The Disciple Making Church: From Dry Bones to Spiritual Vitality

by Glenn McDonald

In a recent study, pollster George Barna stated that the number one topic of interest for church leaders today is discipleship. Not growth, not pastoral care, not evangelism. Discipleship. According to E. Stanley Ott, President of The Vital Churches Institute, There is no person more qualified to address the greatest need in the church today than Glenn McDonald that of showing how the local church can grow vital disciples. In his easy going writing style, author Glenn McDonald tells the story of how he, as the busy pastor of a large and growing suburban church near Indianapolis was struggling with the ABCs of attendance, building and cash. One evening at the end of another church board meeting one of his elders asked a simple question. How long would it take for someone who visits our church to learn about his or her need for Jesus and to find out what to do about it? From that night forward the entire focus of the church changed. All canned programs for ministry were ended as everything about the church was examined in the light of Christ s charge to go forth and make disciples. The Disciple Making Church is presented in two parts six discipling relationships and six marks of a disciple. McDonald weaves vivid Scriptural insights and the wisdom of scholars with the experiences of his own congregation and others, and distills it all into one helpful, valuable and enjoyable book. If you ve ever wondered if the busyness of many of today s churches isn t what Christ was talking about, this book will have a lasting impact on your church.

Genres: Faith, Church, Christianity, Discipleship

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Josh Bice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! Biblically based - all about discipleship and what it means. Nothing groundbreaking but helpful reminders and if I was in charge of a church would be quite convicting and helpful to guide the process of disciple-making.

[Gea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. McDonald’s book all began when a church member asked a strategic question at the end of a very long business meeting at his church. The question so shocked the audience and the pastor that they sat in silence. What was that question? “How long do you think it would take someone visiting our church to hear about their need for Jesus Chst, and then know how to act upon it?” This question became the catalyst that ultimately transformed Pastor McDonald’s (now that we know his profession) church from programs to “intentional” discipleship. The word “intentional” has become the buzz word for the 21st century as authors take their clues from 2Tim 2:2 “And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.”. Thus began a journey into discovering just how to restructure a church to reflect this as well as Matt 28’s principles.

The first half of the book is divided into two parts:
Part I: Discipling Relationships with 6 questions
Part II: The Six Marks of a Disciple

Some key points made by Pastor McDonald:
P 48 “History has proved that ordinary people who have enrolled themselves as lifetime spiritual imitators—even when bearing evident shortcomings and flaws—can indeed be extraordinary disciples”.
P 66 “Disciples are those who intentionally arrange their lives around the single goal of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.”
P. 82 “A number of our TrailBlazers (his name for disciples in his church) have discovered that the spiritual apprentice of God’s choosing is already sitting at their dinner table every evening.”
Being radical P. 113 “The plain truth is that every follower of Jesus is expected to do great things for God—to radically affect the growth of God’s Kingdom through his or her presence and faithfulness.”
P. 120 “We’re all going to die. But some of us, by God’s grace, are going to do something in the meantime. Are you ready? Will you risk what God has given to you for the sake of Macedonia.”

I have just finished the first half of the book. It is such a “great” book! Pastor McDonald has a way with words, his wit keeps you on your toes and it is really pointed in what it asks to you to consider. Each chapter ends with a series of pointed questions that are probing. I can’t wait to read the rest of this book, but wanted to share my thoughts with you at this juncture.

Part 2: In the second part of this book, Pastor McDonald shares with his readers the Six Marks of a Disciple. Each one is explained, a mini-test is given and then a way to elevate oneself to achieve that mark. Again, Pastor McDonald’s forthrightness, humor and self-evaluation takes us into real life drama. He is not afraid to poke fun at himself or to share his weaknesses so that we might learn through his mistakes.
Just for background information, Pastor McDonald’s church was listed in 2001 as one of the “300 Excellent Protestant Congregations” in a study conducted by Paul Wilkes. Therefore, with this as a benchmark it is wise for us to listen, learn and then to implement many of his strategies.
The Six Marks of a Disciple:
A Heart for Christ Alone
A Mind Transformed by the Word
Arms of Love
Knees for Prayer
A Voice to Speak the Good News
A Spirit of Servanthood and Stewardship
With each one Pastor McDonald offers a way to see if you are achieving this mark. He uses this measure:
From: I serve and give to Jesus and others a portion of my time, resources, and energy in response to God’s commands
To: Because of God’s provision, I generously serve and give to Jesus and others my time, my resources, and energy in order to transform God’s world.
This is an excellent book for any church desiring to move from the ABC’s (attendance, building, cash) to active discipleship ministry. In addition, this book would be an excellent resource for any person desiring to test themselves to see if they are being a true disciple of Jesus.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think author Glenn McDonald did some good work on this writing. His take on growth is a lot different than other books I’ve read about Christian spiritual formation or discipleship — for better and worse.

For better: Glenn’s perspective gets at the pastoral heart of spiritual formation: “How am I called to be an agent of God in the transformation of these people?” He writes his stories and metaphors with a sermon-like feel, almost predicatbly so. I always felts another analogy coming around the corner.

The concepts Glenn wrote about are keepers. Disciples are people who are being mentored, are mentoring someone, are being nurtured in a community of believers, and are being sent to a community. These are preceeded by knowing your Lord and knowing who you are as a saved individual with a saved people. These concepts are the main piece of the book. The latter half speaks about the character of a disciple as someone who has “a heart for Christ alone,” “a mind transformed by the Word,” “arms of love,” “knees for prayer,” “a voice to speak the Good News,” and “a spirit of servanthood and stewardship.”

The worse… Glenn’s concepts are golden but his book lacked, in my opinion, the drive or “how to” to get there. I read a lot about the character form to aim for, but what is the calling or journey to arrive in that place? I suppose this is where his concept of the six relationships comes in and that we are shaped by those relationships. I agree with that. God is all about relationship. I also realize that the “how to” of getting there isn’t our drive or ambition but the hands of God at work through relationships. …but my mind keeps returning to the spiritual disciplines. What role do they play?

(When I say “How to get there,” I mean that Glenn doesn’t walk us through what study or prayer or service or other things might look like – he sort of just says we need them and sends us out in what I felt to be a kind of blind treasure hunt.)

The main spiritual formation driver from Glenn’s book was the impact of time in Scripture. All of the relationships mentioned were immersed in the pages of the Book as the source of identity for the disciple.

In conclusion, Glenn’s book pieced the spiritual disciplines in the guidance of the Bible and in the arms of all kinds of relationships. There’s no room for solo flying. Formation happens in relationships.

Is this livable? I think so. Is this book a guide for me in thinking about spiritual formation? Yes.

Now, how might my congregation live this out? How can we draw people into these kinds of relationship that Scripture (and Glenn) both write about?

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am using the first part of this book as the basis for a sermon series and find that it raises good questions about whether or not our churches are designed to make disciples and what it is that disciples should look like.

However, I find the writing and editing of this book rather uneven. As another pastor said to me about this book: it feels like an expanded magazine article. Perhaps that is all the material presented in this book needed to be.

[John Caves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the concepts of discipleship in this book. I like the format as well because author gives overview of discipleship and how to make it work at a personal level.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glenn was my parents' favorite pastor when they went to ZPC and I can tell why! Really good writer and interesting book.