Fresh off his duty as director of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences, the Rev. G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945) penned a series of devotional essays on the subject of discipleship. Morgan, who was converted under Moody’s preaching in his native England, returned to London to pastor Westminster Chapel and later mentored its next pastor, the influential evangelical leader Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Summary
In the first chapter of his book, Morgan sets forth what he understands to be the Biblical definition of discipleship:
“Disciples” is the term consistently used in the four Gospels to mark the relationship existing between Christ and His followers. Discipleship means a return to divine ideals through the teaching and power of Jesus . . .¹
Discipleship in this sense refers to the way in which a Christian goes about following Jesus Christ. Jesus is understood as Lord of Lords and the greatest of teachers. In chapter 2, Morgan tells readers that Christians must look specifically to the Sermon on the Mount (SotM) for Jesus’ own teaching on how disciples should pattern their discipleship.
Once Christians understand how to follow Jesus and His SotM, Morgan charges them to move to the next phase of the development process, a systematic application of the SotM theology into every aspect of their daily lives. Morgan recommends 9 areas in which application should take place and each area makes up a subsequent chapter in the book (The Disciple at Home, at Business, at Play, as a Friend, in Christian Service, in Sorrow, in Joy, in Death, and in Eternity).
While each chapter area offers a helpful devotional insight, a few stand out as being particularly helpful. In chapter 5, for example, Morgan reminds readers that work is not the curse from the Fall. Work is good but becomes laborious as a result of the Fall. Disciples, therefore, are reminded to find joy in work dedicated unto the Lord.
Morgan pairs work with the value of play in the life of a disciple:
The power to laugh, to cease work, and frolic in forgetfulness of all the conflict, to make merry, is a divine bestowment upon man, and its absence in any case is as sure a mark of the blighting effects of sin . . .²
Given that he was writing this chapter at a time when Britain was a major player in an emerging global economy, it is shocking that he would pen these words to his readers and charge them to slow down.
Pros and ConsDiscipleship is a great read both as a devotional book and as an introduction to discipleship theology. Morgan makes complex subjects like the Kingdom of God easily accessible to most readers and each chapter is relatively brief and easy to read in one sitting. I also found Morgan’s overall structure beneficial for helping integrate a theology of discipleship into everyday life.
The one glaring weakness that I find with Morgan’s work is in the thin description of discipleship. The author reduces discipleship to an individual way of life or philosophy of spirituality. While I agree that the disciples were those who followed Jesus in the Bible, the disciples were also the recipients of the Great Commission in which Jesus told them to “make disciples.” The command implies that discipleship is more than just an individual way of life and that discipleship requires a program of some sorts in which the church body strategically makes non-followers into followers of Jesus.
All in all, I recommend this book as a valuable resource in helping leaders think correctly about discipleship. I could not agree more with Morgan’s definition and application of discipleship theology. However, this book needs to be read in conjunction with a practical program book, like Bill Hull’s The Disciple Making Church, so as to communicate a more robust approach to discipleship.
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1. G. Campbell Morgan, Discipleship (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973 reprinted edition),
pp. 11, 51. You may find a copy of this book at Amazon.com here.
2. p. 59.
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