All Episodes

June 26, 2025 45 mins

Is Discipleship the Wrong Paradigm for the Church Today? | A Conversation with Kyle Strobel 

Kyle Strobel is a theologian at Biola University focused on spiritual theology, and he is the head of the Institute of Spiritual Formation at Talbot School of Theology. He’s also a teaching elder at his church. He, along with John Coe, has written what I consider to be one of the best books on prayer titled Where Prayer Becomes Real. 

Earlier this year via his Substack, Kyle sent out a blog titled “Why Discipleship Doesn’t Work,” which pointed to the release of a mini-course on his Substack on “Reimagining Discipleship.” In it, Kyle questioned the entire discipleship framework that has been re-emphasized for the last 30+ years. Kyle’s major contention is that the framework of disciple and discipleship is a pre-Pentecost approach to following Jesus, it’s not found in the New Testament after Jesus’ ascension, and it is thus not a paradigm the church is meant to follow. 

I resonated with a lot of what Kyle had to say but also found several things where I think he overstates his case. So we decided to record a conversation exploring the question of whether or not discipleship is the mission of the church today and the paradigm for spiritual growth. 

 

Free 30 Page eBook to help you Hear and Heed the Bible: 

https://www.johnwhittaker.net

 

Support this ministry:

Set up a recurring monthly or a one-time donation at the link below.

http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/

 

The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself: 

https://www.listenerscommentary.com

 

Connect with John:

Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram

Email - john@johnwhittaker.net

If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.