Deep Roots of Resilient Disciples: Principles & Practices for a Life of Lasting Faith

By Rick Hill

In the shifting cultural sands of the West, Christianity is no longer a dominant worldview or an accepted norm. Twenty-first-century Christians find themselves pushed to the edges of contemporary culture, exiled in a strange land. This sifting has led to some choosing comfort and compromise as their respo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rick Hill
• Release date: Nov 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781838164126

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Endorsements

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING…

Rick's writings tackle the challenge we all need to face: how do we help those who begin a journey with Jesus keep walking to maturity. If you're a parent, a youth leader, a pastor or someone wondering how to keep going, this warm book will draw you in, guide you and give you hope. It's a book many need to read. Rev Dr Neil Hudson, LICC Associate, Senior Leader Salford Elim Church& Author of ‘Imagine Church’

Rick writes with clarity and insight, drawing on his considerable experience to highlight the discipleship deficit. He calls for stronger foundations and deeper formation setting out eleven markers from the life of Christ to help develop resilient disciples. This book is essential reading for those who want to cultivate resilient discipleship in our rapidly changing culture. Peter Lynas, UK Director of the Evangelical Alliance

Through this book Rick paints a rich picture of resilient discipleship. You will find yourself drawn in through his questions and stories but more than that he invites you to participate, with vulnerability, courage, and an ever-growing reliance on God. I trust you will find the contents of this book spur you on to keep walking. Dr Helen Warnock, Principal at Belfast Bible College

Rick Hill is a man who cares deeply about loving and intentional discipleship, proving it in his life and ministry for the best part of the past 20 years. He has written a book about resilient discipleship which is rich in content - an impressive synthesis of spiritual formation and the mission of Jesus - in a biblically faithful and thought-provoking way which I am convinced will become a key resource for years to come. While Rick’s brilliance is evident through his writing, it’s the reality of how much he cares about this topic which shines through every page. The effect is much more than a stimulating read and a practical resource but an impartation of God’s heart for passionate, whole-hearted and deeply-formed Jesus-followers. Alain Emerson, 24-7 Prayer Ireland, Lead Pastor of Emmanuel Church, Author of ‘Luminous Dark’

"In Deep Roots of Resilient Disciples, Rick Hill gives us a roadmap for staying close to Jesus and growing with him as we seek to make an impact in the world. Rick oozes relationship and personal story as he seeks to engage the reader in building a lasting faith. A must read for a person of any age serious about knowing Jesus more." Mike Stevens, Author of ‘The Glue’& Pastor of Clovercrest Baptist Church, Australia

Those who read this book will find themselves supported and challenged as they offer their day-to-day lives to Jesus. Resilient discipleship is without doubt an area which is of immediate and urgent importance at this time. If we are committed to building a culture of discipleship in which Christians help each other to be more like Jesus then this will be a significant resource. The discussion is rooted in the life of Jesus, particularly in how Jesus spoke and lived. This is combined with honest reflection on lived experience, whether that is grief, doubt or the sadness of seeing friends not continue in faith. Rick brings significant expertise to this book on discipleship, both academic and his experience as part of local church and from working at denominational level. Alongside this, and perhaps of even more significance, Rick brings his love for God and desire that Christians would grow and continue in their relationship with Jesus. That heart for God and God’s ways resounds through the pages of this book. Rev Dr Heather Morris, Secretary of Conference, The Methodist Church in Ireland

There is no shortage of books on Christian discipleship, so why should you read this one? For one thing, Rick Hill brings a refreshing authenticity to the subject through the stories he shares about his own discoveries and mistakes in a life following Jesus as well as the things he has learned through the lives of others he has mentored and journeyed with or the books that they have written. Rick sees that to be a disciple is less about methods and systems and more about an essential characteristic of all true discipleship – resilience. There is a hugely contemporary feel about this approach as our world begins to emerge from the challenges of a pandemic and as the church seeks to respond as much to the people quietly slipping out of the back door as it does to those gingerly entering through the front door. This is a book for now! Rev John Dickinson, Minister Emeritus, Carnmoney Church

This is a personal book, full of stories from the lived experience of its author. It is also a serious book, addressing a deeply important question, at a time when confidence in the church is at a low ebb. It is a theological book, reflecting carefully on how discipleship works, whose idea it was, and what it’s for. It is a biblical book, repeating in every chapter a determined folding back to the Bible as the core source of truth and wisdom. It is a practical book, with questions for application at the end of each chapter – it could be used as a discussion starter in a fellowship or study group. It is an enjoyable book, in which I heard the voice of the author. It’s a passionate book, leading us on a journey from heartfelt despair that some bright and enthusiastic followers of Jesus are no longer following him, to the need for the Holy Spirit to empower his broken and sometimes stained church for service in the world. I wholeheartedly commend this book – and hope that all who read it will find their lives take on the unhurried but determined character of the one who wrote it. Rt Rev Dr David Bruce, Moderator of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Rick Hill is an outstanding young Christian leader, and this book expresses his heart for his generation and for those of us of any generation who are willing to listen. Simply put, it’s a renewed call to follow Jesus. Rick writes out of a deep and authentic pastoral concern and grounds his message in the realities of everyday life. What he proposes is a fresh discovery of the heart of discipleship - a call to follow Jesus and obey him, to cultivate a relationship with him, and in the process be changed to be more like him. While his style of communication is fresh and relevant, he is never faddish; and while he writes with compassion and genuine understanding of the issues that turn some people away from the Church, he never softens the call or downplays the cost. In a rapidly changing world, here is an invitation to rediscover the significance of a two-thousand-year-old message. Read it and digest it. Then go out and buy another copy to give away! Dr Alan Wilson, Bible College Lecturer

Foreword

FOREWORD

Written by Rich Robinson, Founder & Director of Catalyse Change

The Quran refers to Christians as ‘People of the Book’, and this term has now been embraced in the language of many Christian denominations, including Baptists and Methodists. It is a naming and framing of who we were, who we are and who we should be as Christians. It reminds us that we are called, challenged and commissioned to live our lives in light of what God has done and what has been recorded in Scripture.

