Section One - The Discipleship Deficit (p1-39)

In the first section of the book, Ogden points out that there is a discipleship deficit in the church at large as can be evidenced by the sheer number of people who claim to be Christians yet exhibit little to no transformation in thinking or behavior. After identifying seven traits of discipleship, Ogden discusses eight causes of the discipleship malaise:

Seven Marks of Discipleship
1) Proactive ministry (not passive recipients)
2) A spiritually disciplined life
3) Holistic discipleship (not merely a private faith)
4. Counter-cultural faith (not blending in)
5) Sees church as an essential organism (church is not optional)
6) Biblically literate
7) Passion for sharing our faith

Root Cause of the Discipleship Malaise:
1) Diversion from primary calling, pastoral soul care vs. discipleship and leadership
2) Discipling through programs
3) Reducing the Christian life to benefits we receive from Jesus, such as eternal life
4) 2 tiered understanding of discipleship, thinking that discipleship is for "super-Christians"
5) Unwillingness to call people to discipleship
6) An inadequate view of the church as a discipleship community of forming individuals
7) No clear pathway to maturity8) Lack of personal discipling

What is your reaction to this section? What suprised you? What seemed particularly applicable? In what way might this help? If there were something you might add, change, or clarify in this section, what might it be?

When This Group Begins

This group is scheduled to begin begins on November, 2007. If you are interested in participating, please contact John Telgren at his website: http://books.epreacher.org