Abstract
Robby Gallaty and Chris Swain assert that they have implemented the disciple-making model of Jesus and, in so doing, they have paid the dumb tax for everyone by learning what to do and what not to do. The authors argue that the church has focused too much on addition when the biblical record calls for multiplication. What God commanded Adam and Eve to do physically—“be fruitful and multiply”—Jesus has commanded the church to do spiritually. The authors of the book highlight the need for the church to be balanced regarding evangelism and discipleship. The book comprises thirty-two chapters and is broken down into four sections.
The first section of the book highlights the various problems with Disciple-Making in the Church. Evangelism has been prioritized and baptism has been viewed as the finish line when it should be viewed as the starting line. How did the Southern Baptist Convention lose seven million members in a twenty-year period? They focused on evangelism with no strategy for disciple-making. A Barna group study indicated that 76% of people do not know what the Great Commission means. The church needs to focus on the power of multiplication and the work of making disciples who in turn make disciples, versus one disciple whose goal is to get another person to pray the sinner's prayer. The goal of the church should be to lead people to a spiritually mature Christ follower who works at discipling others. This can happen by churches starting discipleship groups that ask question that hold believers accountable for sharing their faith and discipling believers.
Disciple-making is the highlight of the second section. A great need in the church is to help believers understand the importance of intimacy with God as a result of a daily routine. Two tools are introduced to help with the disciple's spiritual maturation. First, is daily journaling with the HEAR method. The authors highlight the need for the disciple to follow a daily Bible reading plan that focuses on time with God to ask questions and to reflect instead of the amount of Bible reading that is being accomplished. The authors explain that the disciple-maker will not be successful in making other disciples if they do not prioritize daily rest and a weekly sabbath. They acknowledge that these new practices require a lot of changes. As a result, they encourage the disciple and disciple-maker to focus in on small changes over time instead of making all the changes at one time. Disciples cannot replicate in others what they do not prioritize and practice themselves.
The third section focuses on the process of disciple-making. For disciple-making to occur at a faster rate in the church in North America, church leaders will have to relinquish full control of implementing ministry in the church. Church leaders will need to equip and delegate the ministry to the church people. One of the problems with making disciples is regarding how churches operate. The authors claim that many churches are just trying to survive, others are trying to offer more for consumers, but only .005 percent of churches in the United States qualify as replicating churches. Churches struggle with making replicating disciples because they focus on programs too much. The authors present a discipleship pathway that will ensure believers grow to spiritual maturity. The discipleship pathway is (1) Congregation (2) Community (3) Core (4) Crowds. Starting with the congregation is a good place for people to get on the discipleship pathway as it only requires attendance to a weekly worship service. Community is about moving disciples from the congregation to a small group where many spiritual disciplines can be shared and experienced. Disciples can then be challenged to move to a core (discipleship group). This is a group of 3–5 people who meet for approximately 18 months for sixty to ninety minutes per week. The meeting serves as a time of accountability, Scripture memory, prayers, and evangelism training. Finally, the discipleship group is then challenged to focus on their crowd, which means the people with whom they work, their neighbors, and their extended family and friends. The church must focus on installing a new operating system to their ministries and programs in order to make disciples who make disciples. The authors give practical advice and first steps to take to help the church transition to this new paradigm.
Lastly, the product of disciple-making is explained in the fourth section. Before revealing the marks that define and describe a disciple, Gallaty and Swain explain the problem of measuring success in today's church (baptisms, attendance, giving) versus the Bible and its focus on the spiritual maturation of the saints. Although measuring spirituality is challenging, the authors present a new scorecard for measuring maturity. They call the scorecard MARCS: Missional, Accountable, Reproducible, Communal, and Scriptural. The authors assert that Jesus used these five areas to determine the spiritual health of the twelve disciples. While all five of these “marcs” are necessary for spiritual growth, it appears that the authors believe that accountability is of even superior importance. The focus of all discipleship is replication. As a result, discipleship has not been accomplished until the mentee becomes the mentor. Seeing this transpire happens best when disciples are involved in a discipleship group.
Gallaty and Swain make a promise in the opening of the book concerning having developed the Jesus model of discipleship. The authors more than fulfilled that promise. Replicate offers pastors and church leaders a clear and concise ministry model for making discipleship a natural lifestyle in their church. The book is valuable to the church and religious institutions of higher learning in the following ways. First, the book addresses the plight and problem in which evangelical churches find themselves. Church consumerism and the race to out provide neighboring churches as it relates to programming has led the church to a downward trend in baptisms, attendance, and spiritual growth that results in maturing disciples. The book reveals that over 80% of churchgoers in America have no idea what the Great Commission is or what role it should play in their lives. Second, the book offers a thorough overview of the theological and biblical foundations necessary to train lay people and church leaders. Third, the book offers a system through which you can monitor, measure, and move people to deeper levels of commitment to Christ and effectiveness in making disciples who make disciples. Fourth, the book balances the need to reach people from the academy, as well as general church attending people. Additionally, the book is persuasive in that it continually implores the reader to adopt the disciple making process. The authors use many practical illustrations from their own lives to make the reader feel the brevity of the topic and the need for firm and fast action. Fifth, the book provides all the tools and resources necessary to adopt the system of congregation, community, core, and crowds. Gallaty and Swain provide a plethora of practical advice about how to replicate the discipleship groups, so that multiplication is happening from a discipleship perspective and from the perspective of leader replication. Sixth, the book takes the hard and necessary approach of holding disciples accountable for obeying what they have been taught. A gracious and compassionate tone is called for in this regard, but mentors are challenged to hold their mentees accountable by asking questions concerning their commitment and practice of obedience. In addition to this, the book provides insights and advice for pastors of older and smaller churches whose members may not be willing to make the adaptations necessary to adopt the entire replicate model.
The authors of Replicate have written a persuasive book concerning the mission of the church and how the modern-day church can return to the mission. The book is a wake-up call to the church at large and its leaders concerning the unhealthy trend of consumerism in the church. The church needs to return to the mission of making disciples who make disciples. Replicate provides a pathway for the church to return to its original mission.