Customer Reviews

Gospel-Centred Church

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Veteran British church planters Steve Timmis and Tim Chester have put together a very helpful workbook for churches that desire to be more intentionally & strategically gospel driven. In three loaded sections this guide (suited ideally for discipleship, leadership teams, or small group's of various kinds) covers six sessions on the Priority of Mission; six sessions on the Priority of People; and another six sessions on the Priority of Community and the last chapter which is on why "It's all about the gospel." This book is ideal as a workbook for church planting core groups, or churches that want to be more missional and multiplicational in their process of making and maturing disciples of Christ.

Each chapter stands alone and contains the following five sections:

Consider this - A scenario--often based on a real-life situation--which raises some kind of dilemma or frustration in gospel ministry.

Biblical background - A relevant Bible passage together with some questions to help you think it through.

Read all about it - A discussion of the principle, both in terms of its theological underpinning and its contemporary application.

Questions for reflection - Questions that can be used for group discussion or personal reflection.

Ideas for action - Some ideas or an exercise to help people think through the application of the principle to their own situation.

I think this is a phenomenal resource that helps a church think through how to contextualize the gospel message in its own unique setting. It is concise, deep, Christ exalting, biblical, gospel oriented, God-glorifying and extremely practical. I can't recommend this resource highly enough.

Book Summary

Part One: The Priority of Mission

Chester and Timmis argue that everything that is done within the church should center around the mission of the church. The mission of the church is to glorifying God by sharing his message with all peoples. Chester and Timmis argue that everything that goes on within the church should be considered a missionary endeavor. Next, both authors argue that the mission is not for a select few, but for all members of the church (The authors simplify the language of priesthood of all believers). The authors then argue that the church's mission calls believers outside their ghettos (places of comfort- e.g. white, middle-class suburbia, and our homes) and into the bars/brothels. A gospel-centered church majors in the gospel, but is willing to negotiate on everything that is a nonessential. The authors take Mark Driscoll's idea of the two hands and apply it to the mission of the church. The first hand is closed and clinched like a fist. The first hand represents sound theology or things that we are not willing to comprise upon. The second hand represents traditional practices specific that culture and things which we are willing to comprise on. The second hand is open. What is the difference between the two hands? One hurts when you are hit with it. Although Chester and Timmis do not use this illustration, the illustration does reflect the argument which they make throughout the chapter: do not allow tradition to be the absolute, which governs your mission. Next, the authors argue that a common fear among churches is the fear of failure. The authors argue that it is better to fail at gospel initiatives than to fail to take gospel initiatives.

Part Two: The Priority of People

In chapter 7 the authors explain their view of the church. The authors set out to make a minimalist view of the church. The authors ask the question, what is essential in order to be defined as a church. The authors argue that the church is the gathering of God's people, covenanted together. The location does not matter. What is essential is the fact that there are people in relation with God and each other who meet together regularly. Next, both authors argue that for effective ministry to take place there needs to be a commitment from the minister to longevity. One of the greatest problems with churches is that pastors leave within the first few years of his ministry before they are ever able to take root into the lives of their congregants. Next, the authors argue that the congregants need to be involved in society together. Congregants should strive to get jobs together, work in community programs together, join clubs together, and ect. The root of this argument is the fact that Paul brought others along with him wherever he ministered. The task of gospel ministry is large and too difficult to be done alone. The authors then point out a key problem within most churches toady, the problem of not equipping the saints for service. The elders of the church need to equip/build-up an environment where their congregants can flourish. Leaders should not "rule or dominate over the congregants", but equip their congregants for their own ministries which they experience everyday in their own lives. The church should not be program focused, but should be people focused. All too often churches find themselves continually creating programs to meet needs within congregations. The problem arises when the programs or the needs become outdated or a burden to the church. The church then begins looking for people to meet the needs of the program rather than continually looking to people to meet the needs of the people. The program then becomes the focus of the church rather than the people which the program was created for.

