Insourcing: Bringing Discipleship Back to the Local Church

by Randy Pope, Chip Ingram (Foreword), Kitti Murray (Primary Contributor)

Too many of today s pastors and leaders mistakenly think that thriving programs, lively worship services, and relevant preaching are adequate for developing people into the spiritual dynamos God desires. In many churches, the primary objective of the church discipleship of people into mature followers of Jesus has been outsourced to programs and large-scale efforts to train and teach. But is that happening? Are people growing in spiritual depth and missional determination?

Twenty-five years ago, the leaders of Randy Pope s rapidly growing church took serious stock of their own spiritual development and realized all of them had benefitted from a personal discipleship relationship that had helped them grow in their faith and discover where God was calling them to service. As a church, they decided to make personal discipleship their do-or-die aim: applying one person s real life to another s to accomplish something far bigger than that single life. Perimeter calls their approach life-on-life missional discipleship and Insourcing tells their story.

Randy Pope writes for church leaders who recognize the value of discipleship and need practical ideas for reorienting church ministries around personal discipleship. Readers will be encouraged that a wide scale personal discipleship program is attainable for any church."

Genres: Discipleship, Church, Nonfiction, Theology, Leadership, Christian, Christianity

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2013

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and practical thoughts on small group discipleship. Very transferable. Don’t expect this to be a different book than Pope intended to write. This is not a theological exposition in discipleship in the NT.

[Joshua Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent perspective on how to make discipling happen inside the church instead of relying on parachurch ministries to do the needed work.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's basically advocating the small group model used by Perimeter Church outside of Atlanta, GA. I found Community by Brad House to be a better resource for the pastor/church leader considering what small groups could/should be. "Community" aides the reader in identifying some of the important questions/assumptions that should be addressed/considered. "Insourcing" is more about why the favored model is a good model, without necessarily addressing, or even mentioning, its shortcomings. So the reader is left thinking, "hey, that sounds good. We should do that" without necessarily having a clear idea of why it worked well for Perimeter and why it might not in their own context.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read my review here: http://headdibs.blogspot.com/2013/05/...

[Shuli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pope describes in detail how he started the Life-on-Life Missional Discipleship program at the church that he founded.
Contrasting to other books that talk about church growth or revitalization, Pope's strategy is to start small, go slow, and move forward only when you are certain of success. The fact that his LOLMD is a great success might be evidence of the validity of his strategy. He downplays the importance of vision and sharing of the vision. He doesn't think it necessary to align his congregation with his plan for the program, at least not until he is certain he can deliver results. One could say he is being cautious.

[J. J.]

A profoundly practical book. I’ve read many books in this genre, but this one reads differently because it’s based on the author personally living disciple-making out consistently, every week, every month, every year, for *46* straight years. Tons of wisdom here. Highly recommended. There is not enough time to read all the books produced on discipleship, and it’s hard to discern which ones to read. This one should be on your short list if you work in pastoral ministry or if you’re simply passionate about making disciples.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immensely practical, virtually step by step handbook on how to do discipling. Pope has it down to the best possible way, and manages to steer clear of many of his own blind spots, seeing through a lot of the pitfalls that a mega church runs into. He emphasizes small and slow, which is impressive for someone pastoring in his position. Would have liked a little more Scriptural probing, but that's not the emphasis or point of the book-- highly practical, and the best pastoral insight on discipling I've read.

[Nicholas Audas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this read for anyone wanting to understand discipleship better in our current climate of megachurch and programmatic ministry. What does success look like in the way of Jesus - laboring in the lives of a few, Pope says, and his unique and inspiring ministry over the years in Perimeter church in ATL really displays a commitment to this heart.

[Allie MacPhail · Rating 4 out of 5]

In looking to develop something more intimate and deep for the women of our Bible study I have read this book. Committing to a small group of people, with intentionality, truth and prayerful interaction, this book describes people doing life on life with each other. I am encouraged to see what comes of this idea!

[PD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent synopsis of Randy Pope’s ministry for decades; I’ve been impacted by these principles as a college student, campus ministry staff, etc.

Process over programs any day! Invest in a few who will ho invest in a few.

[Jillian Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavily directed at church leadership. Seemed like it was mostly an effort at convincing pastors that discipleship is necessary, but it didn't offer me as many practical tips as I wanted.

[Jon Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

INsourcing: Bringing Discipleship Back to the Local Church is written by Randy Pope, the founding and current pastor of Perimeter Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The book is part "how to", but primarily it is a telling of the story of how Perimeter Church has taken the call of discipleship seriously and in the owning of the Great Commission, they have transformed the very fabric of their church.

I was embarrassed reading this book in realizing just how complicated we make discipleship sometimes and on the other hand, how often we completely ignore our call to make disciples. In the Great Commission Jesus is explicit as to our calling as followers of His. We the Church are mandated to go and make disciples. INsourcing is a great reminder of our calling, and lays a simple path to finding our way again.

