DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples

by Jim Putman, Bobby Harrington (Contributor), Robert Coleman (Contributor)

Over the last thirty years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. An “attractional” model will seek to attract people to a local church. Younger leaders may advocate a more “missional” approach, in which believers live and work among unchurched people and intentionally seek to serve like Christ. While each of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship.


 


Making disciples—helping people to trust and follow Jesus—is the church’s God-given mandate. Devoted disciples attract people outside the church because of the change others see in their Christ-like lives. And discipleship empowers Christians to be more like Christ as they intentionally develop relationship with non-believers.


 


DiscipleShift walks you through five key “shifts” that churches must make to refocus on the biblical mission of discipleship. These intentional changes will attract the world and empower your church members to be salt and light in their communities.

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

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2013

Reviews

[Starla Gooch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books about discipleship that I have read. As a Discipleship Pastor, several times it made me want to stop and shout, “Yes, finally! This is exactly it!” Putnam, and the rest of the writing crew, grasp and communicate well that we are all called to be disciples who make other disciples, but they go beyond theology and make it practical. How do we make disciples who make disciples? Well, it’s all about relationships. Everything comes back to connecting people in relationships.

Putnam describes 5 shifts that need to happen for a church to make disciples who make disciples: The Shifts… 1) From Reaching to Making; 2) From Informing to Equipping; 3) From Program to Purpose; 4) From Activity to Relationship; and 6) From Accumulating to Deploying. For each shift, Putnam includes a chapter on the theology behind the shift (a.k.a. Why should the shift be made?) and a following chapter on how to practically do it (a.k.a. How do I make the shift in MY church?). The end of each chapter includes key takeaway points, and many also include personal testimonies from church leaders and pastors about what God is doing in their churches through these shifts.

This is a book every church staff member should read. It’s written well, is interesting to read, and the content is phenomenal! I even have a vision casting/training meeting with our small group leaders tomorrow in which I will be using content from this book. So what separates this books from others like it? There are so many pastors out there who write books which essentially say, “This is how we did things at our church and it grew like crazy, so you should do them too!” But Putnam doesn’t write like that at all. He is an advocate for the local church and is constantly encouraging pastors to not just take a practice and immediately implement it in their church. Instead, he desires for churches to look at their own contexts, visions, and ministries, and decide what it looks like for them to be a church who makes disciples who makes disciples.

Thank you Jim Putnam, Bobby Harrington, and Robert Coleman for writing such a transformational book that both challenges and encourages church leaders!

[Tom Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great resource for those engaged in discipleship today marrying the best of sage Robert Coleman and two younger authors currently vested in life on life and word based discipleship. As a minister committed to discipling others, this book reminded me of the basics and priority of discipleship when I can easily veer off track and not be intentional to develop others. I’m struck hw I’ve let trends and ease govern my ministry as opposed to the model of Jesus which is filled with contrary upside down approaches to investing in others. It’s refreshing to read the timeless value and essence of discipleship centered around the model of Jesus as opposed to being focused on cultural expediency and trends.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are a cut&paste from a word doc that I wrote:

DiscipleShift by Jim Putman & Bobby Harrington

Chapter 1 The Engine That Drives It All
• This chapter gave an introduction on the effectiveness of the church. He then described four main categories of churches based on focus and methodology:
o Category 1: Educational - a pastoral-educational focus with a classroom methodology
o Category 2: Attractional - an attractional focus with an entertainment methodology
o Category 3: Missional - a missional focus with a service-opportunity methodology
o Category 4: Organic or "Home" - a fellowship focus with an organic methodology
• I'd have to say that Riverside is probably a Missional church (which probably aligns with the mission we used to espouse). The author then describes what should be the focus and methodology: Focus = biblical discipleship, methodology = relational environments

