The Invested Life: Making Disciples of All Nations One Person at a Time

by Joel C. Rosenberg, T.E. Koshy

Every follower of Jesus Christ should be able to answer two simple questions: Who is investing in me?Who am I investing in?God desires to pour an abundance of spiritual and emotional capital into your life. And he wants to use you to pour spiritual and emotional capital into others. Along the way, you'll be changed. Others will change. You will experience God and his community in a new and personal and supernatural way. And so will others.God calls this process of spiritual investing "making disciples." It's the heart of the Great Commission. It's the vision of a great local church. It's the secret of a healthy joyful, secure, and significant life.

Genres: Discipleship, Christian, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, Faith

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Note: This is a different person than the fantasy author, Joel Rosenberg

Joel C. Rosenberg is the founder of The Joshua Fund and the New York Times best-selling author of THE LAST JIHAD (2002), THE LAST DAYS (2003), THE EZEKIEL OPTION (2005), THE COPPER SCROLL (2006), EPICENTER (2006) and DEAD HEAT (2008) with more than 1.5 million copies in print. THE EZEKIEL OPTION was named by the ECPA as the Gold Medallion winner of the "Best Novel of 2006." Joel, an evangelical Christian whose mother is Gentile and whose father is from an Orthodox Jewish background, previously worked with several U.S. and Israeli leaders, including Steve Forbes, former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky, and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has been interviewed on hundreds of radio and TV shows.
He and his wife have four sons and live near Washington, DC.

Reviews

[Julia Key · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Fulfilling the great commission isn’t simply about telling the many; it’s about training the few.
We aren’t simply called to spread the message wide; we’re called to go deep.” -pg. 54

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosenberg argues for everyone being in a "discipleship sandwich" (my term, not his)--where you are always being discipled by someone spiritually older than you and always discipling someone spiritually younger than you. Very exhortative, very practical. It really gets into the weeds and makes discipleship something that doesn't seem lofty and daunting.

[CalebA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of discipleship and Christian common knowledge...

This book is by no means a bad book, but it will cost some of your time. I'm not really sure who it's written for, a mentor, mentee, or person not mentoring anyone? It seems to be a messy hodge-podge of all 3. The book isn't very systematic and goes off on personal stories and experiences quite a bit. The info in this book could be presented in a much more concise manner.

There were a few suspect insights. In one story, the author explained that God gave him cooking ingredients one by one to cook a perfect meal. When people asked why the food was so good, he told them it was divinely inspired... I'd question the way he has audible conversations with God, or divinely inspired skills in cookery... He also recommended Richard Foster's book that I've checked out before to be highly mystical and new age. We ended up throwing it away.

If someone was interested in this book, I wouldn't stop them from reading it but I would recommend a better book. There are much more concise and systematic ways to learn about discipleship. This book is very long and kind of slow.

[Kerr Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have honestly read probably hundreds of books on discipleship, evangelism, church planning, and ministry. However this book was phenomenal. Not only did it intertwine the important tense of evangelism and how to do it, but it magnificently focused on what true discipleship is and how it can be done well and balanced. But most of the time people either go fully extreme or just a spectators. But this showed the importance of family, ministry, and career all jammed in one. And how less is more when it comes to discipleship because the less becomes the more as men and women are discipled into growing in their faith an organically they will multiply out. This book has a lot of practical advice and even very specific how to. I loved the personal testimonies at the end of each chapter. I will reread this book and join with a couple of men myself that I wanted disciple and go through this book together and see what Jesus does.

[Hannah Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super practical and a helpful place to start if discipleship is a totally new concept. But it was a little “this way or the high way” creating a narrower view of what discipleship means than I think is necessary Biblically.

[Brian Willms · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the clearest presentation of discipleship I have ever found!

[Rashida Serrant-Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for any follower of Jesus Christ who desires to take their walk with God to a deeper, more fulfilling place and truly obey the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission.

[Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comes close to the way Jesus discipled people.

