipleship at Christ Church of Oak Brook in the Chicago western suburbs. From 1998-2002, Greg held the position of director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary and associate professor of lay equipping and discipleship.
Greg is the author of several books such as Unfinished Business, Discipleship Essentials, Transforming Discipleship, Leadership Essentials (with coauthor Daniel Meyer), and The Essential Commandment. He is a partner in the Global Discipleship Initiative (GDI), which trains, coaches, and inspires pastors and Christian leaders to establish indigenous, multiplying, disciplemaking networks, both nationally and internationally. Greg and his wife, Lily, have been married more than forty-five years and have one adult daughter and two grandchildren.
Reviews
0 ratings
Noel Bomar
2/26/2014
I own the "print" version of this book, and I can say that Greg Ogden has hit a "Home Run" with Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ. This book is excellent for individual and group study. What this book advertises is what it delivers; a true building of one's life in Christ, based upon the very principles that Jesus used to train the twelve disciples He chose to carry on His mission to "All Nations" Matt 28:18-20. Greg Ogden has put together an "Essential" guide to help anyone who wants to be a "True" disciple of Christ achieve that very goal. It is a great guide for new believers and those who are mature in their faith. The principles this book teaches are what many churches are in need of today. I for one believe that through the course of my minsty walk; with the help of the principles taught in this book, I will continue to grow as a mentor to others as they grow to maturity in Christ and they in turn will do the same. Prayerfully you will agree too. God Bless.
