Are We Teaching Discipleship the Wrong Way? | Moose Bright

Josh Howard introduces Moose Bright, highlighting their friendship and shared experiences, including Jim Putman's involvement in launching the ministry. He emphasizes Moose’s passion for relational discipleship and expresses admiration for what Moose’s organization, RDN, is doing to promote disciple-making. Moose shares his excitement for the mission, and Josh encourages listeners to attend Discipleship.org events, framing them as vital for discovering their ministry fit and learning how to disciple effectively. Moose humorously notes that he wasn’t paid to endorse the event, underscoring his genuine enthusiasm.

Moose discusses a critical issue: churches often separate Jesus’ teachings from His methods, emphasizing teaching but neglecting the relational, intentional approach Jesus modeled. He explains that Jesus made disciples in relationships, which is the foundation of the Relational Discipleship Network. With 28 years of experience, Moose notes they've refined their process to help churches transition from merely teaching about Jesus to practicing relational, reproducing disciple making. He underscores that the goal is not just to make disciples but to equip them to make more disciples.

The conversation shifts to the role of church leaders, emphasizing that their job is to equip the saints for ministry rather than do everything themselves. Moose highlights the importance of re-centering churches around making disciples and suggests that programs which do not facilitate disciple making may need to be discontinued or reduced. He uses his wife’s example—she prioritized raising her children as her discipleship ministry—and explains that social and spiritual investments in mature believers lead to greater long-term impact. Practical examples are shared of churches dedicating staff to disciple-making, which requires pruning other activities.

Josh and Moose emphasize the necessity of personal and church-wide introspection, asking whether their main focus is making disciples or simply doing good activities that lack relational depth. Moose insists that focusing solely on good works without prioritizing disciple making is missing Jesus’ core mission. The conversation encourages leaders to evaluate their priorities and be willing to let go of non-essential programs in favor of intentional disciple making. Moose commends churches that have committed to this focus, noting their success in reaching higher levels of disciple-making maturity.

Moose compares adopting disciple-making to New Year’s resolutions and stresses the importance of accountability and community, such as coaching cohorts. He advocates partnering with experienced leaders who can guide churches through the transition, recognizing they will face resistance, as Jesus did. He describes their Discipleshift program, based on Jim Putman's book, as an effective first step. Moose recounts the origin of this program through Real Life Ministries, emphasizing the immersive two-day experience that helps pastors and leaders internalize the relational disciple-making methodology.

Moose outlines various training opportunities, including immersive events and coaching cohorts, to help churches transition to relational disciple making. He mentions the importance of experiencing the process firsthand before joining the network. Additionally, Moose encourages churches to visit RDN.org and other disciple-making resources offered by Discipleship.org, including books, assessments, and upcoming events. He underscores that partnerships like theirs aim to support churches in becoming healthy disciple-making communities.

Josh thanks Moose for his insights, reaffirming the importance of focusing on relational, Jesus-style disciple making. Moose invites listeners to connect with him at RDN.org, and Josh encourages churches to explore Discipleship.org and partner with organizations that help develop a culture of disciple making. The episode concludes with encouragement for listeners to pursue this mission, emphasizing the transformative potential of making disciples who make disciples.