Shift 1 From Reaching to Making
Chapter 2 Defining a Disciple
• Ask yourself two questions: What's the purpose of the church, What is a disciple. The chapter then defined a disciple as:
o Follow me: acceptance of Jesus (head)
o And I will make you: changed by Jesus (heart)
o Fishers of Men: saved for a purpose (hands)
Chapter 3 How to Start Growing People
• There are 3 parts to the discipleship process: my part (disciple maker), their part, God's part. The chapter then uses a diagram to describe the 5 stages of discipleship:
o Level 1: Dead - spiritually dead - people in this stage have not yet accepted Christ as Lord and Savior
o Level 2: Infant - spiritually alive - have decided to follow Jesus
o Level 3: Child - continuing to grow in relationship with God, beginning to grow in relationships with other Christians
o Level 4: Young Adult - shifting from self-centered to being God- and other-centered
o Level 5: Parent - has a solid understanding of God's Word, a deep, abiding relationship with God, and a desire to be involved in raising up other disciples
Chapter 4 The Four Spheres
• A disciple grows in 4 main spheres of life.
o In his relationship to God
 head: does the person I am discipling know what Jesus teaches about growing in relationship to him?
 heart: are there visible changes happening in this person's life?
 hands: are they willing to follow Christ in the direction he is leading them?
o In his relationship with God's family, the church
 head: does the person that I'm discipling know what the Bible teaches about the church?
 heart: are they growing in their love for others in the body of Christ?
 hands: have they developed the relational skills they need in order to have healthy relationships with other believers?
o In his home life
o In his relationship to the world

Shift 2 From Informing to Equipping
Chapter 5 The Role of the Leader
• The equipping of this shift comes from Ephesians 4. A leader not only shepherds others but he creates a shepherding environment. 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 list qualities that reflect on the character of the man not his skill level or intelligence. There are 4 relational environments:
o Intimate Discipling Relationships (one leader interacting with 2-3 people)
o Personal Discipling Relationships (one leader interacting with 10-12 people)
o Social Discipling Relationships (one leader interacting with up to 120 people)
o Public Discipling Relationships (one leader interacting with larger crowds of people)
Chapter 6 A New Job Title: Equipper
• Before Jesus focused on doing something, he focused on being in relationship with God and with his disciples. The 4 main roles of a disciple-making pastor:
o an authentic disciple - men of prayer, Bible study, and the inner life of the spirit
o a discipleship-system builder - given the task of leading a church in which he is to create a system in which people are taught how to be disciples
o a developer of leaders - not everyone is a leader, should be able to identify emerging/gifted leaders and help them grow; 3 problems:
 too busy doing work to see and develop leaders
 looking for already-developed leaders
 looking for people who can do everything
o a vision caster - cast the vision and keep telling people what it is

Shift 3 From Program to Purpose
Chapter 7 Components of Person-to-Person Discipleship
• 3 necessary components to disciple-making process:
o Word of God: small groups should be dedicated to regular Bible study
o Spirit of God: does the work of God in our lives (transformation)
o People of God: can't separate relationships from the disciple-making process (Romans 12:9-21)
• Because leaders have failed to correctly define biblical relationships and live in them, our churches are filled with people who have no understanding of what it means to be in a discipling relationship.
Chapter 8 Rolling Up Our Sleeves and Engaging
• This chapter goes into the methodology based on 4 words:
o Share: we incarnate Christ's life in a lost world and then invite people to respond to Christ
o Connect: we help new Christians associate with other disciples and consecrate themselves to God
Minister: we demonstrate service to others, delegate service opportunities, and supervise the progress
o Disciple: we expect mature disciples to learn to reproduce other disciples, and we trust the Holy Spirit's impartation in their lives to guide them
• It overlays the 5 Stages of Discipleship chart from chapter 3.

Shift 4 From Activity to Relationship
Chapter 9 Rethinking Our Practices
• This discusses alignment and making sure that ministries align with your mission. In order to do this, a ministry needs 5 components:
o a clear goal of discipleship
o an intentional leader who makes disciples
o a biblically relational environment
o a reproducible process
o a supporting organization
• It's easier to not start a new mission than to kill an existing one.
Chapter 10 The Relational Small Group
• Components of a small group
o shepherding
o teaching
o authenticity and accountability

Shift 5 From Accumulating to Deploying
Chapter 11 A New Scorecard for Success
• The goal is to move away from scorecards that are metric based to ones that are based on share, connect, minister, disciple. The books gives lots of example types of questions to ask.
Chapter 12 Making the "DiscipleShift" in Your Church
• 5 steps:
o Develop Biblical Vision
o Create a Common Language
o Develop the Disciple-Making Process
o Live Out Your Vision
o Assess, Correct, and Encourage

[John Dohanich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Putman, seeks to look back at how Jesus lead and taught His disciples. His main take aways are:
Be unified in Mission, not necessarily is means
Leaders ought to equip those they lead to prepare them for their own leadership
Discipleship starts with God and goes out to lovingly help develop others

While Putman doesn't mention it, I believe he describes a servant leader in the characteristics required in leadership and shepherding

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a highly practical and worthwhile read for church leaders. This book basically outlines how to move your church (from wherever it is) to being a disciple-making church.

