Review of Hero Maker by Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird

The Problem

In our North American context, few churches are multiplying by planting churches that plant churches. Something has to change. In Hero Maker, Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird suggest that something has to change in the way church leaders think. They must make the transition from being heroes to becoming hero makers. A hero maker is a leader “who shifts from being the hero to making others the hero in God’s story.”

Personal Opinion of the Book         

One of the things that drew me to read the book was the Exponential podcast. Hearing the testimony of church planters and church leaders who are catalysts for church multiplication is an inspiring exercise. They have selfless attitudes. This book gets to the heart of their thinking.

Helpful for understanding such thinking is Table 1.1 on page 29. To sum up the general principle, hero makers shift from asking what they can do and accomplish to asking they can equip and enable others to expand God’s kingdom. It is a foundational way of thinking, exemplified in the ministry of Jesus, that facilitates the multiplication of disciples and churches.

From the chart mentioned above, the authors build in the body of the book upon five crucial practices of hero makers: multiplication thinking, permission-giving, disciple multiplying, gift activating, and kingdom building. Each chapter includes insights and testimonials from people putting the principles into practice.

Many books on discipleship and church multiplication are heavy on theory and principles and low on practicality. What I appreciated about Hero Maker is that I finished the book with a better sense of how to put the principles into practice. Merely asking the question each day, “Am I trying to be a hero or a hero maker?” is a reminder of keeping the focus on God’s kingdom instead of a personal one.

Key Quotes

“Gift activating requires that we not fill slots but instead develop people’s gifts.”

“It’s not just about your personal stat line. It’s not just about growing your church. It’s about the kingdom.”

“A hero maker’s methodology is not about creating a crowd but about multiplying a movement.”

“Some of your church’s hero makers might become church staff, but the majority will make heroes of others as volunteer leaders.”

“Jesus told his followers that he was investing his life in them so they would do greater things than he would.”

Is Rapid Multiplication of Disciples and Churches a Bad Thing?

Photo by George Keating on Pexels.com

Since David Garrison’s Church Planting Movements first appeared, multiplication movements have had both its advocates and detractors. Detractors are suspicious of movements for several reasons. Among these are that the Bible does not command them or that movement leaders cannot assure the doctrinal integrity of a rapidly expanding movement.

Indeed, the Bible doesn’t directly mandate movements, but what happens in Acts looks very much like a multiplication movement. Further, the practice of 2 Timothy 2:2 has the potential to start a disciple-making movement. The Bible may not mandate movements, but it doesn’t dissuade them either.

The question about doctrinal integrity in movements has more Biblical merit. We see in Paul’s letters, mainly the Corinthian correspondence and Galatians, that new churches often faced doctrinal issues. The letters of John also addressed doctrinal matters that resulted in a church split and a great deal of confusion. However, what we don’t see is any suggestion that the apostles slowed down their efforts. Through letters, sending teachers, and occasionally returning to the young church, they sought to resolve the issues.

More recently, Baptist expansion as the United States moved westward in the early 1800s indicates that doctrinal disintegration and rapid growth do not of necessity go hand-in-hand. The major doctrinal controversies of the day included slavery, which would have been an issue with or without the multiplication of Baptist Churches.

The other dispute centered on the controversy instigated by anti-mission Baptist, who opposed paid ministry and mission societies along with Bible societies and Sunday schools. What looked like a battle between different understandings of Calvinism, namely Fullerism and High Calvinism, in reality among Baptist in the United States a dispute over local church autonomy. Interestingly, doctrinal aberrations from traditional Baptist views did not appear among the rapidly growing missionary Baptist but instead among the anti-mission Baptists, as Cambellites and Two-Seed-In-The-Spirit Baptists separated from the others. Campbellism had success in growth, but it did not slow down Baptist expansion. Two-Seed-In-The-Spirit Baptists did not become a movement, and the absence of their leader, Daniel Parker, from the life of other Baptists removed a distraction to both missionary and Baptist growth.

