But the book avoids those pitfalls that usually come from Church Growth guides. There's no new method here, because Contagious Disciple Making is most certainly not a book about theory. It's engagement with the principles and practices of discipling have worked in a variety of places -- Asia, Africa, Latin America and here in the United States -- because it utilizes a "Discovery" model, in which folks follow Scripture and bring others into that journey of discovery.
The book itself is divided into two sections: "The Mind-Set of a Disciple-maker" and "The Practices of a Disciple-maker". The first helps us develop the philosophical mindset of what it means to develop "contagious disciples". And while Chapter 1 -- "Disciple-Makers Embrace Lessons Taught by Failure" -- is difficult to read, it's essential for understanding the book.
Contagious Disciple Making focuses on "being" rather than "doing" -- on engaging the culture by practicing Jesus' incarnation in the Church, rather than developing a new "method" of discipleship that only isolates Christians. In that way, this book reminded me so much of Vincent Donovan's Christianity Rediscovered from the late 70s.
This is a great resource, and easily accessible, for those interesting in Church Planting and Church Growth.
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