The book begins by asking all the right questions: What is a disciple? What does the discipleship process look like? Are our churches seeing disciples of Jesus made? The book does a great job in defining what a mature & equipped follower of Jesus looks like and explaining how this won't happen because of a program or from a stage, but rather it happens in "life on life" ministry.

One of the arguments against large churches, is that they are far too big for real personal one on one ministry to happen in them, and that the small groups introduced to meet this need end up just being avenues of community building and social opportunity, not intentional discipleship. Perimeter Church proves that even in a very large church, intentional "life on life" ministry can be the foundation and emphasis of the church.

Here are a couple of quotes I found to be quite sobering:

"...this is exactly what the church is notorious for ignoring. We give people truth and then delegate the mission of living for Christ without the necessary equipping and accountability" (p. 45).

"When all is said and done, the person discipling is the curriculum for the person being discipled" (p. 167).

As you get near the end of the book he mentions a couple of times that their curriculum is available for churches to use, but it doesn't come across like a pushy sales pitch. In fact Pope stresses it's not about the "curriculum" you use, but rather the intentionality of how we go about making disciples regardless of what churches decide to use to get there.

The only really noticeable negative for me is the fictional story that weaves throughout the book modeling the discipleship process at Perimeter Church. It's not a large percentage of the book, quite small actually, but I am just never a big fan of that kind of thing.

The question I am left wrestling with after reading this book is:

Q. Am I as a follower of Jesus making disciples? (not from a stage, but "life on life")

I think this is a must read for every church leadership team. I probably wouldn't use the exact curriculum Perimeter Church has developed, but it will definitely inspire how I lead and live moving forward. Very thankful for this book!

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

www.jonathanstephens.wordpress.com
Twitter: @jonstephensNY

[Jennifer Radtke · Rating 5 out of 5]

While scanning through Booksneeze for my latest book, I spied Insourcing by Randy Pope. I read the little advertising for it:
Too many of today’s pastors and leaders mistakenly think that thriving programs, lively worship services, and relevant preaching are adequate for developing people into the spiritual dynamos God desires. In many churches, the primary objective of the church---discipleship of people into mature followers of Jesus---has been “outsourced” to programs and large-scale efforts to train and teach. But is that happening? Are people growing in spiritual depth and missional determination?
Randy Pope writes for church leaders who recognize the value of discipleship and need practical ideas for reorienting church ministries around personal discipleship. Readers will be encouraged that a wide scale personal discipleship program is attainable for any church.

And with our church looking toward the future and where we want to go, I thought this would be a great book to read right now. Little did I know that it would help me in my family and my ministry as well as be a great read that I want to hand off to the committee in charge of the next step in our church's plans.

Randy Pope discusses the need to set a goal because you will always hit a target when you don't have a goal, but will you hit the target that you were aiming for. He shares how you need to enter wholeheartedly (like many of the books I've been reading lately...hmmm) in order to get all that God has planned for you. He discusses the value of a model and how they are the "ultimate servant".

Randy Pope goes into how their church leads through small groups; training them up through modeling and bonding/trust. He shows how they use The Lord's Prayer and Ken Blanchard's business model. He discusses how "if we don't define the course of the race, people will naturally slow down or wander off track." I'm sure you have all seen this or experienced it yourself.

I loved his idea of doing old things with new people. So many people are afraid of falling into the "old way" of living. I think they have so many inspiring ways of doing things that we could bring into the modern world. He states "because this pathway to spiritual maturity begins and ends with Jesus". If "old" Christians were having success, why won't it work for us "new" Christians?

I'll leave you with my favorite quote, "If we are change in His pocket, then God can spend us whenever, wherever, and however he wishes. Think about that this week."

Wow. How has God spent you this week? Or are you still rattling around in his pocket trying to avoid his grip?

Go grab yourself a copy of this inspiring book. Become the leader that God intended you to be in the way God intended you to live.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give five stars to books that are at the very top of their genre. And this is about the best book on discipleship I have ever read.

Randy Pope is the pastor of Perimeter Church in Atlanta. I knew that their church was not just a big church, but also had a vision for church planting and has been effective at reaching out to their community in a variety of practical ways. But the thing is that this book isn't just another big-church description of how ministry could be done or should be done. It is a clear, vibrant description of the basics of life-on-life discipleship, applicable to any church of any size.

I believe in discipleship. In my teens and twenties, I was discipled by women who invested in me, read with me, prayed for me. I learned deep theological truths, and devoted myself to developing strong foundations.

Since then, I have discipled various women, though not always in as organized a fashion. I have often longed for someone to disciple me, and while I've met with some truly wonderful women and have gleaned a lot from their wisdom, I have not had a consistent mentor in a long time. I want that. And I want not only to invest in my children and disciple them, but also to come alongside women a little younger than I am.

