Discipleship: 40 Days of Discipleship: The Second 40 Days

This is the second collection in our series for church leaders who want to deepen their theological education with free resources from the GCI website. For each day, we present (on average) 2500 words, which can be read in 15-20 minutes. We again aim for variety, and go deeper into some doctrines than we were able to go in the first volume.

Church leaders should already be familiar with most of the doctrines presented in these articles, but a review can be helpful in firming up a foundation for new pastors, bivocational pastors, and others who are unable to pursue formal seminary education.

Although this series is designed for pastoral education, completion of the series does not mean that a person is thereby qualified to be a pastor. Doctrinal knowledge is only one of the many skills that congregational leaders need. This series focuses on theology; it does not include the many GCI articles on biblical studies, which pastors also need. Further, we do not have many articles available on ministry practices, such as preaching and counseling, which would normally form an important component of pastoral education.

Most importantly, no amount of reading can give people the spiritual gifts needed in the pastoral role. No amount of reading can give people experience with leading congregations and encouraging spiritual growth. Field experience is needed for that, perhaps as an intern, under the guidance of a mentor. Those who desire to lead in the church desire a good thing, but desire itself is not enough. Social skills and spiritual gifts are also needed, and the congregation itself must provide some confirmation that the leader has been gifted and called for this role.

For a PDF of all articles in one document, click here. You can buy a paperback copy on Amazon for $5.00. In the U.S., spiralbound copies can be obtained from thebookpatch.com for $11.08.

For the third group of 40 days, click here.