Quotes from Mike Breen

The problem is that most of us have been educated and trained to build, serve and lead the organization of the church. Most of us have actually never been trained to make disciples. Seminary

Effective discipleship builds the church, not the other way around. We need to understand the church as the effect of discipleship and not the cause. If

The problem is that we don't have a "missional" problem or a leadership problem in the Western church. We have a discipleship problem. If you know how to disciple people well, you will always get mission. Always.

For many churches, as they seek to create comfortable environments in the form of worship services or small groups, have lost their ability to challenge people in meaningful ways. Challenge may be given from the pulpit or stage on Sunday mornings, but challenge is always given best in the context of personal relationships. We

From the Greek apostolos meaning "one who is sent out." Apostles are visionary and pioneering, always pushing into new territory. They like to establish new churches, ministries, non-profits, Kingdom-minded businesses or initiatives.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS GIVEN, NOT EARNED; RECEIVED, NOT TAKEN.

Fundamentally, effective leadership is based upon an invitation to relationship and a challenge to change. A gifted discipler is someone who invites people into a covenantal relationship with him or her, but challenges that person to live into his or her true identity in very direct yet graceful ways. Without both dynamics working together, you will not see people grow into the people God has created them to be.

one creates a discipling culture, modeled on the life and ministry of Jesus, by accident. No one accidentally creates disciples. Discipleship is an intentional pursuit.

Obviously, apprenticeship is happening here. You want to learn to be a plumber? Find a Master Plumber and do what he does. You want to learn to be a disciple? Find someone with the life that resembles the life of Jesus and do what he does. This is what the disciples were doing.

It is liberating to think that, with God's Spirit, over time, we can learn the ways of Jesus, doing the things that he did while becoming the same type of person. It doesn't happen overnight, and the expectation of Scripture isn't that it happens overnight.

The problem is that most of us have been educated and trained to build, serve and lead the organization of the church. Most of us have actually never been trained to make disciples.

There seem to be three different ways that we learn, but unequivocally, we learn best when there is a dynamic interplay between all three at one time: 1) Classroom/Lecture passing on of information 2) Apprenticeship 3) Immersion