Someone recently asked me what I’d learned in more than three years of Christian ministry. I did not even need to pause and think. I learned that effective ministry is more difficult than I’d ever imagined. It was easy to think that when I became a minister, it would be easy to run a ministry in such a way that disciples of Jesus are created. But these last 3+ years has taught me the foolishness of that notion.
So, in December of 2013, I began reading Mike Breen’s books. (Breen is the founder and innovator behind 3DM Ministries.) The first book in the four-part series is Building a Discipling Culture: How to Release a Missional Movement by Discipling People Like Jesus Did. Though I read it with a healthy dose of skepticism, I quickly became enamored with his view of ministry and his approach to disciple-making.
I never wanted to take an at tractional or event-based approach to ministry. And I’ve always leaned more toward the organic than the organized. (I do understand, though, that one has to have some of both.)
Recently, I began rereading this book. The second time around, I am even more amazed at his insights. So I decided to blog through the book chapter by chapter, summarizing what Breen says, but also trying to think through his approach to ministry. I hope this is helpful to you.
(If you are interested in the book, Amazon.com only carries the Kindle version. You can buy a paperback copy of the book from 3DM Ministry’s website.)
If you want to find out more about Mike Breen and his view of ministry, you should watch the embedded video. It’s a great introduction to him and his message.
Join other dedicated readers of Thinking and Believing and subscribe to the email list. You'll receive every new post in your inbox, so you never have to worry about missing a post. Click here to subscribe.
