Practical Help to Discipleship!

I greatly appreciated Alan Briggs book, Guardrails: Six Principles for a Multiplying Church.  Briggs reminds the reader how hard it really is to not only keep a church alive, but to help the church to thrive and grow to be the church God calls us to be.

Briggs divided this book into two sections: Foundations and Principles.  In Foundations, he does what the word describes.  He lays the groundwork for the church.  He talks about the problems and different situations which arise as a result of an organization led by people seeking, but not always knowing how to fulfill the Great Commission.

In part two, he discusses the principles needed to have a church multiply.  He lays out his points with the acronym SHARRP - - As each chapter focuses on one ~
Simple
Holistic
Adaptable
Regular
Reproducible
Positive

This section is practical and not just theoretical.  He tells stories from his journey, as well as sharing scripture to help bring home his points.  Each chapter ends with a few simple, yet profound discussion questions.  Questions like “When have you accidentally emptied the Cross of its power through complexity?”  That’s deep, but hit home with me. 

I also appreciated his section Apprentice Culture Assessment, which helps us look at how we do church in terms of discipleship.

Overall, this is a very good book, a helpful book for those wanting to find ways to multiply and help your church grow through discipleship.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher Tyndale Press, in exchange for an honest review.