The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ

by Bill Hull

Well organized and readily accessible, The Complete Book of Discipleship pulls together into one convenient, comprehensive volume relevant topics to discipleship such Indexed for easy reference

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

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2006

About the author

Bill’s passion is to help the church return to its disciple making roots and he considers himself a discipleship evangelist. This God-given desire has manifested itself in 20 of pastoring and the authorship of many books. Two of his more important books, Jesus Christ Disciple Maker, and The Disciple Making Pastor, have both celebrated 20 years in print. Add his third in the popular trilogy, The Disciple Making Church , and you have a new paradigm for disciple making.

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on discipleship I've read. The author packs more truth into one chapter than most books on discipleship have in their entirety.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Hull has written a modern-day classic on what it really means to be a Christian. It's a desperate call for churches, pastors, and all who claim the name of Christ to return to a true, biblical understanding of what it means to follow Christ: personal transformation into the likeness of Christ. He reminds the reader that it's not enough to know about Jesus and his commands, Christians must live out those commands and mature in faith.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lays a foundation for discipleship rather than a program for discipleship. If you are looking for an easy program to follow, this is not the book. However, if you are looking for a good resource to discover how to build a discipleship program for your context, then this is worth the read.

[Maria Sprunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Would recommend to anyone who is looking to disciple someone or trying to learn more about the Biblical basis of discipleship. Hull does a really good job of applying practical parts of discipleship and not just focusing on the broader ideas. Especially when thinking about how to practically carry out discipleship, he presents a lot of different theories and methods all stemming from the way Chrsit disicpled others. Really want to buy and reread!!

Fav Quotes:
“In just a few words, Paul set up two primary goals of discipleship. The first: imitate Christ. The second: Although other disciples make for earthly and imperfect examples, imitate them.” (pg. 115)

“When you do submit to others and invite them to join you on the journey, your needs will be met, you will practice humility, and others will be able to love you. This makes you a growing disciple who then influences others with Christlike character.” (pg. 159)

“When we answer God’s call to ‘Come and be with me,’ we’ll naturally connect the ‘being with God’ to ‘going out to preach.’ This is the way it works- for our good and God’s glory.” (pg. 181)

[Ainsley Wood · Rating 2 out of 5]

When reading this, I was told to “Chew the meat and spit out the bones.” Well, much spitting must be done. Although there are a few good principles and poignant takes on discipleship, I would not recommend this read unless you are ready to discern between some cage rattling wake up calls on the current state of the western church, and straight up heresy. Also, far too many sports analogies.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like a real mixed bag of helpful insight and unhelpful advice.
Helpful: Good critiques of nominalism, and of consumer Christianity. Wonderful warning against the danger of assuming an assembly line-mentality that focuses on programs more the people. Good long-term perspective on the messiness of discipling. Great encouragement for people to ground their lives in a church rather than write them off.

Unhelpful: The 'origins' of discipleship was far less useful than I think he thought it'd be. Who cares what the Greeks used to do--surely every culture has a version of mentorship. Those reflections revealed less about biblical discipleship. In his history of discipleship in the church, the section on medieval mysticism is naively appreciative. The charge to 'give church a chance' comes at the very end, and I fear prevents the reader from seeing the local church as a place to ground your personal discipleship in the way Hull seemed to (rightly) be affirming. And the appreciativeness of the emergent movement was...weird. Made him sound apologetic over certain biblical teaching.

Much good practical wisdom. But I fear his course of what discipleship should look like in some ways erects just another program in place of others. Useful for some reflections, but in the Lord's kindness, I think there are stronger and clearer books on the topic out there these days.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book about discipleship and all it entails. very practical and well balanced in its advice yet very humble. i would recommend it for anybody thinking of discipling one or a small group or even large group. Should be read by any self respecting Sunday School class.

[Doug Kauffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as a text for a class at Faith Builders Educational Programs (fbep.org), so I'll just copy and paste parts of my response assignment from class:

I found the book a bit overwhelming. The section headings and subheadings didn’t always flow logically enough for my brain, and I struggled at times to figure out where the author was going. I think it would benefit from a little more conciseness and organization. Or maybe it would serve better as reference book than a cover-to-cover read.

