Discipleship that Works   A Review of Dog Training, Fly Fishing & Sharing Christ in the 21st Century byTed Haggard (©2002, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee, ISBN: 0-7852-6514-7)

 

Many are justifiably critical of the modern church for failing to follow through on its mission of evangelizing the world. Critics range from the curmudgeonly disaffected like Spencer Burke to the sadly disappointed like Brian McLaren. Various attempts to salvage the modern church have resulted in efforts as diverse as Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church and Bill Hybels' seeker-sensitive approach to evangelism and discipleship to heightened interest in Emmaus Walk and Taize. Ted Haggard, senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, offers a pragmatic alternative to either giving up or giving in. Dog Training, Fly Fishing & Sharing Christ in the 21^st Century offers church-goers a guilt-free alternative to the small groups that just don't seem to be working. Many agree that small groups are the key to revitalizing the church. However, just as many are finding out that the current configuration of small groups fails miserably in this revitalization effort. Groups that meet on a formal basis, within the confines of a program and under the thumb of a controlling hierarchy find themselves stifled from the vitality they are desperately seeking.

 

 

Haggard's premise is that we should abandon programmed small groups and allow small groups to form spontaneously. He tells his own antipathy toward small groups in chapter 3, "I Love the Idea of Small Groups, But I Don't Want to Attend One." Here he describes how many pastors prescribe medicine they are unwilling to take themselves, despite their cheerleading on behalf of small groups. His ministry team evaluated their effectiveness at retaining members and found the old method of doing small groups was not stemming the flow of members out the back door.

 

Haggard applies free market economic theory to the subject of small groups and uses the freedom of people to associate on their own to drive his church's small group ministry. Instead of a program-driven ministry, he has a people-driven ministry that capitalizes on capitalistic economics. The book is refreshing for its dependence on the Holy Spirit to guide church growth and discipleship through individual freedom rather than programmed processes. In listing the absolutes of a small group system that works, he fleshes out these ideas:

 

     1.            The Senior Pastor must be involved

     2.            The Church must be based on Small Groups, not big programs

     3.            The Church must adhere to the Ephesians 4 model

     4.            Tiers of Leadership must be established

     5.            Outline clear responsibilities and expectations

     6.            Conduct a simple initial orientation

     7.            Conduct ongoing job training

 

This list dispels any notion of laissez faire small groups but also shows that authoritarian, dictatorial control is not the answer either.

 

Pastors, churches and individual members should all be encouraged to read this book. It will revolutionize program-driven thinking and encourage individuals to become part of an enterprise rather than cogs in a machine. Haggard's approach is deceptively simple but it springs from a genius tested in the crucible of practical application. In a day when "How To" books on church growth are springing up like mushrooms, the alternatives offered in Dog Training, Fly Fishing & Sharing Christ in the 21^st Century offer hope to both the struggling mini-church, the plateaued mega-church and everything in between.

 

by Rick Presley