What resources would you recommend to a new or developing Christian and why?
Open Thread: Discipleship
Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life
What resources would you recommend to a new or developing Christian and why?
This week I plan to take the all the sessions of the DVD based study course’ Discussing Mere Christianity: Exploring the History, Meaning, & Relevance of C.S. Lewis’s Greatest Book’. I purchased the DVD and the study guide with the hope of using it this Fall.
I think N.T. Wright’s newish book ‘Simply Good News: Why The Gospel Is News And What Makes It Good’ would be a good one to put into people’s hands.
#1 Ross Gill – I don’t know the course, but it sounds promising. Lewis seems to help those in particular who need a logical rather than emotional reason to accept the truth of the Christian message; men particularly who seem to be harder nuts to crack. Once convinced, however, their faith is rock solid, because they have worked it out from basic principles and explored and fought all the arguments and found the message in the end to be true.
For myself, I think I would recommend the Christian internet as a resource. It is not for everyone, and can be toxic, but overall, I have found it a wonderful resource, has expanded my knowledge and grounded my faith deeper, and enabled engagement and study with Christians from many ministries and countries, and that can be a blessing and an open-ended engagement. The Spirit definitely is on the web in my experience.
For a new Christian wanting to learn Scripture there are many avenues, but hard to find a more accessible teacher than the late J. Vernon McGee in his radio series Through the Bible, which taught the entire Bible in 5 years of half-hour weekday radio programs. These are still aired in the US and the entire series can be downloaded free or listened to online at http://www.thruthebible.org, along with pdf files of study notes for each program. Taught from a Protestant Evangelical point of view but valuable for all Christians.
Pageantmaster, I saw it advertised in Christianity Today this summer so I thought I would check it out.
NaVpress LifeChange series – this series of Bible studies can work from basic meaning of the text, to abstract application and context, to personal application. A particular study can delve as deep into the personal as the leader/group is willing to undertake. Very approachable.
#4 Ross Gill
It looks very interesting and will be good to know what you think of it.
#3 Milton
I liked this quote from the link you gave: “‘I never knew Jesus was so wonderful!â€
John Stott’s Basic Christianity and John White’s The Fight are two that I use and come back to over and over again.
J.I. Packers “Concise Theology”
The chapters are short, covers a wide range of Christian belief, and has scripture references with the answers.
“Teach us to Pray” by Charles Francis Whiston with a foreword by Nels F. S. Ferre. It is out of print but may be found. I keep several copies for friends.
I would recommend R.C. Sproul’s “Now, That’s a Good Question!”
From a description of the book:
I’ve actually had a couple of nominal Christian friends read it and say they liked it, it answered a bunch of questions they had. Didn’t make them go to church, but at least they got some good teaching.
We encourage new and emerging Christians to develop the habit of daily bible reading and to learn to read and abide in the Bible whole, as one over-arching story of God the “jilted lover.” Toward this end we recommend these four books:
1) the ESV Readers Bible (lay out like a novel)
2) Grand Sweep devotional series by Ellsworth Kalas (guide and response book)
3) Walk Through the Bible by Leslie Newbigin
4) Signs of Love, by Don Renzo Bonetti
Starting next week, we’re getting ready to take another go at Scripture Union’s [i]Essential 100 Challenge.[/i] It’s a brief scan of the whole of scripture and intended to get folks into the habit of daily study. My predecessor introduced it a few year ago and it was a wonderful tool. The follow on [i]Essential Jesus[/i] is equally great.
I’m wary of a simplistic one-size-fits-all approach. Personally, I think the most important resources that a new or “developing” Christian needs are not written or multi-media resources, but fellow Christians who are more mature than they are. So my answer to Kendall’s open-ended question would start like this:
#1 resource needed: a mentor or discipler. Someone who will commit to spending LOTS of time with that new or developing Christian. I firmly believe the Christian faith and life is “more caught than taught.”
#2 resource needed is a good church for them to participate in. So much of the Christian life is community-based.
#3. But as for basic books that I’d recommend for many beginners, my own preferred list would include the following:
3A. [b]Basic Christianity[/b] by John Stott. It’s helped millions and stood the test of time well (first published in 1958!).
3B. [b]Simply Christian[/b]: [i]Why Christianity Makes Sense[/i] by Tom Wright. A brilliant explanation. My favorite Wright book (2006).
3C. [b]Celebration of Discipline[/b]: [i]The Path to Spiritual Growth[/i] by Richard Foster. Another classic that has helped millions of us to grow in christ and has stood the test of time very well (first out in 1978).
As for the person who aspires to be a disciple maker and help new Christians to get off to a good start and grow in Christ, I’d recommend an old classic by one of the former leaders in the Navigators, the group that I think does discipleship training the best. That old classic work is this:
[b]Disciples Are Made, Not Born[/b], by Walter Henrichsen (originally published in 1974 by Nav Press, but now carried by David C. Cook).
Finally, I would remind everyone that the three essential things that every Christian is supposed to memorize and ponder deeply are the three things that formerly were required for all candidates for confirmation to know in Anglicanism (and Lutheranism). Those three core elements in the basic Christian curriculum are these:
4A. The Lord’s Prayer (how to pray)
4B. The Apostles’ Creed (how to think, i.e., what we believe)
4C. The Ten Commandments (how to live ethically)
Alas, I would not recommend the new ACNA Catechism. We are still waiting for a suitable resource of that type (IMHO).
David Handy+
For doctrine and church history…
1. “The Orthodox Church” by Timothy (now Metropolitan Kallistos) Ware
2. The Fathers of the Church
3. The lives of the saints
4. “The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church” by Vladimir Lossky
For spiritual & inspirational reading…
1. “Everyday Saints and Other Stories” by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)
2. The Jordanville Prayer Book
3. “The Forgotten Medicine: The Mystery of Repentance” by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksi
4. “Great Lent: Journey to Pascha” By Fr. Alexander Schmemann
5. “Orthodox Spiritual Life According to Saint Silouan the Athonite” by Harry Boosalis
Just a few suggestions.
To Tory (#11), I agree that developing the habit of daily Bible reading is essential. To that end, I recommend The One-Year Bible. Every day has its portion ready-to-hand; the whole Bible in 365 portions. And it comes in many translations and formats (I have used the NIV in a small but easy-to-read format). For beginners, a commitment to read the NT portion, the appointed psalm and proverb would be a great introduction to the Christian faith. Even seasoned church folk could profit from this practice. It’s simple and takes 10 minutes.