Disciples Are Made Not Born: Helping Others Grow to Maturity in Christ

Haven't finished book yet, but crafted in an 'easy to understand' language that will aid the reader in helping other along in the faith.

I've only read the first chapter by now, but I can tell is going to be quiet the journey through this pages.

In the earlier chapters of this book, the author makes the comparison of hunting for deer using either a shotgun to hit all of them, but not kill any, or using a rifle to bring down one or two. It's an ironic analogy, because this book is the author using a shotgun on the issue of discipleship when we'd all be better off with the focused aim of a rifle. You won't find anything that's incredibly in depth in this book. In fact, the author seems to have so much that he wants to say that he doesn't say any of it very well. He bounces from one point to another without ever setting down roots for long enough to actually make a difference. In many parts of the book, he will cite a passage of scripture, give a one or two sentence response, then spend the next 2 or 3 paragraphs telling a story. This pattern is repeated through the book. I'm left with the conclusion that the author knows a lot of verses, and he has a lot of stories he wants to tell, but doesn't know how to encourage us towards deep understanding or application. If you've never heard of the topic of discipleship before, this book may be helpful to you. However, if you've been a Christian for some time and have a basic understanding of Christianity and discipleship, you probably won't get much from this book.

I didn't know what to expect when I bought this book because I had never read anything by this author nor was I very familiar with the Navigators ministry. Needless to say, I was very impressed by the practicality of the book as well as the "down-to-earth" language in which the discipleship principles were taught. Being currently in ministry, I found this book to be just what I needed, right when I needed it. You can't go wrong with this book...one of the best of its kind!

Bought for Bible school!

Teaching the class now. Easy to read and easily digestible. Thorough lesson plan in the back of the book. Excellent approach to making disciples.

The book does a very good job of going over the mentoring model of discipling someone (e.g. Paul and Timothy) and providing practical advice for each stage of the process. It also has a helpful appendix with a study guide.The book was written in the the 1970s and so may seem a little off to the modern reader because it uses quotes from a version of the Bible that is close to the King James version (in other words lots of "thee" and "thou"). The book also is very male (as in the male sex) centered in the sense that it seems to assume that both the discipler and the disciple are male. It also uses a lot of sport and military analogies that will be less relevant to a woman reader.

This is a must read for those of the Christian faith. Very informative and helpful. Excellent read and easy to understand.