[Andrew Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the last season I've read three books that address the same need: how do we put disciple-making at the center of what we do as a church? The first is "The Trellis and the Vine" by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. I recommend this one for anyone about to begin leading a church and who has the luxury of starting with a clean slate. Marshall and Payne articulate clearly what disciple making could look like today. The second is "Wikichurch," by Steve Murrell, a book whose strength is in its inspirational story and in the modeling that comes from Murrell's humble approach to ministry. If only we could all be so self-effacing and so focused on doing the long, slow work of true discipleship. Whether you are looking to start a church or your already deep in the grind, Murrell's book will provide welcome encouragement and motivation. Third is this book by Jim Putman and Bobby Harrington (though it mostly seems to be written from Putman's perspective). Refreshingly, Putman exudes the same humble approach to ministry as Murrell, along with the same willingness to do what is right no matter how hard or slow the going might be. The great strength of "Discipleshift" is for the church leader who is already in ministry but plagued with that gnawing sense that the programatic elements are beginning to overwhelm the relational/discipleship ones. Putman charts out a simple but thorough roadmap for getting back on track with Jesus' fundamental command to make disciples, and he does so with sensitivity and wisdom. Finally, in light of these three, it is hard not to mention a book that precedes them all by about five decades but, as Putman acknowledges for his book, seems to be the spiritual father of them all. "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Robert Coleman (which would probably have been called "The Master Plan of Discipleship" if it had been written today) can't be beaten for the simple way in which it catalogs Jesus' strategy for discipleship. Coleman reminds us that what we're doing is not rocket science. It is love. These three more recent books repeat the call and help us answer it.

[Ian Minielly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me just say. This book is geared towards churches with at least many hundreds in attendance, if not multiple thousands. Almost every example and suggestion is geared towards a church with a large staff, multiple pastors, and all kinds of people. This book is not geared towards the single pastor normal sized church of 30-80. However, it is possible I think to take the lessons, suggestions, and ideas and scale them down to the normal/average sized church.

This was my primary struggle. This book assumes there are a large number of small group leaders available and there is a pipeline of moving the really good ones up and even onto the staff of the church while they train and prepare others. The information is good and I agree small groups is often where "church" and spiritual growth happens, but this book makes so many assumptions about the tools available and the resources at the single pastor's disposal.

I have Putnam's other book on discipling and this one is just as good with its information. I just want to warn the pastors, elders, deacons, and members of churches who think this book is template for success, growth, and deeper walks with Jesus. It is a good read with plenty of things that can be used by the normal sized church, just be aware most of the authors concepts are geared towards the giant churches within a community so they can try and get the feel of the normal churches because they have outgrown the normative size of community.

[Adam Bloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good book on discipleship programming and focus in churches, but it has a lot of assumptions in it, too (matter of fact statements about the interpretation of the specific verses and the purpose of churches). The heart of the book is great, and most churches would probably be better if their leadership made use of the book’s concepts, but a lot of the practical application is geared for large churches.

[Conner Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Truly a blessing to learn the importance of relational discipleship in the church. Putman does an excellent job at explaining the various stages of spiritual maturity and how discipleship is accomplished in each stage. Highly recommend this book to see how you and your church can better disciple disciple-makers.

[Jacob Hudgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some really excellent discipleship ideas and vision for local churches.

[Ross Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall: the book delivers on what it promises. It helps Christians become better disciples by changing our culture and intentions.

The following is meant to be an outline of the book.

