The following is not meant to be an exhaustive list of discipling resources. Hopefully, it will be a valuable list to those wishing to get started in this area.

In September, 2004, the IBC Leadership Institute started as an intensive leadership training program. Using a three year curriculum from Vantage Point 3, this program is a local church, Biblically based, mentoring intensive training program preparing church leaders for the 21st century. The first year deals with the caracter issues of a leader. Year two, started in September, 2005, deals with leadership skill development. The program is both intensive and lifechanging.

Prior to using the Vantage Point 3 curriculum, IBC trained leaders using Christianity Today's Building Church Leaders, volumes 1 & 2. The material is excellent for planning, for supplemental material, and for group discussion, but weak in solid Bible study material with each lesson. Pastor Dave supplemented each lesson with his own studies.

Men's Small Groups

The emphasis of my Men's Small Group was to expose them to a good cross section of Christian literature, past and present. Men need to be able to think and learn. Some books I have recently used:

• J.I. Packer, Knowing God
• John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men
• John Piper, The Pleasures of God
• Ken Gire, The Reflective Life,
• Tremper Longman III, Immanuel In Our Place
• John MacArthur, ed. Think Biblically: Recovering A Christian Worldview
• Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival
• Gordon Fee, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God

Each of the above was read one chapter at a time at a weekly Bible study.

Much of the discipling one-on-one depends on where the man is at the time. Over the past few years, I used the following books to disciple men and found them helpful.

For men going through deep waters:

• Dave Shive, Night Shift (Back to the Bible Publishing)

For men wanting to study the Scriptures:

• John Stott, The Spirit, the Church, and the World (commentary on Acts)
• John Stott, Romans
[Note: Stott's commentaries are well outlined which makes dividing the study quite easy. I try to cover 10-12 pages per week. This usually results in being in a commentary for about a year.]
• J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah

For men wanting to wrestle with challenging thoughts:

• Anything by C.S. Lewis - in the past year I have used Letters to Malcolm (essays on prayer), Surprised by Joy, and The Weight of Glory. The last two have miscellaneous essays.
• A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
• A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy

Miscellaneous books for a 'change of pace':

Sometimes you need a break after an intense expositional study. The following are helpful in that way:

• Paul Brand & Philip Yancey, Fearfully & Wonderfully Made [Note: I used this in discipleship with a medical doctor and learned much more than he did.]
• Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

For Pastoral Staff:

For the most part these books are not deep but either add a devotional thought to our staff meetings, or introduce us to a new book in pastoral ministry. In the past few years, we have read through:

• Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life
• Curtis C. Thomas, Practical Wisdom for Pastors
• Ken Gire, Windows of the Soul
• Patrick M. Morley, The Man in the Mirror
• R. Kent Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Man
• Erwin W. Lutzer, Pastor to Pastor
• Cedar, Hughes, & Patterson, Mastering the Pastoral Role