Customer Reviews

The Disciple Making Pastor

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Bill Hull's "The Disciple-Making Pastor" is a classic in the field of local church ministry. I can't imagine a pastor being without it, or at least without the concepts and processes that Hull highlights.

My ministry mentor first introduced the book to me two decades ago. The Ephesians 4:11-16 principles that Hull emphasizes changed my mindset about the role of the pastor. Before reading "The Disciple-Making Pastor," I was trained in two Evangelical schools (a fine Bible College and an excellent Seminary), yet somehow I was never exposed to "the pastor as equipper." To this day, many Evangelical pastors assume that their role is to do the work of the ministry. Hull reminds us that Christ calls pastors to equip others to do the work of the ministry. Pastors, as Hull says, are player-coaches. They are skilled ministers, but more importantly, they are skilled makers of ministers.

Hull's model helps us to see that the issue really relates to whether a pastor wants to be Ed Sullivan or Milton Berle. Milton Berle reflects the pastor doing the ministry. Berle kept himself in the limelight, however, his show did not last nearly as long as Sullivan's. Ed Sullivan, on the other hand, kept putting other people in the spotlight, and his show lasted decades. More importantly, Sullivan launched the careers of many others--just as pastors ought to launch the ministry careers of their parishioners.

People tend to think that pastors who equip are lazy or uncaring--"You just don't want to be bothered with visiting people in the hospital!" The true motivation for the disciple-making pastor is just the opposite--the desire is to see every member a minister. The disciple-making pastors refuses to rob people of the joy of serving others. Such pastors take great joy in distributing shepherd staffs.

Hull is right; pastoral care is actually the care the entire church provides for one another. On the ship of the church, there are no passengers, only crew members.

Hull is not content to talk in theory only. He provides a time-tested, proven model of disciple-making. His concluding chapters and charts are indispensable in "putting feet" to his model.

Readers of "The Disciple-Making Pastor" will also want to read Hull's latest book, "Choose the Life." Here Hull continues the disciple-making premise of his earlier works, but with a greater emphasis on the relational component (the people, character development) and the spiritual focus (spiritual formation, spiritual direction). Blending these two books creates a healthy recipe for relational disciple-making.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction," "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Sacred Friendships: Listening to the Voices of Women Soul Care-Givers and Spiritual Directors."

Hull has written what I believe to be an excellent text challenging the reader to reconsider the priority of making disciples in the church. His underlying premise is that Christians do not stop at just leading someone to Christ, but to make disciples of others who in turn become disciplers.

Among the points covered include:

1. Ways cultural influences resist the pastor's discipling-making efforts.
2. Estimated that only 7% of evangelicals are trained in evangelism and only 2% have led someone to Christ.
3. The importance of multiplying disciples.
4. Getting the flock to thinking that the kingdom of God is more than just staying inside the walls of the church.
5. Effective communicators know how to get others to understand what and why something needs to be passed on to others.
6. Description of "velcro" ministries that keep people plugged into the church until they are ready for deeper discipling.
7. What a trained disciple looks like in terms of character and ministry skills.
8. A 6-step method of classroom training and on the job training for developing disciples.

Recommended. Be challenged and encouraged to do your part to make church much more than just a time of entertainment!

Another outstand book by Hull. It is the author's thesis that the anemic state of the church is due to a lack of discipleship or as he would put it, "It is a crisis of product". The marching orders of the church are plain and simple: make disciples. The modern church is adept at making converts, but it makes precious few disciples, thus failing to fulfill the Great Commission. Hull gives us a six step program to facilitate that process: Them what, they them why (most churches stop right here), show the how, do it with them, let them do it, deploy them in the world.

In chapter four, "The Role of a Disciple Making Pastor" Hull provides a strong theological framework upon which his thesis is built. In it, he makes the biblical care for the role of the modern pastor. Coming from a Christian Church/church of Christ background that relegates the role of the pastor to a glorified chaplain, I appreciate his care for strong pastoral leadership. He also takes issue with Rutz (The Open Church) who denigrates the modern pastoral rule. Hull rightly observes that without strong pastoral leadership as the "trigger mechanism" for discipleship, renewal will not happen in the church. Hull's analogy of the pastor as coach is excellent. His criticism of ministry to felt need sis a perhaps a little to hard. Though the idea of meet felt needs is overused, the idea is still a good one- you reach people where they are. The last few chapters were redundant and could have been considerably shortened

There is no shortage of work to be done by the average pastor in the average church. Yet, Christ calls us to select the excellent priority of making disciples who will reproduce themselves in others. The authors rightly insist that the church must refocus its efforts on people not programs. Pastors cannot leave this task to others, but must lead the church family through the transition. This is a must read for every pastor who is bothered by the lack of significant discipleship taking place in the church.

I was extremely excited about this book when I first started reading it. Being a new pastor of a small church, I was hoping that it would give me the nuts and bolts of how to put together a discipleship ministry. Unfortunately, as I got closer to the end of the book it was obvious that I wasn't going to get that here.

The book overall seems to be written with the intent to give pastors who are not creating disciples the conviction that they should be. Much descussion is given to "WHY" you should, not "HOW" you can. There is an overview of a structure that can be used but it sure would have been nice to have more detail on how to put it all together.

I had read this book in college and then over the years lent it out and wanted to read it again. Lots of great insight for pastors serious about transforming their churches through discipleship.

Having been personally discipled in a small group setting, I believe this is what the modern church has always missed. The shepherd must come to realize the tremendous gap between Sunday worship and daily practical Christian living is filled by a determined, systematic, measurable, plan of Biblical discipleship. Too many churches are little more than "pools of ignorance", lacking the ability to think critically and practice discernment, things so dearly needed today. In today's "instant gratification" mentality, this 2-3 year plan is not popular, but bears fruit lasting into eternity.