People love shortcuts. Don’t do it. It is a long process, and it must be done in the right way.
There are no easy solutions. It requires work.
What’s the goal? To make mature Christians who will develop disciples and teach them how to model and teach Christ to other humans.
Research is sad: Christians have the same rates as non-Christians in divorce rates, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. 6% of evangelicals tithe. Christians are more than 2 times as likely to hold racist beliefs as non-Christians. Half as many who say they go to church actually do. 1 in 4 Americans who live together outside of marriage call themselves “evangelicals.” Fewer than 1 out of 5 “born-again” Christians believe even a few fundamental Christian truths. 60-80% of young Christians will leave the church in their twenties.
Covenant Evangelical Free Church in Singapore gets it right. 25 years ago, they had 17 members. Now it is 4,500 strong, because of the discipleship-minded efforts of Edmund Chan, just out of college.
Four types of churches:
• Educational (pastors/leaders take on the teaching and ministering mostly, which leads to preacher burnout),
• Attractional (drawing in people easily, serving coffee, relating the message, short messages, trendy, but easily leads to shallow faith),
• Missional (emphasis on service to the poor, live Jesus’ life, focus on action, but leads to congregation burnout—where are they being replenished?), and
• Home (fellowship-driven, small, organic, but can become dysfunctional, cliquish, even cultish).
None of these models are wrong—it takes a balance.
Q: What’s the solution?
A; It is that the Focus cannot be to transfer info, to attract new folks, to serve our communities, or fellowship. It must be Discipleship. And the Methodology is Relational Environments.
What does the Great Commission say? The whole thing: “All authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to do all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Difference between disciples and Christians: The Bible refers to “disciples” 270 times, to “Christians” only 3. 80% of Americans call themselves “Christians.” Disciples mentor other disciples.
Discipleship is apprenticeship. It is Deuteronomy 6:5-9. It is spiritual parenting. It is 2 Tim.3:10-14.
• ”I believe that most Christians have divorced the teachings of Jesus from the methods of Jesus, and yet they expect the results of Jesus.” (p. 33)
• Small groups are key in Discipleship. It is better even to have disciples attend the small group than the weekend service.
SHIFT 1: From Reaching to Making
First, how can a team direct the church if they don’t have a good united definition of what a Disciple is?
The definition needs to be (1) Biblical, and (2) clear. Here are common answers. What is a Disciple?
- Biblically literate - Inviting people to church - Cares for social justice
- Rightous/abstains from sin - Loves to worship - Is evangelical (talks of his faith)
- Loves the poor/marginalized
Look at Matthew 4:19 as an example text. We must (1) follow Jesus, (2) let Him transform us, and (3) become fishers of men. Thus: Head, Heart, Hands.
How to Start? Break it into pieces. Determine at which spiritual level everyone is.
5 Stages of Spiritual Maturity: Dead (Unbelief)  Infant (Ignorance)  Child (Self-Centeredness)  Young Adult (Others-Centered)  Parent (Strategy/Intentioned)
• But remember: No Stage is more important than another.
“What you celebrate, people will aspire to.” (p.71) So celebrate discipleship (not just preaching/teaching)
Many Christians don’t know how to disciple others because they’ve never been discipled. (Think the Church-kid who grows to go to seminary. School doesn’t teach you.)
Growth has to happen in Four Spheres: (1) Relation with God, (2) with Church, (3) in home life, and (4) with the world. (taken from Ephesians)
• Relation with Jesus is in the center that keeps us strong enough to be healthy in the others.
• In each sphere, we should discern if a disciple is growing in Head, Heart, and Hands. (p. 85-87)
• “It can be easy for us to accept the good news that we have a Father who loves us, yet fail to relate to other believers as brothers and sisters, but the two are connected.” (p. 86)
• Family: “…It would be my biggest failure to win the whole world and lose my children.” (p. 88)
Think: raising a child is much like discipling someone. Don’t expect them to thank you for investing in their life when they are still so young in the faith. “Don’t expect a child to act like an adult, and don’t allow an adult to act like a child without loving accountability.” (p. 94)
Questions we need to ask our disciples: Do I need to…
• …resolve a conflict or encourage someone?
• …serve somewhere or be more faithful in my involvement in the church?
• …take the initiative to lead my family to relationship with Jesus?
• …become a better servant to my wife (or husband) or find a way to connect in relationship to my son or daughter in a way that is more meaningful to them so I can earn the right to hear what is really going on in their life?
• …work harder when I’m at my job, or do I need to stop gossiping about my boss or stop listening to the jokes my coworkers tell? (p.90)
SHIFT 2: From Informing to Equipping
Congregations need to see vulnerable, flawed pastors. Leaders should not only be shepherds; they need to set a shepherding environment. Model what it means to struggle. (p. 101)
A pastor’s character is ultimately more valuable than his talents. Pastors must be transparent; this is where church transformation begins. “You can’t lead where you don’t go, and you can’t teach what you don’t know.” (~1 Cor.4:6)
12 step programs are very helpful (plug for Celebrate Recovery!)
There are 4 Discipling Relationships to cultivate/be transparent: (p. 107-109)
1) Intimate (one leader interacting with 2-3, Jesus with Peter, John, James)
2) Personal (one leader interacting with 10-12, Jesus with His disciples)
3) Social (one leader with 120 others, the disciples who gathered in Upper Room for Pentecost)
4) Public (one interacting with large crowds, the Church in Jerusalem in Acts)
The church leader cannot be the star of the church—he must be the coach. Studies show most Christians go to church fewer than 2 times a month. Try learning math or a sport like that. Thus the weekend service cannot be the main source of spiritual growth. (p. 116)
Effective church leaders: (p. 119)
• Discover what the right goal is: making disciples, not converts
• Define what a disciple is: a follower of Jesus, transformed by Jesus, joining Jesus on His mission
• Uses right methodology: intentional, biblical, relational environments
• Produces intended results: spiritually/relationally healthy disciples who make more disciples
Four Main Roles of a Disciple-Making Pastor:
1) An Authentic Disciple (prayer, Bible study, spiritual growth)
2) A Disciple-System Builder (as in Eph. 4, ministry looks like this:
a. I create support systems that teach others how to teach the Bible.
b. I create small groups/raise up leaders who can go visit the sick.
c. I effectively communicate the gospel so they can connect with other disciple makers.
d. I’m in the process of training leaders who can open meeting with prayers without me.
e. The more effective I am at my job, the more good work will be done by others.)
3) A Developer of Leaders (3 obstacles to this:
a. Leaders are too busy trying to do it all to notice the underdeveloped leaders
b. Be a high school coach—not college—don’t look for already-developed leaders elsewhere, only for underdeveloped ones within your community already
c. Don’t look for all-star players—see the specialists instead
4) A Vision Caster (you must remind constantly of the goal—to make disciple-making disciples)
The model for leadership apprenticing, as explained in Exponential by Dave and John Ferguson:
I do. You watch. We talk.  I do. You help. We talk.  You do. I help. We talk. 
You do. I watch. We talk.  You do. Someone else watches… (p. 126)
SHIFT 3: From Program to Purpose
How can we make sure Small Groups don’t turn into purposeless social gatherings?
• Bible-centered
• Intentionally directing people to the goal of spiritual maturity
• A place where people can honestly talk about their lives and work out what it means to follow Jesus (p. 135)
As Jesus ministered mostly in a small group, this continual mentoring goes on throughout the week
How are Relational Environments cultivated?
1. The Word of God: small groups must teach more than “life-lessons” or watching movies together or even sharing struggles/praying together, groups must study the Bible to properly disciple
2. The Spirit of God: instead of a “try harder” mentality, we must trust God is the source of discipleship
3. The People of God: Hebrews 3:12-13 tells us to encourage/admonish each other, which means we cannot cease our fellowship at church
“You have to love people until you can like them.”
Few Christian leaders have one friend they regularly meet with who they share their deep struggles with who will correct/exhort them.
We must be willing to submit/obey our spiritually mature brethren. Humble spirits required.
The Disciple-making Methodology consists of 3 questions:
1) What did Jesus do?
2) How do I replicate his method in my own life as a church leader?
3) What do I teach others to do?
The Four Stages of Discipleship: (p. 155-165)
1. Share (Incarnation of Christ in others lives—be like Jesus—and Invitation, i.e. to church, or to welcome them closer to relation with Jesus)
2. Connect (Association with other believers, Consecration or obedience to God)
3. Train to Minister (Demonstration as Jesus showed His disciples how to minister, Delegation, trusting disciples with responsibility, Supervision, providing times of review, following up, confronting negativity, asking questions, affirming strengths)
4. Release to be a Disciple Maker (Reproduction-teach so they will disciple, Impartation of the Spirit)
“The best indicator that someone is mature is not that they are making disciples but that they are making disciples who have gone on to be disciple makers themselves.” (p. 164)
Example: Working at a Sonic fast-food place? Befriending your coworkers, start a Bible Study, invite to church, meet outside of hours and help raise others who will disciple others.
The Engel Scale: “Conversion is a process, not a one-time event.” (p.157)
+5 Stewardship
+4 Communion with God
+3 Conceptual and behavioral growth
+2 Incorporation into body
+1 Post-decision evaluation
New Birth
-1 Repentance and faith in Christ
-2 Decision to act
-3 Personal problem recognition
-4 Positive attitude towards gospel
-5 Grasp implications of gospel
-6 Awareness of fundamentals of gospel
-7 Initial awareness of gospel
-8 Awareness of supreme being, no knowledge of gospel
Any movement up the scale is discipling unbelievers.
SHIFT 4: From Activity to Relationship
All ministries/programs must be evaluated based on how well it helps make disciples.
The principle of alignment means
• Every program must be evaluated to see if it is really producing what Jesus values
• If it isn’t, it must align itself with the overall goal of biblical relational discipleship
• We do fewer things in the church, and we do them well (p. 173)

