Covenant Discipleship: Christian Formation Through Mutual Accountability

by David Lowes Watson

David Lowes Watson advances the practice of mutual accountability in Christian discipleship by expanding and updating the original handbook for covenant discipleship groups.

Accountable Discipleship was the manual for covenant discipleship groups for more than six years, with over 20,000 copies printed in three editions. This new version should prove valuable in leading existing groups to a deeper level of discipleship, and newcomers to a fresh discovery of the best of the Methodist tradition.

Of special interest is Watson's recovery - from John Wesley's General Rules for the early Methodist societies - of a fourfold "General Rule" of discipleship: "To witness to Jesus Christ in the world, and to follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit."

Genres: Leadership, Theology, Discipleship, Church, Christianity

172 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technical read explaining the basis and format of covenant discipleship. Helpful in creating a group.

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is much positive to be said for this book. David Watson makes a strong case for the return of class meetings in Methodism. This non curriculum based small group gets at the heart of growth as disciples as no regular Bible study could ever do. I appreciate his attempts to contextualize an eighteenth century practice in the contemporary church. And while it seems obvious that the practice as developed by Wesley cannot be adopted unchanged in the contemporary church, Watson probably goes too far in his adaptation. I am concerned that his revision of Wesley's General Rules are not faithful to the full intent that Wesley had. And, more than once I wondered whether Watson was straying into Pelagianism.