What we see from the Bible and history is that doctrinal wavering is possible in rapid multiplication movements, such as a disciple-makings movement (DDM) or church planting movement (CPM). However, problems with doctrine are not a given. A DDM and CPM are only a bad thing if we think people coming to know Christ is a problem. From the example of the Apostles, we see that with proper care and follow-up, doctrinal foundations of churches grew stronger as they addressed issues that arose. A laissez-faire approach to discipleship could lead to problems, but real movements should not depend on such a method anyhow. Movements result in healthy churches and disciples when workers balance a willingness to take risks with enough caution to recognize and deal with problems as they arise.

Review of Mission 3:16 by Paul Borthwick

The Need

Mission mobilization has become a hot topic among mission-focused people and ministries. In writing my dissertation, I saw that missions have fallen in prestige in the Western church. Believers don’t admire career field missionaries as they once did. While some may see this as evidence of creeping liberalism, that is not always the case. In my opinion, the evangelical church has turned inward. In Mission 3:16 – God’s One Verse Invitation to Love the World, Paul Borthwick attempts to remedy the evangelical malaise by focusing on the verse that most evangelicals will know, John 3:16.

Personal Opinion of the Book

Borthwick slows down the usual pace with which we say John 3:16 and examines each phrase. He asks, “How does it fit in the concept of God’s mission—and our joining in God’s mission—in the world?” Borthwick shows that God’s love for the world expressed in the giving of His son for our salvation leads us to join His mission to reach the world. God’s love, as Paul says, compels us to action and mission.

The book is only 129 pages long, not including the endnotes. It includes a very brief introduction, ten short chapters, and an epilogue. Chapter ten and the epilogue include practical suggestions and principles for “living sent.” (John 20:21) I think the book is ideal for small group study and plan to encourage small groups at our church to use it.

This book is the first one by Paul Borthwick that I have read. I probably will add a few more books by him to my list. The people at The Daily Growth Discipleship Podcast recently interviewed Borthwick. You can hear it here.

Favorite Quotes

“The love of God demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ means that he might call us to demonstrate love to people we’d rather avoid, at the least, or condemn, at the most. But realizing that this love was demonstrated toward us while we were still sinners means that we are called now to demonstrate love toward others—even the “Ninevites” in our lives.”

“The phrase ‘God so loved the world’ should serve as a sobering reminder to us that there are literally billions of people in our world who have not heard the invitation to respond to God’s love and then enter into a personal relationship with Jesus.”

Review of A Way with Words by Daniel Darling—Releases August 18

The Need

In the past week, I have seen a couple of political statements on social media that were outright falsehoods. I have seen links to articles that grossly mischaracterized events. I have seen people hiding behind anonymity to make cruel attacks on politicians they don’t like. Sadly, about half of those posts and statements came from Christians. What does it say about us who know Christ if we behave no differently on social media than those who are far from God?

Personal Opinion of the Book

If you follow Daniel Darling on Twitter, you know that he has been on the receiving end of some internet outrage. He also freely admits that he has given in to the rage and been less than charitable on social media. (I stand guilty of the same offense.) Those facts are two of the reasons why I appreciate A Way with Words. Darling doesn’t stand as judge of the internet but points to what is wrong and points Christians in a better direction.

Through ten chapters and around two hundred pages, Darling reminds Christian readers of the need to stay focused upon Christ, to have their minds transformed, to be quick to listen, and slow to post. I agree with the author’s warnings. Too many Christians fall into us vs. them tribalism on politics and theology. It is easy to forget in the heat of online discussion that we are dealing with God’s image-bearers, people who are worthy of being treated with dignity. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ or people far from God who need to know Him. Either way, our words either point to the grace and love of Christ or magnify our sinful natures.

Darling’s writing style is conversational and free from technical, theological language. Therefore, the book is a quick read. It would make an excellent book for a Christian book club or small discipleship group at church. As we are in election season, it is timely for current events.

