‘The Disciple Maker’s Handbook’ by Josh Patrick and Bobby Harrington: Reviewed by Brandon Guindon

In this post, Brandon Guindon and I review Josh Patrick and Bobby Harrington’s book, The Disciple Maker’s Handbook. You’ll get the main message of the book, Brandon’s three biggest takeaways, and vital information about using this book in a group.

Brandon is a lead pastor for Real Life Texas and a church planter. He’s spent his whole ministry for decades making disciples who make disciples. He’s also the author of Disciple-Making Culture among other discipleship books.

The main message of the book: how to practically live out being a disciple maker in your day to day life.

Three Big Takeaways

Brandon Guindon offers his three biggest takeaways from The Disciple Maker’s Handbook.

Brandon Guindon: One of the things that I say all the time is that being a disciple maker is not what you do, it’s who you are. The focus of this book is to really look at disciple making as a lifestyle and not just some programmatic thing that you have to do. I love the seven elements that they bring out as parts of this life that you live.

1. Intentionality

I have to point out that it’s got a whole chapter on intentionality. (And I have a book called Intentional.) I’m big on this word about disciple making becoming “intentional” in your life. It has to become who you are.

2. Jesus

Jesus is the core element of disciple making. You must start with a relationship with Jesus because it’s your relationship with God. The point is not to think of Jesus as just a theological concept.

3. The Spirit

Sometimes we just kind of tag on the Holy Spirit. We tend to come from the perspective of, “Oh, we can make disciples. But oh yeah, the Holy Spirit helps us.” But one of the core elements of discipleship is the person of the Spirit.

How to Use The Disciple Maker’s Handbook With Your Group

If you have a group of a small group leaders, I recommend they read this book.

Let’s say that you have a church, and you have 30 small groups, and those leaders have been leading a little while. They’re really starting to get their feet under them on how to disciple someone, and they’re starting to get into the mechanics. This would be a book that I would give them.

I would wait until there’s kind of been some practice like this. At that point, what they’ve learned is not just theoretical, but they’re actually doing it. Then they can go, “Oh, that’s why it is so important that I’m following what the Spirit of God is doing in my life in this process.” And, “Oh, that’s why relationships are so important on the front end.” They would already have some practice with it.

I think of a handbook as something that’s like a trail guide. It’s really difficult to understand a trail guide if I’ve never walked on a trail or been in the mountains before, right? So that to me is the strength of this book, when you’ve got people reading it who are already practicing and doing disciple making. Then I’d go to those people and say, “Hey, here’s another layer to that. Here are some tools that will help you.”

Vital Information about The Disciple-Maker’s Handbook for Groups

• Chapter Count? 10 chapters
• Weeks of Study? 10–12 weeks
• Recommended size of group? 4–12 people
• Age of target audience? Adult
• Gender specific? No
• Reader difficulty? 5 out of 10
• Appropriate for New Believers? No
• What level of maturity does The Disciple-Maker’s Handbook assume? This book assumes the reader has some experience with disciple making and is wanting to dig deeper and go to the next level.
• Discussion questions in the book? Yes
• Homework required? Yes
• Video series available? No

Theology of The Disciple-Maker’s Handbook

• Theological red flags? No
• Denominationally specific content? No
• Author’s preferred Bible translation? NIV
• Publisher? Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017

What Can The Disciple-Maker’s Handbook Accomplish for Your Group?

• Provides a practical guide for making disciples who make disciples
• Identifies the seven elements needed to be a disciple who disciples others
• Invites you to dig deeper through discussion and reflection questions

Recommended Purchase Links for The Disciple-Maker’s Handbook

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