Discipleship is central to a life of faith – and the Bible model of discipleship is more like apprenticeship than simply learning. This book is designed to help you not simply learn about what Jesus knew, but become more like Jesus by doing what he did.
At the heart of this resource is a self-assessment process, called the ‘Disciple-Making Tool’, which helps you discern your ‘shape’ as a disciple: whether your strengths lie particularly in your hands, in contributing, creating and leading; in your heart, in loving, appreciating and belonging; or in your head, in knowing, thinking and understanding.
Though many disciples can be overdeveloped in one area and underdeveloped in another, Jesus invites us to grow in all three areas in developing towards Christian maturity. These daily readings – which include Bible passages, reflections, exercises and prayer – will help you journey step by step in your spiritual formation for the sake of reaching the world.
Table of Content
Foreword vii
Thanks 1
Introduction 2
Day 1 Living for Jesus 11
Day 2 What would Jesus do? 16
Day 3 Retreat to advance 20
Day 4 Do you love the kinds of people Jesus loved? 24
Day 5 A lullaby for war 28
Day 6 Would anyone notice if you weren’t a Christian? 32
Day 7 Washed clean 36
Day 8 Soul food 41
Day 9 Your desires or God’s desires 45
Day 10 What is so important about church? 49
Day 11 Your brother has been beaten 53
Day 12 The place where we are 57
Day 13 Party animal or lone wolf? 61
Day 14 Satnavs and road maps 65
Day 15 Being empowered by the Holy Spirit 68
Day 16 Make your yes a yes 72
Day 17 From tenants to owners 76
Day 18 Rock bottom 79
Day 19 Do you influence or are you influenced? 83
Day 20 Standing on the shoulders of Jesus 86
Day 21 Are you willing to be taught? 90
Day 22 Make it less about you 94
Day 23 What is shaping you? 98
Day 24 A bigger world 101
Day 25 The ministry of the weak 105
Day 26 Don’t be spoon-fed 109
Day 27 Can you serve like Jesus? 113
Day 28 Live in sync with creation 117
Day 29 What would Jesus tweet? 120
Day 30 New ways of walking 124
Day 31 Taking time to celebrate 127
Day 32 Not an individual event 130
Day 33 God knows you 133
Day 34 Are you moved to take action? 136
Day 35 Your hands are his hands 140
Day 36 Jesus can’t be a hobby 144
Day 37 Representing Jesus 148
Day 38 You are not a beggar 151
Day 39 With us or against us? 154
Day 40 Therefore go 157
Epilogue 162
What now? 166
About the author
The Revd Cris Rogers is a Church of England priest. He studied for his first degree in theology at Trinity College Bristol, and obtained a MA in theology from Kings College London. He was one of the first ‘pioneer’ priests in the Cof E, and is currently Rector of All Hallows, Bow, London. Cris is a lively and innovative Bible teacher, a dynamic preacher who is always coming up with new ways of teaching the Bible. Cris is creative through appealing to the senses, physically giving people some salt or water if that’s what he’s talking about, or cooking a bacon sandwich while talking about the food laws of Leviticus. Cris is a popular speaker and teacher at Spring Harvest, and author of six books including The Bible Book by Book (Monarch 2012).