SOLD: Marks of a True Disciple

BEING RELEASED OCT. 13th on Amazon

What is a disciple? Is a disciple somehow different than a Christian? Too many pastors, authors, bloggers, social media posters, and Christian video producers affirm a false dichotomy that being a disciple is somehow different from being a Christian. The two are not separate but mutually inclusive. A disciple is a Christian and a Christian is a disciple.

I first started my in-depth study of discipleship while I was a Youth Pastor in Westfield, Indiana. This study was fueled from my ignorance of what to do with all these students who were hungry for the word of God. At that point, I was completing my Masters at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and utilized my remaining classes to study and write on discipleship as often as possible. I read every book I could find on the topic of discipleship. What I found surprised me. Most authors viewed being a disciple as something different then being a Christian.

S.O.L.D. seeks to define the term disciple as Jesus meant it. In the Gospels, Jesus says every disciple will be marked by four specific characteristics. A true disciple will be committed to sacrificing for Jesus, obeying what he taught, loving others in his name, and discipling others to follow Him. Each mark Jesus mentions is tied to a redemptive theme that runs through all the pages of scripture.

My hope is that this book will provide a rubric by which we can evaluate our discipleship of Jesus. Below is a depiction of the recent Pew Forum research on percentages of Christians in the U.S. broken up by state. What you will immediately notice is that the majority of the U.S. claims Christian belief. But is the majority of the U.S. actually Christians? Are they truly living as Jesus said a disciple will live?

Pew Forum Analytics on Christian Percentages in the U.S.

My belief is that the majority, not the minority, but the majority of those who believe they are Christians, have actually never been known by Jesus Christ. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

SOLD is meant to be a marking post by which professing Christians and faith seeking individuals can encounter the unapologetic demands Jesus makes of those who would claim to be his disciple.

Read the first Chapter of SOLD: Marks of a True Disciple for free ! Additionally, subscribe to the email list to hear when the book launches on Amazon so you can download the whole book for Free!