Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark

About the Book

The book explores what it means to follow Jesus - to be a disciple. It presents a study of the gospel of Mark, identifying the gospel's unique message about the discipleship journey. It follows the journey of Jesus's first disciples, tracing how they moved from being blind to being able to see, but not clearly, to seeing clearly. It unpacks Jesus's teachings to explain what being a follow of Jesus entails. It describes the discipleship journey of moving from how the world trained us to think and live to allowing the ways of God that Jesus taught to shape our thinking and living. It lifts up the radical transformation of life that is the result of being a follower of Jesus.

About the Author

Author Steve Langford, also known as Pastor Steve, is a spiritual guide who has given his adult life to the study and teaching of scripture in the local church. Within the churches he has served and the religious communities in which he is involved, he is known as a gifted teacher who does not shrink from prophetically proclaiming the truth of scripture. He has a passion for spiritual formation and for leadership in the local church. He retired in 2019 after 50 years of ministry as a local pastor. Steve is a lifelong study who earned degrees in biblical studies from Howard Payne University (BA) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDIV and DMIN). For the past two decades, his post-graduate studies have been in Bowen Family Systems Theory with an applied focus on spiritual formation and leadership in the local church. He and his wife of 52 years have three grown sons and four grandchildren. He is the author of seven other books: Why the Bible Is So Hard to Understand ... and tips to understanding it; A God-shaped World: Exploring Jesus's Teachings about the Kingdom of God and Its Implications for the Church Today; The Fruit of the Spirit: the Path That Leads to Loving as Jesus Loved; Discovering Your True Self: A Guide for the Journey; Wisdom of the Ancients: Mining the Riches of Genesis 1-11; God's Plumb Line: Aligning Our Hearts with the Heart of God; Life in the Spirit: Reflecting on the Holy Spirit's Work in Our Lives.