o So a church could start a baseball team IF the real goal were to connect players to small groups and mentoring commitments.
Five Key Components of discipling ministries:
1. A clear goal of discipleship: Before the ministry is started, it should understand this as its reason.
2. An intentional leader who makes disciples
3. A biblically relational environment: It must show how Biblical truth relates to real needs.
4. A reproducible process: Use the Share-Connect-Minister-Disciple 4 steps.
5. A supporting organization: Accountability, leaders must be encouraged and coached.
The authors do not recommend leaving your church, but working slowly within to make this change.
A small group should encourage disciplines like praying for a half hour a day, reading a Bible chapter or two, or memorize a verse or two a week.
- Small groups should be Spirit-led.
- It should be re-evaluated every 3-6 months if your group is serving its function.
- It’s best to set an expiration date on a group before it even starts.
Here are the 3 Components of a Small Group: (p. 186-194)
A. Shepherding: Be willing to go after the strays. A church is like a watering hole. If sheep aren’t showing up, it needs help. Christ is the primary shepherd, not you. A shepherd trains others to shepherd.
B. Teaching: This is not a lecture format. Having a didactic leader means it may be boring and drives people away from agreeing to lead. After someone shares about his/her life, bring the group back to the Word.
C. Authenticity and Accountability: Gal. 6:2, ‘Bear each other’s burdens.’ When people share their troubles, don’t be a fixer. Be a listener. Be people who pray. Empathize. Point to God’s Instruction. Be sure that transparency is happening for the right reason.
SHIFT 5: From Accumulating to Deploying
Author and pastor Bill Hull in The Disciple-Making Pastor writes that most churches are evaluated by “the holy trinity of Bodies, Bucks, and Buildings,” meaning population, budget, and size of church.
Scorecards and evaluations are good, but the business-model one does not take into account “people who make disciples at home, love a lost and hurting world, and win people to the Lord and disciple” as missionaries in their communities. (p. 203)
A new “release scorecard” involves the process that “transforms individuals, homes, places of work, and communities because rather than gathering and acquiring an audience, you have released an army on your community.”
Some megachurch leaders have congregations full of shallow members, because discipleship is not central. Yet small church leaders look up to them, though megachurch leaders are pulling their hair out.
A pastor should be hired to be a coach, not a paid performer/teacher. Consider this conversation between a pastor and a congregant:
CONGREGANT: “We haven’t seen a baptism in a year at this church. What’s the matter, Pastor?”
PASTOR: “Well, do you know anyone who’s lost? Have you shared the gospel with that person and led him to the Lord?”

