Discipleship Matters

Discipleship in the American Church is at a crossroads. There is a general agreement that in some ways we arelosing ground, not just in numbers, but in more intangible ways like scriptural literacy, mature character, love amongbelievers, clarity of the gospel, or the number of believers leaving the faith or redefining it to somethingunrecognizable. But as we raise up new leaders, we often seem to double down on the very methods andphilosophies that have failed to produce the fruit we desire. We continue to accept the world's assessments ofsuccess within our churches, and this leads us to seek leaders whose gifts lend to bigger, faster, and louderapproaches. Too often, these gifts have taken precedence over even the clear qualifications listed in Scripture, withoccasionally disastrous results. The fact that church plants frequently close and pastors often quit indiscouragement has become an accepted cost of doing business, but what if it didn't have to be?