OPEN THREAD: What great discipleship resources have you found for new & middle-Christians?

My congregation is using E-100, which is a collection of 100 readings, 50 from the Old and 50 from the New Testaments, designed to give a broad overview of the biblical narrative, as well as encourage daily bible reading. We are using it primarily for our middle school aged children, however the study questions that go with it are geared for adults. I’ll reserve total judgment for when we’re finished with it, but up till now I’m happy with how it’s going.

Yours in Christ,
jacob

Zondervan Handbook to the Bible (previous editions were published as Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible)

NIV Study Bible

The Liturgy of the Hours (aka Divine Office): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0899424090

1) Need to give this one some thought… but I would strongly encourage anything that helps one get in the habit of memorizing Scripture in some systematic fashion.  Back when I was being discipled in high school / college, Navigator’s design for discipleship series and their Topical Memory system for learning Scripture were incredibly helpful resources for me.  I don’t know how helpful they’d be for discipling adults, but I can truly say that Scripture memorization proved to be the most significant spiritual discipline and resource from my own discipling process.

2) Trying to remember the exact title, but Richard Foster and others have compiled an excellent book, I think it’s called “Devotional Classics” - it gives a great overview of lots of excellent Christian writers on various themes - preventing one from becoming too narrow-minded a believer.

3) Stuart & Fee’s How to Read the Bible for all it’s Worth - a very helpful overview for understanding all of Scripture and how to read and interpret writings from different genres.

4) Don’t know if it’s still in print, and it may be a bit “dated” now, but I was greatly strengthened in my own growth as a believer by a book by David Watson called Discipleship (that may have been the UK edition title, I think the US edition had a different title, maybe “Called and Committed”)  You can see the British edition here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discipleship-Hodder-Christian-paperbacks-Watson/dp/0340332131

5) Stuff by JI Packer, John Stott…,

Basic Christianity by John Stott

check out eucharistcenter dot org   This is taught by a former Prof of Systematic and Sacramental Theology from Nashotah.  The powerpoint classes for the Eucharistic Life and the Eucharistic Church can be a good addition to your eductaional efforts.

I find that there is a gap between knowledge, belief and transformation. I have been seeking resources that help build practice in groups, but so far have come up empty. I know there are many, many good resources that present information, but the only I have found is the guidance The Purpose Driven Life and the Purpose Driven Church provide for structuring life and discipleship classes.

Nashotah House offers a number of superb short courses/workshops that have been of great value to friends and myself.

The journal of the Prayer Book Society has numerous articles that are helpful.

Alpha is as good for the middle Christians as it is for the newbies.

The Mere Anglicanism Conference left me re-energized.

Any number of biographies of the Saints.  Reading of their lives and faith never fails to inspire.

Anglican Digest.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

Amen to the Bible for Blockheads and Mere Christianity. The ESV Study Bible is also very good. Bringing to sermons some of the reference books used and directly citing them, especially if they are out of the church’s lending library, is good way to interest parishioners in borrowing and reading those books.

Thanks for posting on discipling.  Most definitely needed.

Reading Scripture as the Word of God by George Martin. This is written by a lay person who did bible studies for decades. The new edition reads more Catholic than the previous one which I prefer. It treats scripture as the word, human and divine, in the same way as the Word.

The Goldsworthy Trilogy is the easiest way to get three books by Graeme Goldsworthy: Gospel and Kingdom, Gospel and Wisdom and The Gospel in Revelation.  It’s a good, accessible guide to the way the Gospel is present in all of Scripture.  Gospel and Kingdom is going over really well in a lay study group I’m in.

More description here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Goldsworthy-Trilogy-Kingdom-Revelation/dp/1842270362

These are very helpful resources—keep ‘em coming.

Also, since all of us don’t know all of these resources, please distinguish between the ones suitable for baby/new Christians & seekers [and who have practically no background in Christianity] and those who are beyond that level.

Sarah - I would think that two of Colson’s best would be ideal - The Body and The Faith. I’ll admit I have not read either but feedback from others has left to resolve to read them this year and work on material for a 101/201 class.

Just something to consider for all - keep in mind your generational audience and how they learn. Sometime a study guide, book, or written material how ever great can impede knowledge. I am convinced that knowledge and practice must go hand in hand as a class.

