Why another book on discipleship? That’s the question.
There is a lot of good material out there on discipleship, some aimed at strategy, others aimed at foundations and still others aimed at technique. In September Guardrails; Six Principles for a Multiplying Church will release. Although there is a lot out there on discipleship I believe this is a crucial book.
Here’s the WHY behind Guardrails.
I didn’t plan on writing this. This was not an academic work for me, but a relational labor of love. For years I taught these principles to apprentices, young leaders and church planters at whiteboards and in breakfast joints. Many of them passed this along to others. The principles stuck in leaders minds as they were given more freedom in their next ministry role, and they came back to the content from this book. Eventually I got tired of sending these principles out to others over email. Because it has come out of relationships I have chosen to include thoughts from many of those leaders in the book.
We desperately need guiding principles for making disciples. Because we have broadened our view of discipleship (which has been much needed!), folks everywhere are beginning to wonder where the limits are. How far can we stretch our view of discipleship before it becomes either watered down or self-serving? Six principles are key to the book, and, I believe, create a necessary structure for making disciples for the long haul.
It’s simple. Nothing in this book will blow you away, but most of this book will challenge you. My goal has been to transfer simple principles from real life onto pages. The challenge is not in the cognition but in the commitment needed for application. The stories are simple, the principles are simple and the implications of discipleship are simple. You won’t get lost in language of academic proportions.
It works. Before this ever landed in a book it affected many people. It has brought structure to hungry Kingdom leaders in various settings and maturity levels. I am practical at heart, and I believe a practical discipleship resource is needed for the rapidly changing world we live in.
It’s leaves you space. We live in an entrepreneurial culture that values autonomy and freedom. While we need guiding principles, we also need room to create, to apply, to brush things into our context. Guardrails leaves space for people to contextualize a Kingdom foundation and massage these six principles into the lives of people around you.
It doesn’t release until September, but I thought I would give you a preview. Shoot me an email if you’d like to dialogue more about this.