Note From Nate: I first heard of Pete Scazzero through his book entitled "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality." His story of having successful ministry that ultimately lead to burnout because it wasn't matched with emotional health/growth is a helpful warning for us all--whether in ministry or not. Here, he looks at the Early Church as a model for slow, deep discipleship. I hope you enjoy! Lots of wisdom here!

How did the early church fathers practice discipleship? What can we learn from them and apply to our lives today? In this episode, Oliver Hersey explores those questions with Pete Scazzero, author of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship: Moving from Shallow Christianity to Deep Transformation In addition to studying the early church Scazzero also studied the gospel of Matthew for years to learn how Jesus discipled the twelve apostles. “The disciples wanted to be popular,” he explains. “They didn’t want suffering and failure.” Those temptations and struggles still exist today. But how can Christians reject popularity, and embrace the cross? That’s where Scazzero looks to the riches of church history. To develop into people who are deeply changed by God, he suggested we should slow down, follow the crucified Jesus, make space for grief, and measure spiritual maturity by how we’re loving others. “Discretion was a quality of abbots in monasteries—the ability to let things unfold,” Scazzero notes. Join Scazzero as he lays out a blueprint for how to let your ministry flow out of your own life with Jesus. Learn more about emotionally healthy discipleship on his website.