Point taken, Sarah [13] - Goldsworthy is geared more toward mid-level, though I think a really curious baby Christian could benefit.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis is a great first book for a seeker or new Christian. This book was what got me back in the fold as an adult and really knowing why and what I believe. I read this in college and loved it! It is no understatement to say that this book IS the reason I am back in the fold as an adult.

Written to a similar audience with similar goals as Mere Christianity is N. T. Wright’s book- Simply Christian. Our women’s book study group read this book. I enjoyed it. Would be another good book for either a seeker or brand new Christian.

Another good book for a new Christian is Why I believe in a Personal God by George Carey.
This is subtitled The credibility of Faith in a Doubting Culture.

Evidence that demands a verdict by Josh McDowell is an excellent book for those types who want an intellectual/scholarly explanation for many of the questions/barriers they will have when first encountering Christianity. Explains why the bible is trustworthy and lots more. I think this is where the ‘Lord, Liar or Lunatic’ often attributed to C.S. lewis was given as way to understand our choice as to who He is.  I still love this book and it makes a great reference book. One does not read this cover to cover.

Letters to the Young Churches- a translation of the epistles of Paul by J. B. Phillips is great way to introduce people to what happened following the Gospel accounts. This was the first translation I read that made the Bible an exciting story.

For those a bit further in their journey, I really enjoyed two books on the spiritual disciplines. Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline and Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines. Foster now has a workbook to go along with the book.

Just an FYI, Foster’s book called Devotional Classics is really a compilation of short excerpts from larger works, usually books, written by various authors in various centuries. The themes are the six “traditions”- the contemplative tradition, the holiness tradition, the charismatic tradition, the social justice tradition, the evangelical tradition, and the incarnational tradition. Also, Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith are really editors as well as the authors of the reflection questions and exercises that go along with the readings. For example, the first excerpt is from C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity and titled “Giving All to Christ”.

Now, I enjoy the books of Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison. I have especially enjoyed The Cruelty of Heresy and Trust in an Age of Arrogance. I read the cruelty of heresy in one day!

I don’t normally think of the Mere Anglicanism Conference as a “disciplining” opportunity but yes it will increase your knowledge of Anglicanism as a whole. The “Mere” part of the name is no mistake- as the focus continues to be those beliefs that should unite as Anglicans hence “Mere Anglicanism”. Usually the conference is strong on the history of whatever the topic is for that year.

I will put in a shameless plug for next year’s Mere Anglicanism conference in January 2013. The link goes to the speaker’s page which gives bios for the speakers. Conference schedule is not up yet.  You can usually bet on a large number of clergy attending but it is becoming more popular among laity. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to know more about our beliefs as Anglicans.  Come expecting to take lots of notes and to learn a lot. This is NOT for a new Christian but definitely for those of us who want to understand our Anglican beliefs more fully.

Jesus of Nazareath by Joseph Ratzinger (three books). Probably best for mid-level Christian but a new Christian could certainly benefit from them.  Written by Pope Benedict in his role as a theologian.

“Questions of Life,” by Nicky Gumbel.  (A written version of the Alpha Course lectures, order at http://www.alpharesources.org .)

For a simple but wide-ranging doctrinal primer for middle-Christians: “In Understanding be Men” by T. C. Hammond (IVP).  This was written in 1936 but remains in print today and is widely read in the Global South.

T. C. Hammond was the principal of Moore Theological College, but the theology of this book could be called “classical evangelicalism” - you won’t find lay presidency in it for example! (quite the opposite) but John Stott was at home with it, and J. C. Ryle or Charles Simeon would have had no difficulty using it as a teaching aid.

Re [19], Amen to The Cruelty of Heresy.

Don+,

Would you agree with me that The Cruelty of Heresy is “mid level”? I am not as fast a student as SC blu cat lady #16 and it took me more than one day. I do think it is a good book for a study group too.

Pewster, It was one very LOOONG day. It took me several hours to read it.  Sometimes when I really find a book fascinating or interesting,  I read it non stop. “The Cruelty of Heresy” is definitely not for new Christians.  Hmm. Yes, it could be a GREAT book to discuss in a group.

Pewster

I agree with SC Blu Cat Lady that it is not for brand new Christians. But for someone with just the bare basics it can be used I belief as a teaching tool that strengthens faith and understanding. Plus heresies, at least to me, are interesting for what they say about man.