I love to read material that is written from research, or at least supported by research. Transformational Discipleship is that kind of book. Its insights are derived from nearly 4000 interviews, and partially influenced by Dr Waggoners book in 2007, "Shape of THings to Come." The authors do a great job of providing insight to the state of discipleship in the church today. They do not intend to provide churches a model to simply apply. In fact, they are clear about their intention to identify key components in a framework that is proving successful, but it must be the local church leaders that develop their own system based on their culture and people. The book affirms many of my beliefs, but confronts me in other areas of my leadership. They do a great job about addressing the preparation and heart that leaders (SS Teachers, Pastors, SG Leaders, etc) must have for believers to be discipled. I would highly recommend everybody in a local church to go through the book. Pastors may even think about requiring it as part of leadership training for all leaders.