[Bernard Sia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Similar to other books on discipleship thus far, the do's are only 20% of the book. Don'ts 30% and 50% is on the "why" which is really any worship book will do cause the 'why' is plentiful.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how to disciple others.

[Cindy Shaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reminder about why we are here and Whom we serve.

[Laura Luann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book begins with an overview of discipleship, emphasizing that the Great Commission is not just preaching the Gospel to unbelievers but to make disciples. They include one chapter on being disciple (how can one know how to disciple unless following the example of one who invested in his own life?), but the rest of the book is about being a discipler. Who needs to be disciple? How does one go about discipling, anyway? What is the end objective?

In between the how-to chapters are personal testimonies, beginning with the American couple who discipled a young man named Bakht Singh, who eventually became known as India's greatest evangelist. Singh in turn discipled Koshy, who discipled Rosenburg, who is discipling others. The author's wives also share their testimonies. The discipling spiral shown in these testimonies is an inspiring addition to the book as a whole as well as providing good information.

Rosenburg--and Koshy and their wives--make many good observations and share helpful advice. I love a statement by Lynn Rosenburg about how her mentors showed her to love God more than loving ministry and service. The advice that stood out to me involved showing hospitality and involving the family in ministry.

Did I agree with everything? No. For one thing, I would have appreciated a greater Gospel presence, especially at the beginning. Too many people think they're saved and want to do ministry, when they're not truly trusting Christ for salvation and serving Him in love through His power.

Overall, worth the read? Definitely.

[Dennis Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Christian life is unlike the worlds idea of spirituality. Being a Christian is a life of being a servant. Rosenberg teaches how to be a disciple. Many times in a church nowdays, the convert comes to Christ and then he finds himself alone. To seek to learn and begin to compete and learn the Book. Rosenberg's approach seeks to rectify that wrong. Have your quiet time with God and find Gods will for your life by all means. Still, we must realize that Jesus made disciples and implored them to also make disciples. Christianity at its best involves other people. Rosenberg asks two big questions. Who is investing in you? Who are you investing in? We see the Character of God in scripture but we also see the effect of God on the lives of others. The true disciple exists in the middle of other people, a servant. Is this real? Rosemberg gives testimonial examples that will convince you. To be a disciple quit striving to be perfect, just be involved with other Godly people and serve constantly. it is in this that integrity comes, that you begin to be defined, to find your purpose and you begin to see that God's will involves people. This book will overhaul you for God.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joel Rosenberg wants to counter the push toward seeker-sensitive church. It's not that it's completely wrong, he simply understands the church to be about bringing people to Christ as well as helping them mature in their faith.

Rosenberg and Dr. Koshy bring us into their discipleship process in this book. You'll gain some new tools and some fresh ideas on habits of old that are still valuable.

There are nine chapters in this book. Each chapter builds on the previous one to help you move forward in your discipleship.

1. Two simple question.
2. Defining Discipleship
3. Be Discipled
4. Follow Jesus' Model
5. Prayerfully Choose
6. Get Started
7. Go Deeper
8. Worship Together
9. Track Your Progress

At the end of each chapter is a personal testimony to give that personal touch to this book.

Very simply, this is a how-to book. It will give you the preliminary tools and ideas to get started in investing in others and allowing others to invest in your life.

You may feel like you'll want to seek out more challenging/practical books for when you've been through the process.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Tyndale Publishing.

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Joel C. Roesenberg's books. This one deals with an important issue that too many of us ignore or don't realize the work God wants us to do as His hands and feet on this earth. We aren't just to preach the gospel to all nations but we are to make disciples of all nations. I have found myself too often a couch Christian. Absorbing and watching. This book shows you that we need to be more active. Even if it is uncomfortable at first.