That being said, I agree with his thesis and appreciate much of the content of the book. One of the major takeaways for me was the absolute necessity of community. Discipleship doesn’t happen individually. Whether it’s one-on-one relationships, small groups, or congregations, discipleship occurs in relationship. This overlaps with some other reading and discussions I’ve been part of recently, and I’m pondering how to build intentional relationships both for my own development and for discipling others.

I did find it a bit disconcerting to my Beachy Amish sensibilities that Hull described discipleship in some pretty systematized ways – especially after speaking so clearly in the first few chapters about not reducing discipleship to a system or a curriculum. I do believe strongly that the church should be intentionally fostering discipleship and providing the support and structure for it to happen, but I react somewhat to the formalized, covenant-based, curriculum-guided approach he suggests for small groups and churches. I’m not sure how to find the middle ground between dead disorganization and dead institutionalism.

I think conservative Anabaptism has something meaningful to offer the discipleship conversation. I see a good deal of handwringing from Evangelical thinkers like Hull about “non-discipleship Christianity.” We may err on the side of performance-based traditionalism, but historic Anabaptism has not separated belief from discipleship. Following Christ and obeying him is intrinsic to our understanding of Christianity.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the Bible, this book is a must for all followers of Jesus. It reminds us that non-discipleship Christianity is not Christianity. The Great Commission doesn't give us an option based on our giftedness or lack thereof. Discipleship is God's top priority. Out of the 5 competencies of disciples, we seem to do well in (1) learning Jesus' words, (2) learning Jesus' way of ministry, (3) imitating Jesus' life and character, but often fall short in (4) SUBMITTING to a teacher who teaches him or her how to follow Jesus (we tend to pick and choose what we want to follow) and (5) FINDING and teaching other disciples for Jesus.

A nice part about the book is looking that the history of the church from the early bishops, to catholicism, to reactive monks who later were asked to run the church, how art became the illiterate man's Bible in the Middle Ages, the re-emergence of literacy which empowered the Reformation and individual devotion, to the example of self-denial in Bonhoeffer and his powerful quotes, like "Faith is only real in obedience."

It is very difficult to encapsulate all the treasures in this book. You just have to experience it for yourself! One point is DON'T "fall into the trap of endlessly waiting for a 'call from God' before we go to the world and make disciples. We've already been called!"

[Bruce Stopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hull looks at "discipleship" without giving an adequate definition of what the word means. At times, he means something along the line of "disciple-making," along his understanding of a disciple is anyone who is born again. He seems to emphasize large groups (i.e., local church gatherings) as his preferred method - but, of course, he's a pastor, so this is where he is comfortable.
The last chapter is the most frustrating. He chides the emerging church for pointing to problems without giving a solution, while he points out problems of the Western consumerism/ individualistic mentality without any adequate explanation of his alternative "Jesus way."
I took a small 20-something group through a discussion of this book over a year (one discussion per chapter), and no one came away with how to make a disciple. Except for Hull's comment about another book that he didn't the title or premise of but thought highly of its "mechanisms of training." We expect that book referral to be the best thing we got from this book.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bill Hull is on a lot of lists for modern "Progressive Christians" so I was a little leery. The problem is, I'm still a little leery.

Some of this stuff was good. There was wisdom here, there was truth, but there was stuff that was just plain . . . goofy.

My biggest problem is his view of the church. Hull has a very Catholic view of churches. Go to the nearest church, keep your mouth shut, and like it. He ignores a lot of the evil in the world that has permeated the church, and allows the church to get away with stuff when they are not to be questioned. This is also against what the Bible says. We are to test all things. To judge with righteous judgement. To accept only the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not blindly accept the authority of the church.

Many of Bill Hulls' ideas . . . while not bad, are not fully developed. The reader must allow huge amounts of grace for some of his ideas to make sense. There is truth here, there is wisdom, but be discerning in what you are reading.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the greatest strengths of this book is how often it stressed the importance of discipleship. But not just any kind of discipleship but one that is rooted in the Bible. It presents not just the necessity of discipleship, but also the methodology of doing discipleship. It’s a great resource both for individuals trying to learn how to disciple others and for leaders trying to establish a culture of discipleship in their church. It’s also rife with supplemental resources which are listed after every chapter. It’s a book rich in wisdom, and one that can continue to be used as reference (even after many reads).