Favorite Quotes

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” And we might say today, the power of the thumb. (page 8)

Influence, held loosely as a stewardship from God, can be a good thing for Christ’s kingdom. However, influence stewarded poorly can be an addictive drug, an unworthy god whose adulation is underserved. Fame can turn people into narcissistic, self-centered bullies. Power can be wielded to exploit and manipulate. (page 77)

I’m struck by how often Paul seems to prioritize “gentleness” in every single qualification for spiritual leaders in the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus). (page 85)

In the Bible, civility is not seen as a cloak for cowardice. Civility is a primary pursuit—as much as possible live in peace with all men (Rom. 12:18, author’s translation)—for all who call Jesus Lord. (page 148)

So let’s use the internet, let’s engage social media, let’s let the gospel shape our words, but let’s log-off, step away, close the laptop, put the phone down. Take a walk. Hug your kids. Read your Bible. Kiss your spouse. (page 192)

How to Get the Book

The book will release tomorrow. If you preorder today, you can get some free things that will supplement your reading, understanding, and putting the ideas of the book into practice. To take advantage of the offer, go to AWaywithWordsBook.com.

And just to let you know, I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher.

The Connection between Discipleship and Multiplication Movements

2 Timothy 2:2 says, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Missiologists and church planters point to this verse as a biblical grounding for multiplication movements. Multiplication movements go beyond adding disciples and congregation numerically to being exponential growth in those numbers. Steve Addison defines a movement simply as “informal groupings of people and organizations pursuing a cause.” (Movements That Change the World, p. 28.) In a Christian multiplication movement, the number of people (disciple-makers) and organizations (churches) committed to pursuing Christ’s cause (disciple-making) grows exponentially.

In the book Hero Maker, Dave Ferguson suggests a connection between disciple-making and church multiplication. To see this, we can compare the levels of discipleship and church multiplication capacity.

Levels of Discipleship

• Level 1– People who are not passionate about personal growth or obedience to the disciple-making call. They don’t intentionally involve themselves in making disciples nor help others who do and may even hurt disciple-making.
• Level 2 – Disciples who identify with Christ but not yet growing in their relationship with Christ. They are faithful to attend church and small groups but don’t intentionally try to make disciples.
• Level 3 – They help the disciple-making efforts of others by serving and aiding in the church. They are faithful and loyal to their church. They are spiritually minded and perhaps doctrinally sound. They invite others to come to disciple-making activities.
• Level 4 – These believers are intentionally growing in their faith and actively making disciples. They are actively committed to the discipleship process, do it themselves, and join the leaders of their church to lead people and groups. “They live to see disciples made through their efforts.”
• Level 5 – These believers do what Level 4 people do PLUS invest in relationships to equip others to make disciples—making disciples that make other disciples. “They are fully engaged in igniting and fueling disciple-making efforts within their church or fellowship of churches.”

(From Becoming a Disciple Maker by Bob Harrington and Greg Wiens. Available as a free download at discipleship.org.)

Five Levels of Church Multiplication Capacity

• Level 1– Declining in membership and attendance.
• Level 2 – Plateaued in membership and attendance.
• Level 3 – Growing in membership and attendance.
• Level 4 – Reproducing other churches (church planting or starting).
• Level 5 – Multiplying church—planting or revitalizing churches that plant other churches.

(From Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices for Leader to Multiply Leaders by Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird)

In both sets of levels, there is a movement from growth by addition to growth by multiplication between levels three and four. Ferguson, in Hero Maker, points our a connection between the Discipleship Levels and Church Multiplication Capacity levels. Putting the levels together, one sees that Level Four churches are more likely to result from Level Four disciples being equipped and going out to plant churches. Therefore, any church that wants to impact its community and the world in a transforming way must make level four disciples. This blog is about discovering and implementing processes to make level four and level five disciples that result in disciple-making and church multiplication movements.