This book has reawakened my vision of what discipleship can look like in a local church. It is not about programs, or launching a new ministry with a bang. It's about the faithful, life-on-life discipleship that Jesus modeled for his disciples, and what that can look like. The methods and curricula ideas and practical ideas for what it could look like are very useful. But even more useful is the way that Randy Pope explains what discipleship is and reminds Christians of the influence that it can have on others over the course of a lifetime.

[Roger Leonhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discipleship is a word you don't hear much today. That in itself is a sad fact. Even though people change, the gospel does not. If we needed discipleship 20 years ago, we still need it today.

Randy Pope has given us an easy-to-read instruction manual for what he calls "Life-on-life missional discipleship". He shows that need for accountability is as important as doctrine and worship. Without someone to stand alongside us, we can easily fall into sin.

In the past we have witnessed leaders from large ministries fall into sin. I heard an interview with one minister. He said that part of the problem was he had no one to talk to concerning his temptations. Because of that he had no one there to question him and his motives.

Pope takes us through a few fictional small groups and shows us how an intimate setting with a close church family can make a difference. He not only shows us what discipleship it looks like, he tells us how to get there.

I enjoyed this book. The stories added to the teaching he is trying to convey. I would have given it 5 stars, but I think he lacked a little in exegesis of the scripture.

I recommend it and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I received this book, free of charge, from Zondervan and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Matt B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book "Insourcing", Randy Pope describes a discipleship method he refers to as "Life On Life Missional Discipleship", or LOLMP for short. This method differs from what Randy sees as the "traditional" small group discipleship method as it sits more specifically between the areas of connection via small groups and the acts of missions in our lives through work and play. If nothing else, it can be viewed as a much more intentional and specific discipleship method, with both aspects of relationship and mission combining forces.

There are a lot of good nuggets in this book, even for someone that is not a lead or senior pastor in a church, looking for a discipleship method or curriculum to follow. Some of the information and case studies on relationships and being intentional will help me in my own pastoral relationships in the future. At times the book seems to give just enough information to lead you to find their own curriculum and program, but overall it presents a good case for "Life On Life Missional Discipleship", and is worth a read.

http://www.mattbrady.net/2013/07/23/i...

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave this a little bit faster read than I would have liked, but got more than the basic gist. I agree with the thrust of the book. I think it is always difficult for successful pastors to re-trace their steps, but Randy has done a good job of extracting principles. The approach is balanced, realistic, and not number-centered. As such it rises above many comparable books on the same topic. Ideally, I would have liked a little more time spent on discipleship content than purely methodological. This is not to say that the book is all theoretical, like other books on the topic, it is full of personal anecdotes and helpful sayings.

In the end, it only got 3 stars because it doesn't break much new ground, but rather gives a vocabulary to discuss what most healthy churches have already discovered. The book is written much more like a business book than a church book, but I suppose that makes it accessible for many lay leaders.

[Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bringing Discipleship Back to the Church" is the tagline. The thesis of the book is that much of Christianity is 'told' but not 'trained'. That is churches and individuals see people come to Christ and hope these new believers somehow just 'get it' after a number of years of hanging around.

Pope wants to bring discipleship and the maturing of believers back to the church (not leave it to parachurch ministries, although they are good) ---
This is done through 'life on life missional discipleship' specifically in a small group setting that has intentional content / curriculum for people in the group to learn and process together. AND hold each other accountable.

He also fold this process over the Situational Leadership and Servant Leadership model he found that Ken Blanchard developed and applied to his understanding the way Jesus discipled the 12.

[Jason Brubaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

My pastor wrote this and I'm so thankful he put what we do at Perimeter on paper as an example of what is possible for the Church. We don't do things perfectly at Perimeter but I can attest that this book isn't just lip service. Randy's passion is discipleship and is evidenced by his personally leading his own group every year for over 40 years. If you are a church leader seeking to move out of a small group model that isn't producing disciples please consider this book.

[B.j. Milgate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a really excellent and helpful book. I thought the sections which give you examples of journey groups in action were a bit unnecessary and cumbersome. If your church is planning to use and apply the journey curriculum than they may be helpful sections, otherwise I think you can skip them and not lose the overall points. Just the same, there is a lot to learn here on how discipleship can practically work in the church and I would recommend this book.

[Mike E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

[This is a book designed for pastors or small-group ministry leaders.]

QUOTES:
It dawned on me that we had failed as a church to identify our target.

How effective is your ministry model?

Yes, you are a pastor or a leader, and you don’t have a dream it’s time to get alone and ask for one. (19)

Leaders need dreams.

[Nate Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more of a 3.5. Inspiring book on beginning the slow, long-range vision, of life on life discipleship. Many practical lessons can be learned here for those just starting this kind of work, as Pope has decades of experience to learn from mistakes and successes.

[Gary Paulson]

The 2014 Christianity Today Book Awards: 2nd Church/Pastoral Leadership
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2...

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very impressed - but definitely a model to consider

[Warephreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ideas. Contains resources of his program to reference as you architect your own solution.

[Carlyn Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, this is a good one. Want to make an impact? Here you go.