Emotionally Healthy Discipleship: Moving from Shallow Christianity to Deep Transformation

Description

The global church is facing a discipleship crisis. Here's how we move forward into transformative discipleship... Pastors and church leaders want to see lives changed by the gospel. They work tirelessly to care for people, initiate new ministries, preach creatively, and keep up with trends. Sadly, much of this effort does not result in deeply changed disciples. Traditional discipleship strategies fail because they only address surface issues and do not go deep enough into the emotional health of individuals. But transformative, emotionally healthy discipleship is a methods-based biblical theology that, when fully implemented, informs every area of a church, ministry, or organization. It is a discipleship structure built from the center that: Slows down our lives so we can cultivate a deep, personal relationship with Jesus. Challenges the values of Western culture that have compromised the radical call to follow the crucified Jesus. Integrates sadness, loss, and vulnerability, that, when left out, leave people defensive and easily triggered. Acknowledges God's gift of limits in our lives. Connects how our family and personal history influence our discipleship in the present. Measures our spiritual maturity by how we are growing in our ability to love others. In Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, bestselling author Pete Scazzero takes leaders step-by-step through how to create an emotionally healthy culture and multiply deeply-changed people in every aspect of church life, including: Leadership and team development Marriage and single ministry Small groups and youth and children's ministry Preaching, worship, and administration Outreach Complete with assessments and practical strategies, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship will help you move people to the beneath-the-surface discipleship that actually has the power to change the world. **Winner of the 2022 ECPA Christian Book Award for Ministry Resources**

Peter Scazzero is the founder of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, New York City, a large, multiracial church with more than seventy-three countries represented. After serving as senior pastor for twenty-six years, Pete now serves as a teaching pastor/pastor at large. He is the author of two best-selling books-The Emotionally Healthy Church and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. He is also the author of The EHS Course and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day. Pete and his wife, Geri, are the founders of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, a groundbreaking ministry that equips churches in a deep, beneath-the-surface spiritual formation paradigm that integrates emotional health and contemplative spirituality. They have four lovely daughters. For more information, visit emotionallyhealthy.org, or connect with Pete on Twitter @petescazzero.

'There is so much to like in Peter Scazzero's Emotionally Healthy Discipleship--he pushes against the 'let's get 'er done' approach to measuring discipleship and advocates instead a slowed-down be-with-God measure to following Jesus. What I like most is his emphasis on getting to know the crucified Jesus and ridding ourselves of the Americanized Jesus.' * Scot McKnight, Northern Seminary; author of Jesus Creed * 'There may be no more important pastoral and prophetic voice for church leaders in this cultural moment than Pete and Geri Scazzero and the work of emotionally healthy discipleship.' * Todd Wilson, CEO and cofounder, Exponential * 'This is a book that must be read by the church, a word that has to get out. The world is becoming urban and multi-ethnic, and this book shows us the way to build healthy and effective churches in those communities.' * John M. Perkins, author of One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love *