A brief video introduction to the rationale behind the book “DNA of a Christ Follower.”

In this little clip I give you a brief overview of why I wrote the book and the basic idea behind it. The key idea I am trying to communicate here is that it is not so important that you agree with me on my eight non-negotiable character traits of a Christ Follower, but rather that you take the time to wrestle through what those traits in fact are, from scripture, so it is clear in your mind what you are called to BE and what you are called to reproduce as a follower of Jesus Christ.

Too few individual Christ followers and too few churches have taken the time to do this, and as a result a lot of our disciple making is tied to church activities and defined in terms of participation in those activities (attendance at the weekly worship service, involvement in a small group etc) – the “doing” side of things, rather than in terms of character- the “being” side of discipleship.

Even sooner than hoped my first peer reviewer has returned the DNA manuscript with feedback and ideas for improving and clarifying it in various ways. I also received a text message an hour or two ago letting me know that another one of my theologically and biblically astute friends was expecting to be done this week.

While I do not plan to dig in and do the first rewrite until the end of this month, I am chomping at the bit to get going and work over the manuscript to get it ready for the editor. I am sure that the work by the editor will necessitate another rewrite, though not as thorough as the one I expect to need following this current peer review.

One of the big questions I currently have, which I have presented to my reviewers, has to do with the final chapter that goes beyond the eight character qualities and begins to discuss the issue of churches making such disciples. I am at this point unsure whether to include such a chapter- since it is a shift away from the personal application of the principals to a leadership or pastoral application- and will not make up my mind until I hear back from my reviewers.

The first draft of The DNA of a Christ Follower is well into its peer review!

For more than a decade I have been teaching on the DNA of a Christ Follower, the essential character traits that mark a person as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Every time I teach it, the content is very well received and has helped many gain a more complete view of discipleship.

Finally, last year, I decided to write out the principles in book form, with a solid goal of having the first draft done by year end. My writing actually spilled into the New Year, with a significant amount being done on January 1, and a final work over a few days later. But then I quickly printed it out, made several copies, and distributed them to a wide range of individuals whose biblical and theological insight I respect- though we may in fact differ in our views on various matters. Read More→