Conversion and Discipleship by Bill Hull

Conversion & Discipleship

If a Christian never disciples anyone, are they a true Christian or just someone who claims the name? Pastor Hull takes a staggering stance.

Bill Hull has written on Discipleship more than most. His famous Trilogy, Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker, The Disciple-Making Pastor, & The Disciple-Making Church, are among the topmost read Discipleship resources in prominent Christian circles.

To be completely honest and to my embarrassment, I never read one of his books. Mostly, because I hadn’t heard of him until I started digging into studying Discipleship. This is partly due to being in a slightly different theologically leaning camp. However, I couldn’t avoid his latest work, Conversion & Discipleship. He states his thesis plainly, “all who are called to salvation are also called to discipleship” (p. 219). Pastor Hull moves past simplicity into the theological realm of contemplating the reality of Jesus commands concerning discipleship.

This topic is critical to Christian living. The argument present in this book is that if we are misunderstanding Discipleship, we may be misunderstanding salvation. Let’s jump into the Good of this book!

THE GOOD:

1.  Definition of Disciple in the Title

Pastor Hull doesn’t waste words. From the subtitle of the book we know his perspective on Discipleship. Conversion and Discipleship go hand in hand, “you cant have one without the other.” A disciple is a follower, and “people become Christians when they follow Jesus” (p. 27).

Rightly so, Hull roots the definition of disciple in the Gospel. To follow Jesus is to become a disciple. When you embrace Jesus as savior and Lord you are beginning your walk in the way of the king as a disciple. And the danger is, according to Hull, is that most churches are not making disciples.

He boldly concludes, “the fact that our churches are not making disciples means that one of the greatest fields for discipleship evangelism is our churches” (p. 57). The churches primary role is to be discipling her people. On this note, I just want to stand on a table and cry amen!

Hull doesn’t hold anything back. He says plainly, “I am convinced that not making disciples is sin” (p. 201). Think about that for a second. Let that statement sink in. If we do not make disciples we are living in disobedience to Jesus and are committing a sin of omission, not doing what we are commanded to do. I will let you examine the validity of that claim.

2.  Jesus’ Gospel of Expectation

Immediately you might cringe when you hear those words. Good! Anytime we add anything to the word Gospel we should scrutinize the trash out of it. But on this point, I think Hull provides a counterbalance to the ever-increasing Antinomian perspective in western Christianity.

Hull explains this in detail, but summarizes it this way:

“Jesus preached a gospel of expectation. He expects us to repent and believe the good news. He expects us to be disciples and make disciples. He expects us to proudly represent him in this world regardless of the cost. He expects us to put aside our selfish ways through the power of the Holy Spirit and the practice of the same spiritual exercises he did. To be saved, to be converted, to have faith, and to believe is to answer his call and learn from him how to live our life as though Jesus were living it… being a disciple doesn’t mean we are perfect in our obedience. But it does mean that we take Jesus and his expectations seriously.”

Hull sees the same problems that I outlined in SOLD as the danger of divorcing the terms Christian and Disciple. He says, “If discipleship is not taught as the normal calling of every follower of Christ, then we have a mess of people who see themselves with a ticket to heaven but view the Christian life as a collection of optional activities.” There is nothing optional in Jesus’ call. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

3.  Overview of Western Historical Theology of Discipleship

Pastor Hull provides a readable historical theology of discipleship and soteriology (the study of Salvation) that anyone can follow and learn from.

Let’s face it. Sometimes we don’t make it to chapter 3 of certain books because it is like reading a different language. All the omni’s and ologys can drive us to Netflix, Hulu, or the latest fad thanks to the Mandalorian, Disney Plus because we are so frustrated trying to look up the all the chaos words.

Pastor Hull approaches historical theology with a wide lens that is easy for the reader to step back and enjoy the view of what has come before us. Also, it paints the picture nicely of how we came to our present worship services in churches and program centered structures that we experience every Sunday.

There are many other excellent aspects of this book. The passion, power, and knowledge that Pastor Hull writes with is energizing and motivated me to reexamine my current priorities as it pertains to Discipleship.

Rarely does anyone ever agree 100% with any book. With that, I have to talk through the bad. And really, I only have one thing.

THE BAD:

1.  Pull Yourself Up By Your Boot Straps

While reading Chapters 4 & 5 on the Holy Spirit and How People Change, I could not help but to notice a tension between God’s involvement in our transformation and our own wills power to transform. Pastor Hull is admittedly a proponent of John Wesley, which differs from my own Reformed leanings. And I admit as well, this is my theological bias.

When Hull touches on Sanctification and Discipleship, he is quick to give credit to God for the renewal of our minds, but faster to point out the necessity of our own willed determination to flee sin. I believe he recognized it as well. He says, “in our efforts to emphasize grace, we fail to talk about standards and expectations. Some feel that these things smack the rigidity or legalism…” (p. 106). While he recognizes his potential leaning to legalism, he doesn’t appear to offer a defense as to why his position is not legalistic.

This legalistic leaning continues into the heart of Chapter 5. Hull states, “this is why it takes time, effort, and discipline to overcome our sinful desires and why we must train our bodies, wills, and minds in godliness” (p. 127). While any Bible reader agrees that we must have discipline in overcoming sin, it is critical to understand the source of that discipline.

When I fail and fall into sin, was it because I didn’t try hard enough, or because I wasn’t believing in Christ in the moment? Paul says, “if we walk by the Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). Not if we try really hard, but if we walking by the Spirit, faithfully dependent upon Christ! He is the source of our ability to combat and battle sin. Only from the true vine do we receive the power to bear fruit and battle temptation (John 15).

Conclusion: READ IT

Bill Hull has written an insightful book that has much to offer Pastors, Seminary students, small group leaders, and all hungry disciples of Jesus! But ensure you are reading with your theological glasses fixated on the supremacy of Jesus Christ. If you focus on your will power, you will fail every time. But if you surrender to the will of God, you will be free from the bondage of sin.

Ill end with two quotes:

“Some believe you can have conversion without discipleship. I believe that the proof of conversion is discipleship”

“We cannot make disciples by creating worship environments that crater to people’s felt needs” (p. 181).