What’s the difference between discipleship, spiritual formation, mentoring, coaching, counseling, and leadership development? Well, it depends on who you ask. I have books in my study that cover all of those topics and they all seem to cut the pie a little differently… each making nuanced distinctions that fit with their paradigm.
I heard a lecture today on “C.S. Lewis as spiritual director” by Lyle Dorsett, who began his talk by asking the same question that I raised and suggesting that Lewis wouldn’t have been too concerned about those distinctions, as long as at the end of the day, the motivating desire for all of them was that Christ would be followed. I like that.
Of course, I do think there are some helpful distinctions of each of the ministries I listed, but I don’t want to get bogged down discussing them here. The following list of websites relate to ministries, ministers, and authors who focus on faithful Christian discipleship. You will no doubt notice how varied they are. Such is the world of discipleship.
Each of these websites are “go to” websites for me and I have been helped by spending time at each one. I will let each website describe itself by using its own information beside its name (provided it has somethng helpful to share). As the Minister of Discipleship at my church, my view and practice of discipleship continues to grow. I’m grateful to the following websites for sharing all that they’ve learned along the road of following Christ.
Enjoy the list (PS – it’s in no particular order).
Grace and Truth,
Dale
1.) C.S. Lewis Institute: Discipleship of Heart and Mind - Founded in 1976 in the legacy of C. S. Lewis, the Institute endeavors to develop disciples who will articulate, defend, and live their faith in Christ in personal and public life.
2.) Ken Boa (Reflections Ministries) - Reflections Ministries’ goal is to provide safe places for people to consider the claims of Christ and to help them mature and bear fruit in their relationship with Him.
3.) Discipleship Journal at NavPress by the Navigators -The Navigators® is an international, interdenominational Christian ministry established in 1933. Navigators are people who love Jesus Christ and desire to help others know and grow in Him as they “navigate” through life.
4.) Steve Manskar - with the General Board of Discipleship - An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD (The General Board of Discipleship) helps local church, district, and conference leaders fulfill the shared dream of making world-changing disciples. (Also, read these articles on covenant discipleship.)
5.) Bill Hull - 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.
6.) Thom Rainer and Lifeway Christian Store on Discipleship - As God works through us, we will help individuals and churches by providing biblical solutions for life.
7.) Dallas Willard - This page contains articles written by Dallas Willard, some that cover discipleship.
8.) Church Central - We are all about building healthy churches. Over the past nine years, our expert bloggers – a group of well-known authors and researchers – have equipped leaders with biblical best practices and practical advice on church turnarounds.
9.) Greg Ogden at Transforming Discipleship -
10.) The Fellowship of Ailbe (T.M. Moore’s ministry) – The Board and Members of The Fellowship of Ailbe are committed to the revival of God’s saints, renewal within and among His churches, and awakening in the larger culture and society, to the praise of the glory of God’s marvelous grace.
Honorable Mention
Vital Piety - Kevin Watson’s blog. Kevin has a great book of discipleship that you can read more about here.
While you’re here, please check out what I’ve written on discipleship at my pages on Kingdom Discipleship and Godly Manhood.
Blessings,
Dale
