Since the release of Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship, the book has been viewed over 10,000 times and sold hundreds of copies. If you’ve read it, we’d love to hear from you at the new Fight Clubs Blog. What have you found helpful in your fight of faith? Where could you use some advice? Check out the blog and share some of your Fight Club stories, while reading the stories of others!
Gospel-Centered Motivations
We’ve reworked the title of Fight Clubs just for Resurgence readers in order to emphasize the gospel-centered thrust of the book. When a word like “gospel-centered” becomes ubiquitous, very often its meaning can be lost. We adopt the terminology without drilling down into its meaning. Gospel-Centered Discipleship drills down.
Chapter three focuses on various gospel motivations—religious affections, repentance and faith in Jesus, biblical warnings and promises, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Grace upon grace for our discipleship. In the words of John Owen, God gives us “a train of graces” to fight our sin. And when these grace-saturated motivations become central, obeying Jesus becomes more joyful!
We learn to fight the fight of faith, not with legalistic rules but with gracious promises. We follow Jesus, not to impress God or others, but because Jesus has impressed Him for us. We become so acquainted with the Spirit, that sin becomes less attractive. This is the way forward in discipleship; it is the way of the gospel.
Forming a Fight Club
Instead of fighting or failing alone, the gospel calls us to join one another in the fight of faith. The book provides both a theology and a strategy to fight sin as the church—Fight Clubs. Fight Clubs are small, gospel-centered, fighting communities that encourage one another to beat up the flesh and believe the promises of God.
In these communities we can help one another uncover idols and recover Jesus. Three “rules” apply: 1) Know your Sin 2) Fight your Sin 3) Trust your Savior. Chapter five unpacks the “rules” of Fight Club. Read the book; form a Fight Club; and start fighting in the strength of the gospel.
Endorsements
Jonathan has done us a huge favour in writing this book. The best endorsement I can give it is simply that as I read it, a growing sense of wanting to fight sin grew within me. I want to be a card carrying member of a 'Fight Club' so that in community we can take sin seriously, encourage one another to believe the gospel deeply and pray for each other to respond to the Holy Spirit passionately. What else can I say? This is an excellent book. Buy it. Read it. Do it.
Fight Clubs is a timely book about gospel-centered accountability and age of anonymity and shallow relationships. Dodson has done a masterful job highlighting how the Holy Spirit uses gospel truth to give us new Christ-centered affections that dispel our thirst for sin. Moreover, he helps men see how they can come alongside each other to unearth the deeper sins and heart-idols that drive our more obvious sins. For those still playing at religion through surfacey pseudo-accountability, this book is a welcome killjoy. You'll never look at accountability the same way again.
Fight Clubs addresses the core issues of a true disciple: identity in Jesus, worship of Jesus, community for Jesus and mission with Jesus. This book will help men understand the gospel and its call for believers to fight against following rules and fleshly desires by following Jesus.
Scott Thomas // Executive Director of Acts 29
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