Matthew has written a great little book to help people grow as disciples of Jesus. He received the challenge of finding 26 topics on discipleship, going from A to Z, from Abba to Zeal in his case. Along the way we learn more about the Bible and the Church, Faith and Love, Prayer and Sacraments, Underprivileged and Worship and much much more.
He writes out of his considerable pastoral experience and tells helpful stories along the way. The biblical insights are illustrated by the lives of real people, trying to follow Jesus in daily life. It would be easy for a book like this to be very individualistic but Matthew keeps pointing us to the importance of supporting one another in the church, the ‘fellowship of Christ-followers’ as he calls it.
Of course, having the restriction of one item per letter of the alphabet means that some things don’t get their own moment in the sun. So using F for faith means that Forgiveness misses out. Except it doesn’t, because it appears in the index and can be found for example under Quarrel. You might like to try making your own A-Z list of what is important for a Christian disciple to know.
Anyone wanting to refresh their following of Jesus could use this book, probably one section at a time. Each section has some actions and prayers to take you forward. And this book will be especially useful for people relatively new to following Jesus. They will receive practical and Biblical wisdom to living out their faith. Try it, and then give your copy away to someone else who can benefit from it!
Gavin Wakefield