J. Heinrich Arnold

Sometimes provocative but always encouraging, a pastor offers sage advice for leading Christ-like lives amid the stresses of modern life. Perhaps the hardest thing about following Christ is translating our good intentions into deeds. Christ calls us, and we want to answer him, but time and again we lose resolve. Many of the selections in this book offer answers to specific problems. Others grapple with broader themes such as world suffering, salvation, and the coming of the kingdom of God. All of them pulsate with conviction and compassion, giving fresh hope to those who find themselves lonely or disheartened in the daily effort to follow Christ. Discipleship contains writings, letters, and talks from J. Heinrich Arnold’s forty years of service as a pastor in the Bruderhof Communities. In the tradition of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship and C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, Arnold makes the challenges and rewards of the Christian life accessible to people regardless of their religious background. This elegant 30th-anniversary edition, with marginal bible references, introduces this Christian classic to another generation.

A veces sensible, a veces provocativo, pero siempre alentador, Arnold guía a los lectores a llevar una vida a semejanza de Cristo, en medio de las presiones y tensiones de la vida moderna. Tal vez lo más difícil de seguir a Cristo es convertir nuestras buenas intenciones en hechos. Cristo nos llama y anhelamos responder a su llamado, pero una y otra vez fallamos en nuestra determinación. ¿Es posible el discipulado hoy? Muchas selecciones en este libro ofrecen respuestas a necesidades o problemas específicos. Otras abordan temas más amplios como el sufrimiento en el mundo, la salvación y la venida del reino de Dios. Pero todas están llenas de convicción y compasión, dando nueva esperanza a los que se encuentran solos o desanimados en la búsqueda diaria de seguir a Cristo.

It's one of those topics most of us would rather avoid in conversation -- why would anyone want to reveal private jealousies, resentments, fantasies, temptations, or other weaknesses? Yet steady sales of this valuable little book attest that there are plenty of us who struggle with sinful thoughts -- and desire help. For anyone who wavers at times between obeying the voice of the conscience and giving in to the lower nature, this book offers sage advice for coming through the struggle. Drawing on years of experience as a pastoral counselor, Arnold guides the reader from the throes of frustration and guilt to a life of freedom and joy.