Discipleship: Start This Way: Beginning to live as an everyday Christian disciple
Comprehensive manual for taking the first steps as a Christian disciple
Learning how to follow Jesus in normal everyday life. Discipleship: Start This Way offers comprehensive formation in discipleship, with a distinctive emphasis on the difference discipleship makes in our lived experience day to day. Both a resource for the enquirer and a tool for anyone wanting to support someone in their faith journey, this book provides an accessible and grounded route into the beginnings of discipleship, with a clear explanation of what it looks and feels like to become a disciple and to start to live as one.
Title | Discipleship: Start This Way: Beginning to live as an everyday Christian disciple |
Author | Guy Donegan-Cross |
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Description | Learning how to follow Jesus in normal everyday life. Discipleship: Start This Way offers comprehensive formation in discipleship, with a distinctive emphasis on the difference discipleship makes in our lived experience day to day. Both a resource for the enquirer and a tool for anyone wanting to support someone in their faith journey, this book provides an accessible and grounded route into the beginnings of discipleship, with a clear explanation of what it looks and feels like to become a disciple and to start to live as one.
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Learning how to follow Jesus in normal everyday life. Discipleship: Start This Way offers comprehensive formation in discipleship, with a distinctive emphasis on the difference discipleship makes in our lived experience day to day. Both a resource for the enquirer and a tool for anyone wanting to support someone in their faith journey, this book provides an accessible and grounded route into the beginnings of discipleship, with a clear explanation of what it looks and feels like to become a disciple and to start to live as one.
Revd Guy Donegan-Cross is currently Enabler of Learning for Discipleship and Mission for Church of England Birmingham, where he has responsibility for resourcing a culture of discipleship across a hugely diverse area. He has engaged in parish ministry in four different contexts, most recently leading St Mark’s, Harrogate. He is chair of the Simeon’s patronage trust, with responsibility for the patronage of 180 livings across England. He is passionate about discipleship, the relationship between charismatic and contemplative spirituality, and political and environmental concerns. He loves amateur dramatics, improvisation, live music, novels, walking, jazz, and his Norfolk Terrier Bess.
‘As Jesus-followers we are certainly called to be disciples… Guy’s new books are a fantastic, wise and highly readable resource exploring why we might want to consider the call to discipleship, and how we might intentionally jump into this life-giving adventure.’ The Revd Ali Herbert, head of discipleship, Gas Street Church, Birmingham
‘Start this Way is an outstanding summary of the challenges, experi- ences and practices of those who want to be apprentices of Jesus. It is honest and practical, culturally sensitive and rooted in scripture.’ Phil Knox, evangelist, author and missiologist, Evangelical Alliance
‘It is a book full of joy and pragmatic realities that are excellent for novice and experienced disciples. It is a reminder, affirmation, and framework of their journey, full of scripture, personal stories and profound truths handed down through the ages.’ The Revd Canon Dr Sharon Prentis, deputy director, Church of England racial justice unit
‘This book is a treasure trove of wisdom, offering practical insights for living as a Christian disciple. Donegan-Cross blends personal stories, biblical teachings and actionable advice, making it essential for both new and seasoned believers… May it inspire you to embrace Jesus’ abundant life and walk confidently as his disciples.’ The Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly, bishop of Loughborough
‘Such a clear, engaging and helpful exploration of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus today.’ James Lawrence, CPAS leadership champion
‘What is a “missionary disciple”? And how can I become one? In these highly accessible and practical books, Guy invites all of us on to the journey and gives us a map and a compass. ’ The Revd Stephen Hance, dean of Toronto
Church Times 11.07.25. Review by Mike Starkey
The Church of England aspires to seeing all believers ‘envisioned, resourced and released to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in the whole of life’ (Vision and Strategy). Most dioceses similarly highlight the fostering of discipleship among their key priorities.
But, at congregational level, the forming of engaged whole-life disciples can feel daunting. How do we help new believers to begin the journey of following Jesus? or help long-time believers better live out their faith in the real world? Guy Donegan-Cross was until recently Director of Learning for Discipleship and Mission in the diocese of Birmingham. His two new books seek to provide a resource for congregations to do just that.
Both are designed for individual or group use. The first and significantly shorter of the two, Start This Way, introduces the whole idea of discipleship: its roots, definitions, and characteristics. The style is accessible, and its emphases are well judged: our discipleship is a response to divine love, not a list of things to do; my story is part of God’s big story; to be a disciple is to be more fully myself; faith is not adding a bit of spirituality to life, but, rather, opening my eyes to a world alive with the presence of God.
One helpfully contemporary chapter addresses the quest for identity in our day, and explores the ways in which discipleship might reframe the issues. There is a recurrent focus on the believers own feelings — what it ‘feels like’ to live as a disciple of Jesus. This is clearly deliberate, and marks a shift from an earlier generation of devotional paperbacks, which tended to view feelings as irrelevant distractions.
The second book, Walk This Way, is essentially an inventory of everyday discipleship. It begins with the biblical image of a disciple as an apprentice, and goes on to unpack the value of particular spiritual disciplines. There follows a series of chapters on growing in Christian character. The book ends with chapters on being a ‘missionary disciple’ who heeds Gods call to participate in mission and social justice.
Each of the two books can be read in isolation, or used sequentially in an extended study of discipleship — for example, after a Christian-basics or enquirers course. If I were leading a small group, I would be tempted to dive straight in with the second book, Walk This Way. It starts in the right place, with Jesus’ rabbinic model of discipleship, it is usefully earthed in everyday life, and its inventory of discipleship issues covers all the essentials.
The Revd Mike Starkey is a London-based writer, and former Head of Church Growth for the diocese of Manchester