[Mark Gossage · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on Discipleship

Please read this book if you can. A convicting and challenging read on the nonnegotiable premise of making disciples as the primary task of being a believer. Discipleship is not secondary, it is the mission. Bill Hull masterfully lays out a vision for discipleship and how anyone can make disciples.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good book

I think it was great. Shows what discipleship is all about and really taught me stuff about myself. Sometimes we fall into patterns and until theyre defined to us, we don't realize what we are doing is wrong. God spoke to me through this book and I hope it speaks to the community of believers as well. Glory be to God and God Bless anyone who reads this book.

[Logan Streondj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it, made me sick to my stomach, it is just so pathetic, i really feel sorry for Christianity of this self defeating philosophy was the best they could squeeze out of it. 😢 very upsetting.

[Todd Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare to be challenged

Excellent, comprehensive book. Well worth your time. Great synopsis of how the church is failing in the area of discipleship and gives a variety of ways to do discipleship in a more Biblical and effective way.

[Ronald J. Pauleus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good emphasis on discipleship and how they are made and what they look like.


“The characteristics of classic discipleship included one-on-one mentoring, a disciplined program of Bible study, Scripture memorization, and training in witnessing and speaking.”

[Travis Agnew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book on discipleship is a great guide through biblical examples, church history, and practical strategies. While providing big-picture concepts, it also gives tangible instructions for personal disciple-making.

[Colby Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when you think he’s going to say something good, he adds a liberal twist. Just when you’re ready to give it up, he reigns it in and makes a good point. Covered a lot of topics but I could think of 3 much better books for every section of the book. Some helpful points throughout.

[Mara Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read as well as a must-have resource for ministry.

[Chuks Obuh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read

Great book on discipleship. There’s this universal relevance to the book. The challenges highlighted are common to every local assembly, but so are the solutions.

[JSem · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the interest of being the COMPLETE book of discipleship, the book seemed like it tried to cram everything in from every stream of discipleship/Spiritual formation.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good helpful book on thinking about what it means to be a disciple and what it looks like for churches to make disciples who truly follow Christ.

[Matthew Rawlings · Rating 3 out of 5]

A summary of Hull's other work, such as the Disciple Making Pastor. Really, at the end of the day, it is about church leadership being intentionally Biblical.

[Skip Crust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Hull writes a well informed, well written book on discipleship. The title is a bit ostentatious. "The Complete Book of Discipleship" makes a claim that just can't be lived up to in a 340 page book. That said, it's a decent book on discipleship. He links our modern-day views of discipleship to the ancients and how they handled following Christ.

I would suggest that this book is a launching pad for discipleship, but it is not exhaustive as the title suggests.

[Rob Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on disciples and discipleship to be well balanced. The author provided much information both historical and practical. His personal insights were very relevant to what is happening in today's churches. As well he provides a list of useful books at the end of each chapter. I believe this book is a worthwhile addition to the library of anyone who is committed to growing as a disciple of Jesus.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appriciated the Table of Contents. It nicely lays out the key sections of the book. This is a good read, but also a resource that can be gleaned for chapter specific content. Very worthwhile when planning and implementing a discipleship program or looking for ways to personally improve your dicsipleship.

[Chris Welter · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far so good... if you want to make disciples this will guide you. If you don't want to make disciples you might start by reading the bible. If you agree with that and still don't want to make disciples you should meet a friend of mine named Jesus.

[Maryse Dubé · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason why I liked this book isn't for showing me how to be a disciple. I liked it for the spiritual side, the day to day examples that makes me a better human being each day. I still keep this book in my collection because I know I can dig good spiritual inspirations when I will need it.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall a helpful book. I found it to be a little hard to follow logically (just seemed disorganized). Also felt imprecise at times. He just made a lot of "always" and "never" statements that seemed unfounded. Gave a little too much credit to aberrant theologians and practitioners.