The stats Bob shared on p.106-107 were pretty convicting. I've always been a fan of getting to know (to some degree) the people you want to share the Gospel with. But I know that with that mindset comes a hiding place from the fear of sharing. Relying so heavily on building a friendship can turn into an excuse for not sharing. We forget that people are Dead without Christ- knowing them better may help give opportunity to share but doesn't mean you withhold life giving words... I mean imagine you were severely wounded in an accident. You wouldn't want your paramedic to take a few weeks to get to know you and then apply the bandages that would save your life. (not a perfect analogy, but makes the point). There is great benefit from getting to know people but if our lives are truly Christocentric then He should be coming up in your interactions with others in some way... I'm also glad Bob explained that he's not trying to turn evangelism into a sales pitch. Without his distinctions, the chapter could've easily been read that way.

This book continues to be beyond helpful and full of information. While all his elements he listed are pertinent, "pray" was the one that kept catching me. I've definitely noticed a difference in the work I've done with groups who are prayer-saturated versus not. Praying is our way of intentionally inviting Christ into what we're doing instead of simply saying that our work is done in His name. We get into habitual praying, which isn't inherently bad, but it's good to sit back and remember that prayer is actually focusing on being in the presence of the one who made the earth, who is mightier than the roar of the ocean, who cares for even the tiniest details in all of creation. I mean, who wouldn't want to first go before Him and have him work through your ministry? Praying helps us humble ourselves from thinking the burden of producing disciples is all on us, gives us rest & peace from trying to do a task we cannot do alone, and gives us perspective to what (Who) our work is for.

The charts that McNabb shared in this chapter were really helpful in explaining why or why not people are active in the disciple-making process. I think the most common thing I've heard among students is that they don't disciple because they feel like they don't know enough or can't answer all the questions that might come up in a discipling relationship. These charts were helpful in showing that it's not how much knowledge/training you have in the area but the fact that you have any that helps you become a disciple-maker. We're not going to have all the answers. I think being able to show findings like this to them could help encourage them that they don't need to spend 5 years in a training program (although gaining that knowledge & experience could be a good thing) before they work towards disciple-making. Practice should be woven into the learning. For example, you wouldn't want to learn how to study the Bible for 5 years and then decide you know enough to start actually reading it. You would study how to read it and then apply that as you actually read it. I've also really been challenged on the idea of one-on-one discipleship this year. Between this chapter, our leadership retreat, and some extraneous reading, I'm really starting to see the call for communal disciple-making groups. Even in my experience this last semester, I had a group with two other young women where I not only got to try to guide them in discipleship but saw them start guiding each other (and others!). Talk about seeing knowledge be put into action! By being in a group rather than one-on-one, we had the opportunity to learn and apply then and there, rather than treating our meetings merely as a teacher-student relationship. Lastly, I love that Hebrews 10:24-25 was a large part of this chapter. I think it's always important to read verse 25, though a lot of times 24 gets the focus. Those have always been go-to verses for me and highlight the attitude I want to have/encourage others to have in serving the church!

I think this chapter mostly serves as the bridge between the introduction and the rest of the book. I liked that he laid out their research design a little because not all research studies are equally trustworthy. It's nice seeing the basis, rather than him simply throwing out numbers for our own interpretation. I also liked that he started by addressing the proven-to-be-wrong theories, especially since they contain answers we might have come up with on our own. Overall, I'm just ready to get further in and see what the research found/the biblical support has to say.

This chapter seemed pretty simple at the outset, but wow! There's so many threads for discussion I'd love to tackle- I'll keep it concise(ish) though. One of the main ideas that stuck out was the reminder of God's consistency in being present with us. Another book I've been reading this year hit hard on this point too. That one also pointed out that anytime God calls or commissions someone, there's a promise that He will be with them tagged on.... examples: The commissioning of Joshua (Joshua 1:1-9) Look at verses 5 and 6: "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you." The Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20) see verse 20: "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Whether we have other specific callings on our lives or recognize our call to discipling, we have that promise that the God described in those Isaiah 40 verses is the one with us, the one who has the strength to fulfill His call. The second thought I'd like to mention is the line on page 39 that says "what God may choose to do through us is often much greater than what God does with us." We may toil for his name and not see the fruits of our work in this lifetime, but that doesn't mean God isn't fulfilling His purposes. I've seen examples of this in reading articles written by pastors who were hesitant to go on sabbaticals, but then saw tremendous growth in their churches during their time away. I think sometimes not seeing our fruits is really protection for us, so we don't pridefully take all the credit, and sometimes it's simply not yet time.

One chapter in, and this book is already very thought-provoking! Right in that first list of questions, I realized how vague my idea of multiplication is. Sitting back and thinking how many people am I asking God to equip through me gives a lot more perspective than just asking God to "use me" generally. The Reality Check he listed also caught me on this same topic. I understand the call to spiritual multiplication and want to build up the kingdom in that way, but just because I agree doesn't mean I fully understand or do it well. I know that perfection in this area will also not be reached in this life, but that doesn't mean we don't strive to grow in it by abiding in Christ. On page 24, McNabb says he saw many students who were fruitful disciple-makers in college who then graduated and then bore little fruit. Especially with recently graduating, this caught me as a warning. College is definitely a different atmosphere for discipleship and even through the beginning of this summer I can tell how much more intentional I need to be to keep those types of relationships in my life. I'm really excited to keep going in this book and to what everyone else takes from it as well!