Part Three: The Priority of Community

The church is more than a community or a people who covenant together. The church is a family. The authors point out that families eat together, play together, cry together and laugh together. Families live life together outside the regular Sabbath meetings. This family or covenant community is a persuasive and powerful testimony to the effects of the gospel. The church gives testimony through its life together of the power of the gospel upon the lives of those within the community. Several statistics have been done to that show that when the people see the results of the gospel lived out in community that it has a greater impact upon those individuals than if they only had the gospel preached to them. Obviously the gospel must be preached for this is the only way in which man can be saved, but the authors point out very carefully the importance of living out lives transformed by the gospel for the world to see. I completely disagree with the concept of "preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words," but I do not disagree with the authors point here: the importance of living out the results of the gospel and its impact upon outsiders. Paul in his letters proclaimed the gospel to these specific churches, but he also pointed out that he has demonstrated it through his life when he was with them. Next, the authors point out the importance of churches explaining what is going on during church services. I have been found this theme coming up very often within newer books (another example of this can be found in the Hems and Hydes Planting, Water, and Growing Confessional Reformed Churches). I honestly did not realize that this was such an issue. The authors here point out that often people will leave a church (because they do not understand what is going on) or will never ask why certain things are going on during a church service rather than ask why your church does certain things (e.g. Salutation, Benediction, the Lord's Supper, and ect.). Your church should take the time periodically to explain why you do certain things a certain way. Churches should also strive to be welcoming churches to those who are on the outside. Churches need not be "seeker-friendly, but non-Christian sensible."Finally, churches should be multiple communities. When a community grows so large that communal life becomes difficult, it should branch off and begin a new community, divided, and based upon location of its congregants.

Conclusion: It's all about the gospel

A church should base all its function around the spread of the gospel. I also recently have seen this theme come up often as something new/flesh within books (e.g. David Platt's Radical). I do not believe that these authors are trying to make this come across as something new, but that they are confronting a great deal of churches which do not base all churches activities/practices around the spreading of the gospel. I pray that churches would take the warnings from these books and re-evaluate why their churches have their programs and do their activities.

Book Reflections

The book is setup in a Sunday-School type booklet format, which is great for groups to devote a week to discussing each topic. There are questions at the end of each chapter for groups to further develop/ think through the author's concept within each chapter. Each chapter's theme is rooted in a biblical text or multiple texts which the authors require you to read at the beginning of each lesson. The questions alone are worth buying the book. There are not many books out that challenge you to think through the location of the church when you are considering buying a house. How often do people think about the traveling distance of a house they are buying from the location of the church that they attend? The questions are very pointed and very convicting. The section on community is something that I think is very much needed and neglected within churches of our day. There seems to be a reformation occurring within the church currently in regards to doctrine (my personal opinion), but there is a lack of reformation in community occurring at the same time. The church as a whole is starting to get their theology correct, but neglecting community. As a result we are starting to know the right things, but failing to know each other. I think this book is a refreshing challenge to a generation which has neglected the people in its church for programs and growth methods. The only thing that I did not whole heartedly agree with the authors of the book on was their minimalistic view of the church. I think if I could speak with them personally or hear them explain their view further, we may agree, but from what is explained within the book I wasn't fully comfortable with what was said (I am leaving this open because the purpose of the chapter was not to give a full blown doctrine of the church, but to challenge the readers understanding of what is bare essentials of a church). The book is very inexpensive and a simple/short read. Buy 10 copies of this book and go through it with your elders or a small group within your church. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

~The Reformed Reader~

I had a huge stack of material and I was going to write some of our own 'gospel-centered' material and I ran across this. Just what the doctor ordered and we are looking forward to going through this series in our house church network... Highly recommend it...

This book is a light Bible study through some principles of being a Gospel Centered church. It was easy to read and definitely worth reading. I have enjoyed learning from Steve Timmis and Tim Chester. Although this book is not going to have lengthy defenses of certain points since it is a short book, this is still a great thought provoking book. For more I would look into Total Church by the same authors.