But we are fast becoming ‘People of the Screen’, ‘People of the TED talk’, or ‘People of the Fad’. Whether we like it or not and whether we are aware of it or not, we are being discipled by the world. Every moment of every day we are always discipling and being discipled. The question is whether this is by intention or by accident. You are being formed and transformed whether you’re aware of it or not. As followers of Jesus, it is time for us to wake from our slumber. It is time to be proactive not reactive, intentional not accidental.

This book gives us a roadmap for a more intentional discipleship life. It helps us recover ancient paths in a modern world. Speaking to the exiled Jews in Babylon, the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah called the people to ‘Stand at the crossroads and look: ask for the ancient paths; ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls’ (Jeremiah 6:16).

As twenty-first-century Christians, we too find ourselves exiled, pushed to the edges of contemporary culture, and similarly needing to ask and look for the ‘good way’. Both Jeremiah and Rick invite us to first pause, to be aware of where we are, survey the land and ask questions. And, as we ask these questions and walk in the ways shown to us both in the pages of Scripture and in this book, we will receive a gift we can’t win or achieve for ourselves in our own strength: Rest. Wisdom. Guidance. Direction.

Rick helps us to remember and recover Scripture and allows us the opportunity to follow and embody the ways and works of Jesus in the twenty-first century. This book simply reminds us of who we have always been. We need to be changed ourselves before we can hope to bring change in anything or anyone else.

The late Austrian philosopher Ivan Illich, was once asked about the most revolutionary way to transform society. He answered the question this way:

Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must tell a new powerful tale, one so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes the preferred story, one so inclusive that it gathers all the bits of our past and our present into a coherent whole, one that even shines some light into our future so that we can take the next step... If you want to change a society, then you have to tell an alternative story.

The book you hold in your hands helps us to tell a better story, to become people of the book once more; to remember our past, to interpret our present and to create our future. Rather than being blown around, reactive or known for what we are against, we are empowered to live, love and lead into greater truth. Instead of being a disciple with a superficial, fragile faith, easily shattered by life’s disappointments, we can cultivate a faith that is deep, dynamic and fruitful, like the soil that produces a great harvest (Luke 8). The clarion call of this book is to rediscover who we are called to be as disciples, and the wisdom in these pages will help us to become disciple makers who empower others into a ‘Great Commission’ life.

We find ourselves in a significant moment in history. Culture is changing rapidly, and the future is more uncertain than ever. When the ground is known, stable and safe, there are quick and easy solutions to an easily-identified problem. But when the ground is unknown, unstable and changeable, much like our modern-day reality, we know that we need to learn new ways; we need to experiment and explore because there are multiple moving parts and multiple variables. When an earthquake hits a region, the existing maps can become obsolete.

Today, we face a similar situation. Our go-to maps of the past are no longer fit for purpose in the world we find ourselves in. Yet, though our maps may no longer match the terrain, we have a guide in Jesus and a compass in the Holy Spirit that can navigate any terrain we find ourselves in. And we have an ancient map, the Scriptures, that we need to dust off and use again, not as optional extra, but as an essential guide for our discipleship life.

In our plug-and-play, click-and-collect world, we often believe that deliveries should come today and change should happen overnight. But in these stretching and searching moments, we need disciples and disciplemakers that don’t just settle for a quick fix, but take up the same challenge the late author and pastor Eugene Peterson presented: a long obedience in the same direction.

The life of a disciple cannot be compared to the mechanistic mindset of our post-industrial revolution world. We have been swimming in the waters of consumerism so long that it is under our skin and embedded in our mindset. But discipleship, mission and partnering with God to see kingdom change is far more like working a farm, than it is running a factory. It’s far more about faithfully sowing seeds, intentionally watering and waiting than it is plugging cogs into a system to produce a product at the end of the production line.

Rick shares his wisdom from a place of an earthed, grounded practitioner – a humble, prayerful, purposeful disciple and a seasoned leader. He offers us the opportunity to grasp the words of Jesus: to go and make disciples. Rick doesn’t give us a system, a to-do list or even a vehicle to get to that destination, but he challenges us to live, model, share, plant, grow and harvest. Will we be prepared to be farmers rather than factory workers and take on the role of missional disciple makers presented to us in this book?

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Setting the Scene

In the deep darkness, our minibus passed slowly through the suburbs and slums. While the city slept, many of our group were experiencing the sights, smells, and sounds of the African continent for the first time. There was little noise as these teenagers quietly absorbed the scenes that met their eyes. Some expressed shock at the poverty they were confronted with, others admired the beauty of the natural surroundings that we could faintly make out in the dim light, while others acknowledged their fear of stepping into an unknown environment for the next few weeks.

But amidst the shock, awe, and fear came a gentle yet confident sound that pierced the stillness. From the seat behind me, a seventeen-year-old girl, who had only stepped into a church for the first time earlier that year, softly sang these words:

God, I look to You, I won’t be overwhelmed

Give me vision to see things like You do

God I look to You, You’re where my help comes from

Give me wisdom; You know just what to do

And I will love You Lord my strength

I will love You Lord my shield

I will love You Lord my rock

Forever All my days I will love You God

The mood of the group slowly turned from worry to worship, and we sang as a group the whole way to our destination. It was a moment I’ll never forget.

Similarly, I will always remember the courage of Stuart, standing in front of a group of