Discipleship: Walk This Way: Living the life of an everyday Christian disciple
Comprehensive manual for how to live as a Christian disciple
Discipleship: Walk This Way explores the difference discipleship makes to everyday life. Using the framework of the apprentice-relationship, it unpacks what it means to be with God in the practices of daily life, how we become like Christ in our character and how we join in with the work of the Spirit. There is an emphasis on mission in all of life. Discipleship: Walk This Way focuses on its lifestyle, character and aim of discipleship, and resources the reader for continuous life-long discipleship.
Title | Discipleship: Walk This Way: Living the life of an everyday Christian disciple |
Author | Guy Donegan-Cross |
Description | Discipleship: Walk This Way explores the difference discipleship makes to everyday life. Using the framework of the apprentice-relationship, it unpacks what it means to be with God in the practices of daily life, how we become like Christ in our character and how we join in with the work of the Spirit. There is an emphasis on mission in all of life. Discipleship: Walk This Way focuses on its lifestyle, character and aim of discipleship, and resources the reader for continuous life-long discipleship. |
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Discipleship: Walk This Way explores the difference discipleship makes to everyday life. Using the framework of the apprentice-relationship, it unpacks what it means to be with God in the practices of daily life, how we become like Christ in our character and how we join in with the work of the Spirit. There is an emphasis on mission in all of life. Discipleship: Walk This Way focuses on its lifestyle, character and aim of discipleship, and resources the reader for continuous life-long discipleship.
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.
‘Compassionate and realistic, Walk this Way affirms the value of the ordinary while also painting a distinctive and powerful vision for the future.’
The Revd Alan Garrow, vicar, St Peter’s Harrogate
‘In these books Guy shares from his own story as well as from years of pastoral experience, blending deep truths with practical insight into how to radically follow Jesus. Read them to grow as a disciple and be part of discipling others.’
Andy Winnill, director of mission, Church of England Birmingham
‘Like an experienced and sage companion on an adventurous journey, this book illuminates, guides, encourages and challenges readers to think about what it means to follow Jesus.’
The Revd Canon Dr Sharon Prentis, deputy director, Church of England Racial Justice Unit
‘With clarity, honesty and real-life wisdom, Guy bridges the gap between knowing about discipleship and actually walking it out in daily life… perfect for individuals, small groups and church leaders who want to cultivate a culture of authentic discipleship. They don’t just offer information; they offer transformation. Highly recommended!’
The Revd Canon Andy Glover, team leader of Hoole Baptist Church adn Fresh Streams
‘I love the fact that [Guy] has treated discipleship as a whole-life issue. It is not about just the passing on of knowledge. This book will show you how to follow Christ with all aspects of your life and how to teach others to do the same. I cannot recommend it enough.’
Dr Harvey Kwiyani
‘Here is a great work… Mature, love-filled wisdom, beautifully and humbly shared, pointing us towards the master. So good.’
The Revd Richard Wilson, vicar, St Mary’s Reigate
‘I invited [Guy] to speak about discipleship… I saw the fire was still burning within him to present to the world a no-frills, practical and challenging walk in the footsteps of Christ.’
Adrian Holloway, author, senior pastor, The Beacon Church, Camberley and founder, The John 3:16 Trust
‘Here we find an approach to Christian discipleship rooted in a deep understanding of the Bible and which offers theological thinking stimulated by the questions those exploring faith are asking. I com- mend this resource to you and pray its use in ministry bears much fruit for the kingdom!’
The Rt Revd Michael Volland, bishop of Birmingham
‘These books are packed full of brilliant insights into the life of the disciple. They are full of great stories and quotes. Guy makes this life seem very accessible. ’
Nic Harding, director, Kairos Connexion
‘Guy has given the church an accessible, enjoyable route into the adventure of discipleship which will be fruitful for local churches and study groups… Drawing repeated connections between theology and practice, these resources will be stimulating for the many people in our church communities who thirst for learning and further growth.’
The Revd Dr Samuel Gibson, vicar, St George’s Edgbaston
‘This work provides essential insights into missionary discipleship as well as a framework for going deeper in our individual walk with Christ. A timely, much-needed resource for the church both corporately and individually.’
The Rt Revd Arun Arora, bishop of Kirkstall
‘What I like most about Guy’s take on faith is that there’s no one-size- fits all; there’s space for different people, different gifts and the messy realities life. All in all, Guy’s books are probably some of the warmest, most encouraging ones I know for taking the next steps to follow Jesus.’
Canon Dr Mark Powley, archbishop’s mission enabler for the north
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
Paul Beasley-Murray: Books for Today, July 2025
Guy Donegan-Cross, an Anglican minister who has worked in Birmingham encouraging and resourcing discipleship and leadership, has written these two books [Discipleship: Start this Way and Discipleship: Walk this Way]. The first is written for people who wish to explore Christian discipleship; while the second is for people who want to go deeper into how to live out their lives as Christian disciples. These two books are a super resource for ministers and church leaders to use with their people.