The latest book in the Understanding Jesus Today series deals with the role of discipleship in Christianity. James Dunn explores the original meaning of discipleship in the early church and then discusses what discipleship should mean for Christians today. The evidence in the Gospels regarding the requirements of discipleship, including the beliefs and daily character of the life of a disciple, are explored and a firm basis upon which a tradition of discipleship can be defined is found. Important questions addressed are: to whom was Jesus's call to discipleship primarily directed; what were the characteristics of the community of disciples that formed around Jesus in His lifetime and how has the character of that community, which has become the Christian Church, changed over time; how does modern discipleship measure up against discipleship in the early Church? The book is based on the best of current scholarship but is written at a popular level.

"Prepare to be challenged in some of your traditional thinking by this book...timely and interesting...offers a plausible interpretation of what Jesus' call to discipleship means to us as we approach the twenty-first century." The Theological Educator