Gospel-Centered Discipleship with Jonathan Dodson

I love pastors who’ve thought a lot about discipleship, and who are able to share their knowledge with others. Jonathan Dodson is such a pastor. He’s the author of Gospel-Centered Discipleship, which is now in its second edition. He’s also a local church pastor, the founder of City Life Church in Austin, Texas, where he lives with his wife and three children.

Dodson is the founder of GCDiscipleship.com and the author of a number of books including The Unbelievable Gospel; Here in Spirit; Our Good Crisis; and Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

I enjoyed talking to Dodson about the re-release of his book Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

I hope you enjoy this old episode. You can listen below, or find the Gospel for Life podcast on your favorite podcast app.

Key Ideas

We often veer to the pitfalls of legalism or license rather than the center of spiritual formation, the gospel of grace.
Centering on the gospel is more than a fad. The eternal gospel is always relevant.
We don’t just start the Christian life with the gospel. We continue in it too.
Gospel metaphors help us understand different facets of the gospel. We often focus on atonement and justification. Other metaphors, such as new creation and Christus Victor, can help us too.
Every time we open the Bible, we find new discoveries.
The Christian life involves gospel, community, and mission. We’re all probably need to develop in at least one of these areas at all times.
In Jesus we find complexity and depth. Discipleship is really about discovering more of Jesus.
We need more of Christ than we need more attenders and listeners.
Discipleship is often friendship-based. There has to be some level of trust between the mentor and mentee.
You can’t just implement a discipleship program because of its relational nature.
Encourage spiritual friendships in the church. Create environments for friendship.

Quotes

“The eternal gospel of Jesus Christ is always relevant because it can speak to every person in every place, in every situation because it’s outside of time. And the wonderful thing about it is that it’s always good news.”

“We’re converted three times: to Christ, the Church, and his mission.”

“The joy of discipleship is peeling back those layers and discovering the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

“When it comes to discipleship, a lot of that is relational. And if you want to trust, you’ve got to have a relational framework.”

“The wise man is not one who reads many books but who prays.” (Kierkegaard)