[DJ Scruda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a part 2 to Robert Coleman’s, “The Master Plan of Evangelism” - big fan of the tools in this book and it’s practical nature, downside is there’s a lot of fluff in this book

[Peter Holford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book effectively identifies a gap in most contemporary Western church models: intentional disciple-making. As a consequence of this gap, the church isn't as effective as it could be. Putnam points out that attendance numbers, or even the number of baptisms taking place shouldn't be the primary metrics for assessing the effectiveness of any individual church. The correct yardstick to apply is the extent to which the church is producing mature disciples of Jesus who are themselves making disciples of Jesus. He suggests that if we're effective in this area, more people will come to Christ and the church will grow.

Distinctively, this book identifies five shifts that need to happen if the church is going to become an effective disciple-making church. It recognises that this is a change agenda which will be time-consuming and hard work because, if the church is more than a few years old, it likely will involve questioning everything that it currently does and re-writing its DNA.

Wisely, emphasis is given to approaching this shift, this change agenda, as a leadership team searching the Scriptures, praying hard and developing shared understandings of disciple, discipleship and purpose. Putman repeatedly advises to take it slow, work as a team, and get consensus.

Close reference to the life and work of Jesus informs the disciple-making blueprint at the heart of DiscipleShift: Share - Connect - Minister - Disciple. These processes are worked out in a fundamentally biblical-relational methodology with the relational small group at the heart of the model.

Recommended for anyone looking at returning their local church to disciple-making. Not for the fainthearted.

