It seems like a thankless task when teachers face broken families or indifferent parents. But the life of Bill Hull shows the difference made by a teacher and coach.

Hull’s name may not be familiar. He is the leading book-writer on the vital topic of discipleship in the church context. Key passages are 2 Timothy 2:2 and Matthew 28:18-20, and the subject is inescapable in its importance through any reading of the gospels. Discipleship is doing the work of Jesus in the way Jesus did it, as He poured His life into the lives of a few key men, even as He also healed the sick and ministered to large crowds. The Navigators ministry is better known for pursuing this discipleship ministry, but Hull’s unusual contribution in 15 books is to writing from personal experience as a pastor.

His titles are not designed to market to the masses. Take, for example, his 1995 book Building High Commitment in a Low Commitment World. Who wants to read about that topic, when the next book on the rack promises health and wealth in five easy steps?

Yet his books have sold 300,000 copies. At age 63, he may just be getting warmed up. Book number 16 arrives next month, on Christlikeness. He also recently authored The Complete Book of Discipleship (2006), a more comprehensive review of discipleship, covering everything from the Navigators ministry to the spiritual disciplines emphasized in what is sometimes called “spiritual formation.” He provides a remarkable review of seemingly disconnected movements in church history, with an eye to what will help the person in the pew, not necessarily fascinate the student of technical theology. In a section of the history of discipleship, he reviews the following individuals and their contributions to 2 Timothy 2:2 in different eras: Martin Luther; John Calvin; Thomas Cranmer (the Reformation’s archbishop of Canterbury); the Moravian Nicholas Zinzendorf; John Wesley: and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The book is remarkable in its breadth of coverage of the subject.

Humanly speaking, Bill Hull’s success can be traced to a helpful public high school coach and teacher. The discipline he learned on a basketball team in Indiana carried over to the discipleship in his books.

If he has a quarrel over the current popular version of Christian faith, it wouldn’t be especially political. He does not address the question of voting for Barack Obama or George Bush, or national health care or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His themes transcend the political sphere. He thinks American Christianity is too flabby and makes the call to follow Jesus too easy.

His books emphasize unpopular personal discipline such as accountability to spiritual leadership in the church, self-denial of our natural desires, and early rising for Bible study and Scripture memory. Think of it as the spiritual version of a health food diet. Less ice cream, drop the potato chips and eat your vegetables and fruit. He’s learned most of his lessons from his personal Bible study, as well as 20 years as a pastor at several churches in California.

He founded T-Net International, a consulting group for discipleship, and has been invited overseas to teach on the topic.

When he was in high school in the early 1960s, such success for Hull might not have been forecast by school authorities. Raised by a single mother, he struggled in academics. Yet, in an age before basketball stars were commanding multi-million-dollar salaries, he realized that basketball could be a ticket to higher education. Basketball was a good way for young men to learn discipline and teamwork, and Hull was playing for one of the powerhouse teams in a city whose teams produced NBA stars such as Oscar Robertson. (For readers under the age of 45, think of Oscar Robertson as the Michael Jordan of an earlier day.)

Hull went on to set scoring records at Oral Roberts University and was a late bloomer academically. Later he went to Talbot Theological Seminary, after serving in the Athletes in Action basketball ministry.

He overcame the odds with the help of his high school coach, Gene Ring.

“He gave me a vision of life, that I could, through basketball, make something out of my life,” he said. “Ring taught me that if I worked harder and longer than others, I could succeed. The hard work brought out my gifts.”

That theme of hard work dominates his early books, Jesus Christ Disciplemaker, or The Disciplemaking Pastor. In recent years the Lord has added a note of grace in his life message, reflected especially in his 2004 book, Choose the Life.

Hull’s story illustrates not only the value of hard work but also the life-changing potential of a dedicated public school teacher and coach.

—Russ Pulliam