A taster for what is in store at 300 Leaders – Real Time Connections by Bob Roberts

In less than a week we will be enjoying the 300 Leaders Conference with Mike Betts, Dave Devenish and Bob Roberts. The combination of these three speakers is going to make for a potent day. It is not too late to book in, though there are not that many seats left. I look forward to seeing some of you there.

I have been meaning to review one of Bob’s books that I read a while ago, so thought that this week would be a good time to finally get round it. I really believe that in Bob has been given a unique message for the global Church. At the heart of this is that we must move from a model of church which is all about the full-time ‘professional’ church leaders to one where every believer sees themselves as a missionary as they go about their professional lives.

Bob argues that the only way for society to be transformed is through people who’s  lives to be transformed. Here is a quote from Bob’s book “Real Time Connections”

“Rarely does our evangelism lead to deep changes in our neighborhoods and cities. I believe this is due to the fact that much of our evangelism is focused on making converts instead of disciples. There’s a big difference between a convert and a disciple. Making a convert is often a hit-and-run proposition. The goal in conversion, as it is typically understood, is to get someone to say, “I accept Jesus in my heart,” and to be baptized. Once that goal has been accomplished, we tend to move on to the next person, assuming that our job is done. This leads to a shallow and superficial understanding of what conversion is.

Though we may talk about life change and may preach a gospel that focuses on radical transformation, we often settle for redefining conversion to simply mean that someone has changed their religious views. That’s why I prefer to talk about making disciples. Making a disciple requires more than just getting a person to say certain words or to perform a religious ritual. It requires a deep conversion of the heart that ultimately turns one’s life upside down and sets him or her in an altogether different direction. Mere conversion is not the goal of evangelism; it is simply the starting point for the process of discipleship. Getting people to convert to Christianity is not the way to complete the Great Commission; conversion is simply the beginning of a lifelong process of change and transformation.”