[Garland Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love and hate this book. I love it because I believe it's a crucial work for the church today to read. Too many churches measure success based on numbers of attenders and how many programs their executing. This book redefines measurement by lives transformed. It gives both a theological and practical system for helping your church "make disciples who make disciples." Again, I think it should be required reading for church leaders.

But I hate it. I hate it because I know how many people will agree with this book and then fail to do the hard work and the faith-filled execution to make the shift. I hate it because Putman needs to use the book upsell his coaching services in order to make it easier for pastors to make these shifts. Churches are in need of guides who can help their leaders think organizationally and strategically. I believe that Putman is one of those guys.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many church plants over the past 10 years would take Putman's approach for granted, but there's a foundational aspect to what Putnam says that's helpful for churches that already have a healthy emphasis on discipleship to re-examine and reconsider. Putnam keeps his insights clear, practical, and scripturally oriented. Definitely a book worth reading for those thinking about church planting, revitalization, or reconfiguring an existing ministry.

[Eric Molicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book on what is needed in most churches to build a culture of discipleship. If you are a pastor/church leader, you need to read this. Now. If you are a layperson and "discipleship" is something your pastor and leaders are talking about, read this (along with Robert Coleman's classic "Master Plan of Evangelism").

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concepts are good but written chiefly from a male pastor perspective

[Stuart Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read - very practical because of the chapter recaps and well documented end notes.

[James Hogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggle with knowing how to review this book. As I've stated in previous reviews, church model books are difficult for me as I don't like to think how a church should be "structured" or "programmed". Seems artificial and a bit cringe. Yet I need to step back away from my own likes and dislikes and realize that a church is made up of people and having organization is not a bad thing. And having organization means that a mission and vision must be defined, programs perhaps put in place, etc. I appreciated this book for its biblical focus and a constant acknowledgement that it is God through the work of the Holy Spirit who builds His church. Our fancy plans and high-reaching goals will be for naught if we do not humble ourselves before God and truly seek Him first. This book's main focus was on discipleship. If one thinks that the main goal of the church is making disciples, then one will truly appreciate this book and the encouragement in it for us all to continue to grow in our Christian maturity (which means we are eventually ones who disciple others). I am not entirely convinced by the premise of this book (that all of us ought to be primarily disciple-makers), but I am sure that the majority of Christians today are not focused on others as much as they should be. Christians ought to be constantly considering how they might love others, both those in our church and not. This book did stimulate me to think further how ought a church to operate. What model should a church have that would enable us to live in such a way that brings honor to God? I would argue (and I am sure the authors of this book would agree) that such a church would look different in different cities and communities. I may need to read this book again, as I fear the rambling state of this review reflects my mixed thoughts. I also feel that I think about church from a very individualistic standpoint, not as a leader of a church. And maybe that is my problem - I am not thinking as one that is responsible for the spiritual welfare and comfort of a congregation of needy, hungry people, but instead thinking of my ideal of a church. There is no perfect church, but there is the Lord's catholic church, that church which the Lord shall build until He comes. May we seek to join Him in this work with all our wonderful, disparate Spirit-blessed talents. Amen and Amen.

[Chandler Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful book about implementing small group-centric discipleship in local church contexts. The authors emphasize the need for relation discipleship that engages the head, heart, and hands of disciples, and the writers also stress the need for reproductive discipleship to fulfill the great commission. I also found helpful their taxonomy of evangelical churches you may encounter today that have lost sight of a holistic vision of discipleship My reason for reciting two stars from the book is due to the book format: it feels a bit messy. The chapters are somewhat repetitive, but the authors write in a very clear and engaging manner so it doesn’t feel like a big issue, but then the end of each chapter contains a “Key points” section where they summarize the main points of the chapter. These sections either felt extremely redundant or made the reading of each chapter superfluous. Each chapter also contains multiple excurses of authorial interviews with evangelistic expert Robert Coleman. The interview questions in each question do somewhat relate to the topic of each chapter, but I felt that they could have asked Coleman more robust questions. Each excursus feels a little basic. Yet, I would recommend this book to anyone who has never experienced a small-group approach to local church discipleship before. It is a good primer!

[Jeff Bjorgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are so many books on discipleship out there, many of them dealing with the typical "how to" processes that absorb so much of the minds of pastors like me. With the multitude of, "This is the way you should do it" books out there, it's no wonder that so many pastors and church leaders get overwhelmed with the conversation.

