Remember the days of Baptist Training Union. It never was a great idea to try to get people back to church an hour before the evening service. It proved to be the least attended program of the church. It was later called Discipleship Training and it was still the least attended program of the church. The name has continued to change through the years, but I think it is fair to say that equipping believers to make and multiply disciples has not been a strength for most churches.
It’s true that wonderful writers such as Henry Blackaby, Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, James MacDonald, and Dave Ramsey, to name a few, have given the church outstanding materials for small group Bible studies. Thousands have benefited from these studies and have experienced spiritual growth. But for many, their idea of discipleship is simply looking forward to the next great Beth Moore study or Dave Ramsey seminar. It seems that year after year we continue to equip the equipped. Bible loving Christians continue to go from one Bible study to the next. They have a great knowledge of Scripture, but little understanding of what to do with it. They seek to live good moral lives and to support their church, but the monumental problem is that very few are living a lifestyle of making disciples.
It’s important to live a good life and to support your church. The problem is that Jesus has commanded us to make disciples. It’s the ONE thing He specifically commissioned us to do. Today the church is failing to reach our world because we are not effectively equipping all Christians for a lifestyle of discipleship. We talk about discipleship. We have volumes of books on the meaning and philosophy of discipleship. But we are not equipping and expecting all believers to make disciples.
This is the purpose of D-Life. D-Life is not a program, it’s a lifestyle. Patterned after the model of Jesus, D-Life is a simple plan for training all believers for a lifestyle of discipleship. Through D-Life, believers of all ages and genders are being equipped to make and multiply disciples as a way of life.
The best way for a church or ministry to begin living the D-Life is to host a D-Life Boot Camp. D-Life Boot Camps are four hours of intense, hands-on discipleship training designed to equip believers in “how to” live a lifestyle of making and multiplying disciples. The six aspects of discipleship that Jesus modeled are covered in the training which are: fellowship, teaching, prayer, ministry, multiplication, and accountability. The goal for all who complete the training is that they will learn how to make and multiply disciples the same way Jesus did and learn a simple process for living a lifestyle of discipleship for the rest of their lives. Great results are being seen everywhere a boot camp has been offered.
For more information or to schedule a D-Life Boot Camp contact Bill Wilks (bill.wilks@me.com or 205-602-2888).