Who is investing in you? Who are you investing in? I thought hard about these questions which are the backbone of this book. I had a prior pastor who invested in me. He got me to start a men's Bible study group that meets at my house 16 years ago. I saw somewhat how I had invested in those guys over the years. Maybe not as directly as this book sets out but I can certainly be more direct with the ideas set out in the book. I am not sure who is investing in me today. The pastor who did invest in me has moved on to another church. I will pray about both someone to invest in me and men for me to invest in.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a classic. The principal author is T.Y. Koshy, a Christian from India, who has had a long and fruitful ministry with international students. He and Rosenberg claim that the evangelical church in American is weak, not because the gospel is not being preached, but because it is not adequately discipling believers, many of whom fall away or bear little fruit because their Christian faith is not deep. This book covers why discipleship is absolutely necessary (to fulfill the Great Commission), how it has been modeled for us by Jesus and the leaders of the early New Testament church, what true discipleship involves and what results can and should be expected. I intend to reread and reread this book and take action.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Invested Life is a book that explains the importance of discipleship. The author stresses that all Christians have a need to have a mature Christian invest their time training and encouraging them to lead more productive lives serving Christ. Likewise, the author also makes a strong point in that it is also the disciple Christian’s duty to return the favor and being a mentor for younger, less mature Christians in our life. The book also instructs its readers by explaining what real discipleship looks like and what we need to look for when finding someone to disciple us as well as what we need to teach those we disciple. The author also used many testimonies, Biblical examples, and Bible verses in each chapter to teach the concepts that were being explained.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple, basic, easy to read book. It highlights the practical concerns of defining discipleship properly, how to develop Biblical discipleship, as well as the ins-and-outs of beginning & growing in the discipleship process. Each chapter includes introductory information on discipleship, as well as personal testimonies from the authors. This "How To" book makes a good resource for starting the discipleship process.

The book centers on two good framing questions: Who is investing in me? And who am I investing in? Pretty good read.

[Michael Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with Pastor Tom Freitas and John Ower. It was a good book to read with a group because in doing this it helped me take in some of the things that were discussed in each chapter. This was a book mainly about discipleship which can be interesting in all. What I enjoyed the most about this book is that it wasn't just a book complaining that we do not do enough discipleship, but also gives practical tips along with testimonies at every chapters close. Overall great book, very encouraging and filled with scripture.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't need to be convinced that we are called to the kind of discipleship deemed inefficient by most modern churches in the west. What I did need was some practical advice about how to do that. Though this book can do the former, what I appreciated the most was the latter. Without espousing a rigid plan for every discipleship relationship, the authors gave general instructions for how to choose disciples, how to train them, and what areas of the faith to make sure to focus on. Just what I needed.

[Dennis Henn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remedial book on disciple making. The book's title refers to our responsibility to invest in others so that they can grow to maturity in Christ. We all need mentors and we all should mentor. I appreciate the inter generational model that runs counter to our cultural segregation of age groups.
For me, the best part of the book was the inclusion of testimonies at the conclusion of each chapter.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was simple and solid. It is highly accessable, very encouraging, and very practical. I highly reccommend it to any believer, especially those who are struggling to be discipled and to make disciples.

[Larry Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discipleship is sadly under emphasized in our churches. This book provides some practical advice for those who want to take Jesus' command to go and make disciples of all nations seriously (Matt 28:19) It starts with becoming one.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosenberg creates a simple, and easily understood outline of the principles of discipleship. I highly recommend this book, and I will be using its concepts in ministry. The book is very inspiring and practical.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging read with insight into discipleship. These are methods that work well in the right situations and have produced a significant on the kingdom of God. Worth considering for means of adapting to your situation.

[Amanda Wagman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was scary. It took something I thought I understood and could do and made it seem impossibly scary and difficult. It did have some useful nuggets, and perhaps the point for me was to realize how much I would need to rely on Jesus to actually be a productive, successful disciplemaker?

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very challenging, useful tool to use in disciple-making. I love all the wise testimonials! They make the book a must-read!

[John Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read ....

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. I loved the testimonies between each chapter.
If every Christian chose to live the Invested Life, the world would look very different.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great guide for those who are starting in the ministry of discipleship. Deeply anchored not just by facts but by practice and fruits of the authors.