This week starts a new chapter with the Roots Reading Initiative. I have truly enjoyed being a part of this project with Tim Brister. With the next two books we close out our first full year of deepening our roots in great books to grow leaders in local churches. If you’d like to get the scoop on what RRI seeks to accomplish and how we are doing this, here’s a great place to start. So far, here are the emphases and corresponding books we have studied:
- What Is the Mission of the Church? by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert
- Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester
- Gospel: Recover the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary by J.D. Greear
- Gospel Wakefulness by Jared Wilson
- What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul Tripp
- The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller
- The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
- Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne
- Church Planter: The Man, the Mission, the Methods by Darrin Patrick
- Am I Called?: The Summons to Pastoral Ministry by Dave Harvey
During the next two months we will consider the question: how are we to make disciples of Jesus? The two books we have selected for this focus is Gospel-Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson and Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow by Eric Geiger, Michael Kelly, and Phillip Nation. For those interested in joining in the reading, here’s the breakdown we are working off of each week:
Gospel Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson
- September 2-8 (1-50)
- September 9-15 (51-74)
- September 16-22 (75-118)
- September 23-30 (119-56)
Transformational Discipleship by Eric Geiger, Michael Kelly, and Phillip Nation
- October 1-6 (1-68)
- October 7-13 (69-112)
- October 14-20 (113-74)
- October 21-31 (175-225)
I echo Brister, “let me encourage those of you interested in deepening your roots in discipleship to join us for the next two months, especially those of you who are church planters. At the heart of the mission is the command to make disciples of Jesus. Everything else is secondary. What is your disciple-making plan? How are you going to make, mature, and multiply gospel-centered disciples? I believe resources like these will be a great encouragement to you, so join us!”
DR. MATT CAPPS 