Dann Spader
Moody Publishers, 2014, 160 pp., $14.39

Founder of the classic youth ministry model, SonLife, Dann Spader is back with 4 Chair Discipling; however, he is not targeting solely youth ministry with this book. He has writing a book for the whole church, calling us to consider the original form of disciple-making.

Written in his classic style, Spader presents an updated version of his original discipleship philosophy. The foundational idea is simple but powerful. We should make disciples as Christ made disciples. Our model for discipleship should be modeled after the Master Disciple Maker.

The first part of the book lays out the foundation for this model by taking a quick look at the life of Christ and His way of calling, discipling and sending His followers. It is summed up in four simple challenges that are central to the idea: “Come and See,” “Follow Me,” “I Will Make You Fishers of Men,” and “Go and Bear Much Fruit.” The rest of the book is spent explaining the stages of discipleship through the concept of four chairs, which represent the lost, the believer, the worker and the disciplemaker. Additionally, this book does a great job of addressing the sticking points and barriers to this model of discipleship.

For those who have been around youth ministry for a while and know the old SonLife model, this book will sound familiar as Spader returns to his roots. For those, it will be a refreshing reminder and call echoing back to where they started. Those newer to youth ministry will discover a solid foundation of ministry and discipleship from one of the founding fathers of youth ministry philosophy. Either way, this book is worthy of a read for individuals or as a whole team.

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