Books by Mike Breen

Welcome to the Building a Discipling Culture Study Guide! We designed this guide to help you grasp, explore, and go deeper with the major concepts presented in Building a Discipleship Culture. The book was first published in 2005 and has gone on to become a global bestseller. Before diving in, we feel it's important to understand where and why this book was originally conceived. It came out of frustration and desperation that accompanied trying to disciple people who had little or no education, people who would traditionally never open a book and read it.The following LifeShapes were designed to help those who had the least access to training yet wanted to grow in their understanding of Jesus and the Bible. The simplicity of the shapes allowed for easy understanding. The LifeShapes prevented the overwhelm and intimidation that can accompany text-centric methods. They could be shared on a napkin over coffee or a brown bag over lunch.In this guide, we have attempted to make it again accessible and straightforward. It can be used by anyone, anywhere, and at any stage in their journey of faith. We pray that you will find many uses for this guide so that every disciple can be equipped in building a discipling culture in their homes, workplaces, school, and coffee shops.This guide does not go through Building a Discipling Culture exhaustively, but serves as a introduction through the key LifeShapes: The Matrix: Invitation & Challenge The Circle: Learning from Life The Triangle: Deeper Relationships The Semi-Circle: A Balanced Life The Square: Multiplying Life The Pentagon: Personal Calling The Hexagon: Definitive Prayer

As you know, I've spent more than two decades helping people around the world lead out in discipleship and mission. But as I look back, I can't help but ruminate on how many people who have led out the movement of discipleship and mission have embraced the effect rather than the cause. They focus on discipleship but overlook communication that so often sparks it to life.In these reflections, I've come to believe that communication usually comes first, and the awakening that happens through communication causes the effect of passion and palpable desire for discipleship and mission.So for me, it's time to rewind the process of discipleship by going back to understand the cause. I have spent the last few years doing this both at a personal and academic level, and now I want to share what I've learned as I've reflected on my experience and what I've seen in my studies that has so often held up a mirror to what I've experienced.

Efterhånden som vores kultur bliver mere post-kristen, for hver dag der går, indser vi, at det, der tidligere har fungeret, ikke længere fungerer, og at vi er langt mindre effektive for riget, end vi var for bare ti år siden. Men vi vil gerne fremsætte, at årsagen ikke er, at vi ikke ved, hvad der står i missionsbefalingen, eller hvad evangeliet befaler, eller at disse budskaber ikke kommer til udtryk i vores gudstjenester. Det skyldes, at vi står midt i en discipelskabskrise i den vestlige kirke. De folk, der sidder på vores kirkebænke, bliver sjældent som de mennesker, vi læser om i Bibelen. De kommer måske til gudstjenester, melder sig ind i en smågruppe og giver måske endda tiende, men deres liv synes ikke at afspejle Jesu liv.Vores problem handler om discipelskab. Hvis vi leder til discipelskab, ligesom Jesus gjorde, vil vi aldrig have problemer med at finde kirkeledere eller se nye mennesker komme til tro.Det centrale problem er, at vi ikke aner, hvordan vi gør folk til disciple, som kan gøre de samme ting, som Jesus gjorde, og af samme årsager. Bogen er resultatet af mere end 25 års praktisk erfaring med discipelskab i en post-kristen kontekst, og bogen har sat gang i en verdensomspændende discipelskabsbevægelse. Bogen adresserer specifikt, hvordan man fremelsker den slags missionale disciple, som Jesus talte om. Vi vil alle gerne lede til discipelskab. De fleste af os ved bare ikke, hvordan man gør.I de fleste af vores kirkesamfund har vi en plan, men planen fungerer ikke. Hvis du står i den samme situation, er denne bog til dig