Wow - this book is packed with insights on what is happening in our world today and how and where the church is coming alive. The following are key insights I gained from this book:

• Effective discipleship builds the church, not the other way around. We need to understand the church as the effect of discipleship and not the cause. If you set out to build the church, there is no guarantee you will make disciples. It is far more likely that you will create consumers who depend on the spiritual services that religious professionals provide. page 11
• One of the buzzwords today is the word "missional". The problem is that we don't have a "missional" problem or a leadership problem. We have a discipleship problem. What we do in this book is give you the basics of how we learned to disciple people over the past 25-30 years in the crucible of post-Christian Europe. What we have learned over and over is that if you disciple people it will always lead to mission. page 12
• CHALLENGE is always given best in the context of personal relationships. We have the ability to hear a difficult sermon and decide not to do anything about it. If I don't want to do it, no one will know or say anything. We can take what is said or leave it. page 19
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer has probably written more to help us understand the nature of discipleship than anyone in the past few hundred years, particularly in his book The Cost of Discipleship and his short but brilliant book Life Together.   page 24

• Getting people to a place where they can nourish themselves with the Bible through prayer, community and other spiritual disciplines doesn't happen just because we tell people that's how they can nourish themselves spiritually.   page. 27
• Eugene Peterson's translation really lifts off the page the meaning of discipleship:              page 31                                                Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me -- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."  Matthew 11:28-29 MSG
• Jesus had what many scholars call his "Retreat Ministry," a period of time that was dedicated completely to the twelve, when he retreated to places the crowds would never follow, when the disciples could be immersed in relationship and have complete access to him.    page 32
• From our experience if you want to make disciples, if you want to build a discipling cluture in your community, you are going to need three things:
  1. A discipleship vehicle (we call it a Huddle)
  2. People need access to your life
  3. A discipling language (our discipling language is called LifeShapes           page 38
• We are creating a culture, even if it's unintentional. The question is, do we like the culture we are creating?  page 48
• click here to see the resources of LifeShapes  and here to see other resources of 3dmovements
• The cultural shifts of the past several decades have permeated the Church, and consumerist demand from members upon their leaders is ever-increasing. Leading a church c an become such a heavy burden that many pastors leave their churches and forsake their calling. While the bible clearly defines roles within the Church, the mission of the Church was intended to be shared by the whole body. A healthy church builds a discipling culture and equips all members to participate in the missional work to which God has called them.    page 113