Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare [Paperback]

Chuck Lawless (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2002

Using solid biblical exegesis, Chuck Lawless presents a well-rounded, proven model for fighting the enemy through the development of a spiritually healthy church. This unique book suggests workable strategies and resources for developing disciples prepared for spiritual warfare. (20040603)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is a winner . . . for everyone from the man in pulpit to the person in the pew. (Thinkspots )

From the Back Cover

Discipleship is the boot camp for spiritual warfare.

“This book makes a significant contribution to pastors and leaders. There is a great need for a good, solid biblical foundation in spiritual warfare literature.”

—Jerry Vines
First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla.

Putting on the armor of God is the essence of both biblical discipleship and biblical spiritual warfare. Using solid biblical exegesis, Discipled Warriors deftly presents a well rounded, proven model for fighting the enemy based on the same principles as those for developing a healthy church.

Punctuated with stories and real-life examples, this timely book provides workable strategies and resources for equipping discipled warriors to meet the challenges of being the church in the twenty-first century.

“Lawless is one of the most outstanding scholars in the fields of church growth and spiritual warfare. His balanced, evangelical perspective will be welcomed in a discipline that often enters extrabiblical suppositions.”

—Thom Rainer
Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Chuck Lawless (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) served as a pastor for fourteen years before joining the faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Academic & Professional (December 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082543159X
• ISBN-13: 978-0825431593
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #457,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chuck Lawless is professor and senior associate dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as a pastor for almost twenty years, and is the author of Spiritual Warfare: Biblical Truth for Victory, Discipled Warriors: Healthy Churches Winning Spiritual Warfare, Making Disciples through Mentoring, Serving in Your Church's Prayer Ministry, and Eating the Elephant. Dr. Lawless speaks extensively around the country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Building a Healthy Church, May 15, 2003

By 

Christian Observer (Manassas, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare (Paperback)

Numerous books are being written on the subject of church growth. The book was written because of the author's desire to see churches be strong enough to win the battles against Satan as they are growing. Three main ideas are raised. The first is that too little consideration is being given to the theological foundation. Without a well-grounded foundation the church that develops will be weak at best. A second concern is that prayer is often neglected in the wealth of strategies and methods. Spiritual realities can so easily be overlooked in the effort to "get something done," to increase the number of names on the church roll or the size of the budget. The third idea is that all too often discipleship is only a part of the purpose of the church. It becomes another program, not a life style.
There are 10 chapters in the book. Chapter 1 presents the foundation for a biblical model for a local congregation. Chapter 2 shows that discipleship is an over all goal to defeat the enemy through a disciplined lifestyle. Power-driven programs are not the answer. Chapters 3 through 8 concentrate on the six purposes of the local congregation. They provide much direction, the "how-to" for achieving the goals of growing Christians in growing churches. Chapter nine is titled "Leading in Charge Without Losing the Battle." This involves sincere prayer by those who are leading. And encouraging others to pray regularly. "Lead from your knees if you want to grow a church with discipled warriors." Chapter 10, "A Concluding Challenge," gives serious warning through stories of failure in spiritual warfare from the Bible. The call is first to holiness and then to the battle.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely Truths About Spiritual Warfare, January 31, 2004

By 

Robert D. Ison "Helping You Find New Hope" (Marion, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare (Paperback)

Dr. Lawless has developed a very practical masterpiece that guides the reader through precious truths about spiritual warfare. He applies the five church functions plus prayer, made popular by Rick Warren, to overcoming the bondage imposed by sin and the enemy of God. The book stresses the need for discipleship and training or equipping in the area of the full armor of God as presented in Ephesians 6:10-20.

This book reads very smoothly and the material presented can be easily comprehended. This book is a must read for church pastors. Both the experienced pastor and new ministers will benefit from reading and applying these principles.

The most refreshing part of this work is that these are universal principles. Many works that are written about spiritual warfare apply only historical accounts about experiences from someones past. Those experiences are important but are not universal. Dr. Lawless has used his expertise and God given talent to organize the material found in Discipled Warriors and I believe you, your family, your church, and your community will benefit greater from your ministry after you have read this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Biblical Book On Spiritual Warfare And Discipleship, January 2, 2010

By 

Indiana Jeff Reynolds "Preacher Jeff" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare (Paperback)

This book merges two topics together: spiritual warfare and the purpose of the local church. Too often, they are separated, but Lawless sees them as working together.

There is a lot of emphasis on spiritual warfare, and some is suspect Biblically. Lawless, when in context, touches on some of those thoughts and addresses them. But his focus is not on refuting the wrong views; rather, it is focusing on the right views.

Lawless lists six pillars to the purpose of the church. In dealing with those chapters, he follows the pattern of defining the pillar, pointing out how Satan attacks that pillar, how the church can stand against those attacks, and listing applications and resources on those pillars.

One important thing is he looks at spiritual warfare more as the local church confronting the enemy as a unified front as opposed to an individualistic view. He also sees the local church as responsible for discipling new believers.

This is one of my all time favorite books, and I recommend that every one reads this.