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| Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ | 
 enlarge | Author: George Barna
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Category: Book
List Price: $20.99
Buy New: $11.40
You Save: $9.59 (46%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 18584
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 1578564239
Dewey Decimal Number: 253
EAN: 9781578564231
ASIN: 1578564239
Publication Date: October 16, 2001
Release Date: October 16, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Christ’s command to the church is clear: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations...” It is in building disciples--helping others to embrace Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, mature in him, and then lead others to do the same--that the Kingdom grows. And when the Kingdom grows, churches do, too.
In Growing True Disciples,respected author and researcher George Barna helps pastors and leaders assess how their churches are doing in fulfilling their role as disciplemakers. And he reveals models and examples that will equip churches to dramatically increase their effectiveness. As a result, your church can begin to see more involved members who want to live out their faith in submission to God, and joyfully share their resources to fulfill Christ’s commission.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 One of Barna's best February 6, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Barna uses his sociological research to demonstrate the relative absence of real disciple making in the evangelical church in America. But the book is not negative as a whole. He goes on to cover several churches where discipleship is faithfully practiced at some level, and makes a strong call to return to the biblical ideals in this area. His definition of discipleship is loose, including things like taking a spiritual growth class or participating in an online Christian chat group as possible models, but he has the right idea.
This book confirmed a number of my impressions about where the church in America is at.
- Dennis McCallum, author, Organic Disciplemaking: How to promote Christian leadership development through personal relationships, biblical discipleship, mentoring, and Christian community
Outstanding Resource for Clergy January 10, 2008
Barna's book should be read by all congregational leaders. Over the past 12 months, I realized that my seminary education prepared me to lead congregations from the 1950s through the 1970s. In other words, ministry outgrew my education. Barna's book helps focus on what is truly important in church ministry: developing followers of Jesus. The book focuses on how congregations can intentionally create a culture where becoming a pupil of Christ is nurtured. The only negative comes from its evangelical Protestant bias. There are many high church, Catholic-like congregations that would benefit from how the ideas work in those settings.
My Review November 20, 2007
This book offers clinical insights to disciple-making. Barna captured the essence of where the problems are, and potential solutions. I was required to read this book for seminary. However, I now believe that it is a "must have" for any ministry leader. I will be recommending that my church book store keep volumes on-hand. Oops, sorry Amazon!
A key study on discipleship for church leadership December 2, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is the first George Barna book I have read, although I have heard of his writings in discussions within the church I attend. I look forward to reading more of his work. This was one of two texts used in my Discipleship Ministries course in my master's seminary study.
Barna begins the book with the need for this writing, and the need to focus on disciple making within the church. He notes how the word "disciple" has lost its meaning and that today anyone who semi-regularly attends church without any outside study or work can be called a disciple by today's definition. He describes what Scriptural discipleship is and how it is much more than doing a few things for God. Instead, discipleship is devoting one's whole self to God, and the teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ.
He then discusses the importance of discipleship and gives a brief look at discipleship exemplified in Scripture. He lists the marks of discipleship according to the Bible, and in the next chapter gives the results of his individual surveys of Christians. He asks basic questions of the central dogmas of Christians to determine what the goals and knowledge level of people in the church. He surveys the discipleship activities of people, and their belief in what constitutes success spiritually. Some of his more surprising findings are that more than half surveyed have no specific goal in spiritual growth, and almost half believe that anyone can get to Heaven regardless of spiritual belief, despite most having a very high view of Scripture as the Word of God. He looks at different aspects of discipleship including service, study and evangelism. (Evangelism is a key aspect because many churches equate evangelism and discipleship, when Barna states from Scripture that it is only an aspect of discipleship.)
Then Barna describes how we as a church got to this point of discipleship (i.e. from Scriptural discipleship to the variations of concentration and different levels of commitment). His conclusion is that this is a leadership issue. He goes about describing the changes without being harsh or singling out any individuals or denominations. He describes the need for holistic discipleship rather than the partial discipleship views many churches have.
In chapter 6, George Barna switches from discussing his research of individuals to that of churches. He discusses the keys that effective discipling churches have and the methods that they employ. With Barna, the key is not a single method, but principles that underlie a given method. The method should be tailored to a congregation, and not something generic. In the methods, he focuses on 5 highly effective churches and their programs that have caused discipleship growth. He finishes with his "best of" model that takes the best attributes from each model, and creates a generic, principle-driven model for churches to use. This model is not a how-to, as each church has different needs, but is the framework in which to build a model that can best work in a given church. The onus is on the pastor to build it based on his knowledge of the community and congregation.
We see many books on effective church growth and effective evangelism, but this book on effective discipleship is the best way to cause a church to grow and to evangelize to the lost.
This is an important book. It is grounded on the Bible and utilizes observations of the church and of society to draw conclusions on the state of Christian discipleship in America. The underlying principles are designed for church leaders, but the book is supremely beneficial to people who are not in leadership roles, yet, as it discusses the needs of individuals in seeking true discipleship as well as giving guidelines for pastoral leaders in designing church-wide discipleship ministries.
Usually, I provide any negative things I note in the writing or organization, but with this book I had no such impressions. The book is logically organized, and is a highly edifying book, despite the controversial topics discussed. Never did I get a hint that Barna was being negative in his writing, but simply points out the needs of individuals and of churches.
Gotta Have It July 13, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you are serious about descipleship development you really need to read this book. George Barna has a way of expressing the truth in this book that I find refreshing. I have read a number of books on discipleship and spiritual development but I have never seen the simple truth and direction stated so clearly. If you are looking for adult or older youth study material this book will provide plenty of material. Small group development can also work with this material.
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