About 7 months ago I promised to post the Discipleship Manual I wrote, Beginning In Grace: Six Lessons for Every Seeker. 

I finished that, but I failed to deliver on the 2nd promise to also post the Leader’s Guide.

Thanks to a fine young man I’ve been discipling over the years, Ashlin Hollinger, I realized that I just forgot to do that.

Discipleship is so close to my heart, I’m going to start a new series on the website, Discipleship 101.

Heres’s the fist installment, as promised, the introduction and first chapter of the Beginning In Grace Leader’s Guide:

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Guiding Others through Beginning in Grace

This series is from the Leader’s Guide I’m developing for the discipleship manual I wrote and have been using for fifteen years: Beginning In Grace

If you want to make sure you don’t miss one of these, you should subscribe to the blog here and they’ll show up in your inbox!

Name the Time and Place

Each lesson involves four hours of work for your students. You need to schedule adequate time to review the lesson.  For most people, 90 minutes is sufficient.  When you teach a group of two or more you may need to set aside two hours. (See group work below)

You need a meeting time that is realistic and a place that is quiet. Uninterrupted time together is your highest priority when deciding on a time and place. This is your opportunity to pray and talk about the most important issues in life. Be sure your place is free from distractions such as a ringing telephone, children under foot, or drop-in visitors.

Schedule your time together on a weekly basis if at all possible. Agree on the time and commit to treating this as you would any important appointment. Make sure there is no confusion concerning the time and place. Every lesson closes with a box to fill in the exact time and place you will be meeting next week. Call to remind your disciple of the first meeting.

Guiding Others through Beginning in Grace

This series is from the Leader’s Guide I’m developing for the discipleship manual I wrote and have been using for fifteen years: Beginning In Grace

If you want to make sure you don’t miss one of these, you should subscribe to the blog here and they’ll show up in your inbox!

Come Prepared, Teach with Excellence

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Guiding Others through Beginning in Grace

This series is from the Leader’s Guide I’m developing for the discipleship manual I wrote and have been using for fifteen years: Beginning In Grace

Get a Commitment, Monitor Capacity

Commitment and capacity require constant attention. Without commitment this process stalls. This requires balance and discernment from God’s Spirit. Asking for too much or moving too quickly will overwhelm and discourage those who need extra care. Asking for too little or moving too slowly will bore and frustrate those who are on fire to become disciplemakers.

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Guiding Others through Beginning in Grace

This is from the Leader’s Guide I’m developing for the discipleship manual I wrote and have been using for fifteen years: Beginning In Grace

Warning: Do Not Skip to Lesson One!

Right now you are wondering whether you should take the time to read through all the introductory material. You just want to get at it! Please, do not skip this section. These principles for success are vital. Read them carefully and prayerfully. Remember, you are going to be telling another person about the Lord Jesus Christ. You owe it to your disciple to be thoroughly prepared.

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Some of my tens of readers have been asking about the Leader’s Guide to Beginning In Grace, the basic discipleship manual I wrote that we’ve been using at Church of the Open Door since 1996.

The reality of my schedule is that unless I begin the process, it won’t happen!

So here’s what I’m going to do.

I’ll post the rewritten pages of the manual ever day until I have the entire Leader’s Guide formatted so I can post it under Books on this website.

I’ll categorize these posts under a new series: Beginning in Grace, Leader’s Guide.

I hope this helps you. The best way to keep up with the series would be to subscribe to the blog.

Here is the first page of the Leader’s Guide–a letter to introduce the material and encourage disciplemakers:

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Fifteen years ago I wrote Beginning In Grace, a basic discipleship manual emphasizing relationship.

We (Church of the Open Door) have always given it to anyone who would use it at cost.

Now some of my tens of readers (stole that from my friend Dave Burchett) have asked for a digital copy.

Here it is. I hope it will help you in your obedience to the Lord Jesus’ simple command to the church to make disciples of all the nations. In future blogs I’ll be publishing the chapters of the accompanying leadership manual:

Beginning in Grace, What the Bible Teaches about a Relatiohship with God, by Ed Underwood

Tell Me More About Discipleship!

My many posts on discipleship generated requests to tell you more.

I’ve been in discipling relationships with men for over 40 years. Church of the Open Door takes disciplemaking seriously. Discipleship is in the job description of every leader–elder, staff, ministry leaders, small group leaders, and teachers. I’m currently discipling one newer believer, five staff pastors, twelve emerging leaders on our campus and five or six leaders around the world through email.

We’ve learned a lot of lessons about making disciples, and I’m passionate about sharing them.

But, before we begin, here’s the letter introducing the disciplemaking process to prospective disciplers in Beginning In Grace, a discipleship manual I wrote for new disciplers:

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