Discipleshift works a little differently in this regard, in that the authors don't tell you to adopt their language or their system as much as encourage you to embrace a clearer focus on discipleship. The point of the book is to help churches transition from a less-than discipleship model, to a church that has a fully immersed discipleship process. It was clearly written and set out practical steps on how to achieve this vision.

I chose to read Discipleshift because I thought that it was written at an easy reading level, which is helpful if I am giving it to all staff and board members to read. The goal was to start somewhere so that all of our leaders could be on the same page when discussing discipleship together. Discipleshift did the job and set us on a clear course moving forward.

[Tim Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘This is a very important book that scratches an itch I’ve had for some time. In it, Jim Putnam, along with his co-writers, suggest five “shifts” necessary to move a church to a ministry focused on Christ mission for His church: making disciples. They recommend a shift from reaching to making; from informing to equipping; from program to purpose; from activity to relationship; and from accumulating to deploying.

Each of these is designed to move the church away from the big, attractive, sometimes “seeker-friendly”, programmatic models of ministry in the early 21st century church and back to relational and intentional making of disciples. It is a necessary step for the church to strive in America—after all it is the main mission our Lord gave as He left us behind.

Being a skeptic, I’m curious to know whether, if I visited Putman’s church, it would fully exhibit the character he recommends here. But no church is perfect and even imperfectly following his model ought to build greater strength into a church and prepare it for a different future than we have faced in the recent past: a future that will require a stronger, more courageous and resilient church.

[Liz Friesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is recommended by my church as a "must read" to understanding the mission of our church. I have spent the last 25 years of my life in churches that had small groups, but didn't fully understand why until I read this book. Some of the churches I have been in may not have had the same heartbeat for small groups as is explained in this book, to make disciples who make disciples. But it connected all the dots for me as to what small groups should look like (hint-think about Jesus leading the disciples). I am not currently in a small group in my church, but after reading this, I realize I need to find one. I am thankful my church recommends this book to the congregation and doesn't just see it as a book for the church leadership or the small group leaders.
I recommend this book to anyone who is in a church that has small groups, whether or not they are in one.

[Michael Bergman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and practical

Putnam's book is informative and practical, but it is nothing new if you're well-read in discipleship books from recent years. The focus is on using relationships, specifically small groups, to be the vessel for spiritual growth. Aligning all things to the discipleship process is also key (ideas expanded in Simple Church, which Putman quotes).

If you're looking for a primer on relational discipleship, then pick up DiscipleShift. If you've been reading on the topic for a while and you're looking for new ideas, then go into this book knowing it will be many of the same ideas.

[Ethan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

so important

This is one of a few dozen really excellent modern books on discipleship. It is helpful for a church working to shift from a crowd focus to a purposeful relationship model.

If there is a weakness in the book, it is the perspective all too common in discipleship books: it’s implied that if you don’t use this model and understand the mission this way, you might not be a Christian. But this model is not necessarily the exclusive model presented for making disciples in scripture, particularly in Acts.

Very, very good book. Extremely practical.

[Ryne Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for our church as we’re talking through discipleship. Putnam gives a very detailed argument for why churches should be churches where disciples make disciples.

I agree with the thinking and strategy of DiscipleShift but the language can complicated and hard to remember at times. It feels like it would be a lot to unpack with a staff team, let alone to other leaders or members.

There is a lot of good here to use to plan and evaluate discipleship in churches.

[Jeff Bobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in your church becoming a healthy disciple making church you will learn what for most churches is a shift in thinking.

Taking you through a step by step process while leaving you room to shape the process for your context you will be inspired to look at what you are doing with new eyes.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book on discipleship. It focuses on relationships, rather than purely education, and challenges everyone to do the same. In some ways it is a distillation of "The Master plan of Evangelism" by Robert Coleman, and he is one of the co-authors. No offense to Jim Putnam, but the addition of the other authors produces a superior book to his others on this topic.

[Philip A Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reminder of the true work of the church.

This book provides an excellent reminder that making disciples is the true work of the church. It also marks our a clear pathway for church leaders to follow showing them how to do that work. I especially appreciated the scorecard they suggest for measuring, not church attendance or budgets, but disciples who are reproducing.

[Jada Wright-Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

The prospective of creating a church teaches disciples to make disciple is where I believe all churches should be. It is our goal to share the good news of the gospel and this is not done if we are not truly discipling people. This book is a must read for people who interested in starting a church or leadership looking to shift their church.