Discipleship: 40 Days of Discipleship: A Self-Paced Doctrinal Instruction Plan
We recommend that church leaders pursue formal education that gives both breadth and depth.[1] However, formal education is not practical for everyone. We recommend here a plan by which a person might use free resources from the GCI website to guide them in their education.
There are two important components of this list: 1) prioritization and 2) breadth.
- Prioritization: Our website has more than 1000 articles, and it can be difficult to know where to start. Of these articles, which are the most important? We try to provide some guidance on that by putting them into three groups. These are not necessarily levels of difficulty (most of our articles are from publications aimed at a lay audience), but provide some guidance about how to spread the reading out.
Since most of the articles on our website were previously published in our denominational magazines, you may have read these articles before. Nevertheless, do not assume that you know what is in them! Almost all of our website articles have been edited within the last four years, to remove phrasings we now realize to be erroneous, and in some cases, to add insights we’ve had more recently. (Some of the articles were originally published 20 years ago, and some have been extensively revised to bring them up to date with our current theological understanding.)
- Breadth: Do not study only the topics that already interest you. You (and the members of your church) need exposure to other important topics. Try to read all articles in group 1, in all subject areas, before you proceed to group 2. We have attempted to give breadth in each sequence, with about the same amount of reading in each area. We have grouped the articles into 2000-3000 words for each day. If you read about 15-20 minutes per day, you’ll be done in 40 days. Some people might want to go faster, others slower. Since you set your own pace, you will need some self-discipline to continue the journey.
For a PDF containing all the articles in one document, click here. If you want a paperback printed copy, you can obtain one for $6.58 from Amazon in the U.S. or Europe. In the U.S., spiralbound copies can be obtained from thebookpatch.com for $12.79. The first 20 days have been translated into Portuguese.
For the second group of 40 days, click here.
GCI articles organized by doctrine, with links to the GCI website
Group 1: The first 40 days
Theology in general
|
words
|
-
|
Why Bother With Theology? by Joseph Tkach
Strong Theology vs. Weak Theology, by Joseph Tkach |
1084
|
1326
|
2. |
Theology Affects the Way We Live, by Joseph Tkach
Theology in Perspective, by Joseph Tkach |
1509
|
936
|
-
|
Theology: What Difference Does It Make? By Terry Akers and J. Michael Feazell |
2586
|
-
|
Answering Questions About Our Theology, by Gary Deddo
Beware Theological Labels, by Joseph Tkach |
1143
|
984
|
The Triune God
|
|
-
|
An Introduction to God, by Michael Morrison |
2749
|
6& 7 |
The God Revealed in Jesus Christ, by GCI |
4686
|
-
|
We Were Always on His Mind, by Joseph Tkach |
2382
|
Jesus Christ
|
|
-
|
Who Is This Man? by Michael Morrison |
2628
|
-
|
Is Jesus Really God? A Look at the Arian Controversy, by J. Michael Feazell |
2428
|
11. |
What Jesus’ Incarnation Shows Us About What It Means to Be Human, by Rick Shallenberger, and Jesus, the Unexpected Messiah, by Joseph Tkach |
1255
|
1150
|
-
|
Why Did Jesus Have to Die? by Michael Morrison |
2456
|
The Holy Spirit
|
|
-
|
The Holy Spirit, by Michael Morrison |
2616
|
-
|
The Use and Misuse of Spiritual Gifts, by Joseph Tkach, first half |
2511
|
15. |
The Use and Misuse of Spiritual Gifts, by Joseph Tkach, second half |
2435
|
-
|
The Holy Spirit Is the Personal Presence of God, by Paul Kroll |
2879
|
The Scriptures
|
|
-
|
The Written Word of God, by Michael Morrison |
2480
|
-
|
Bible Study Secrets, by George Hague |
2400
|
19. |
Inspiration, Authority, and Reliability of Scripture, by Michael Morrison |
2290
|
-
|
The Importance of Doctrine, by Joseph Tkach
Incarnational Trinitarian Theology: A Brief Outline |
1654
229
|
The gospel
|
|
-
|
The Gospel—It’s Not Fair, by Joseph Tkach
The Message of Jesus, by Michael Morrison |
1246
|
1194
|
22. |
Preaching in the Book of Acts: Peter, by Michael Morrison |
2488
|
-
|
Sharing the Good News, by Joseph Tkach |
2276
|
-
|
Good News for Ordinary People, by Michael Morrison |
2591
|
Grace and salvation
|
|
-
|
Grace, by Joseph Tkach
Going on a Guilt Trip? By J. Michael Feazell |
1641
|
664
|
-
|
What Is Salvation? by Michael Morrison |
2581
|
27. |
Humans in the Image of God, by Michael Morrison |
2260
|
-
|
Responding to God’s Grace in Our Relationships, by Joseph Tkach
Grace: A License to Sin? By J. Michael Feazell |
1654
|
858
|
The church
|
|
-
|
What Is the Church? by Michael Morrison |
2685
|
-
|
Six Functions of the Church, by Joseph Tkach, first half |
2449
|
31. |
Six Functions of the Church, second half
Perfect Worship |
1868
444
|
-
|
Ministry Means Service, by Michael Morrison |
2631
|
Christian life
|
|
-
|
Christian Life, by Michael Morrison |
2721
|
-
|
Obeying God, by J. Michael Feazell |
2850
|
35. |
Responding to Jesus With Prayer, by Joseph Tkach
In His Name |
1692
1046
|
-
|
The Role of the Law in Christian Life, by Joseph Tkach |
2267
|
The future
|
|
-
|
The End Is a New Beginning, by Michael Morrison |
2621
|
-
|
The Resurrection: Our Hope for the Future, by Joseph Tkach |
2175
|
39. |
We Are Living in the Last Days, by Joseph Tkach
Heaven, by Joseph Tkach |
1283
|
1368
|
-
|
No One Knows When Christ Will Return, by Norman Shoaf |
2209
|
[1] Ambassador College of Christian Ministry provides instruction at an undergraduate level; Grace Communion Seminary provides accredited instruction at a graduate level (although some people without a bachelor’s degree may be admitted – see the GCS Academic Catalog for details). Both ACCM and GCS charge tuition.
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