Customer Reviews

What Is a Healthy Church? (IX Marks) (9 Marks of a Healthy Church)

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I spoke to Mark Dever just about a year ago and asked him if there were any new books in his future. At that time he mentioned that he'd soon have a book out dealing with personal evangelism but that he had nothing planned after that. It seems that his plans changed! The book on evangelism is due for release in just a few days (September 11). It has been preceded by What is a Healthy Church and will be followed by The Church and Her Challenges. What is a Healthy Church? is a shortened, introductory version of Dever's previous book 9 Marks of a Healthy Church written primarily for people in the pews rather than the men in the pulpits. After all, church health is not the sole responsibility of a local church's leadership. "If you call yourself a Christian but you think a book about healthy churches is a book for church leaders or maybe for those `theological types,' while you would rather read books about the church life, it may be time to stop and consider again exactly what the Bible says a Christian is." Said even more forcefully, "you and all the members of your church, Christian, are finally responsible before God for what your church becomes, not your pastors and other leaders--you." Despite this, we might rightly ask, How many Christians have ever read a book about church health?

If you are familiar with Mark Dever's ministry you know that he can be provocative, though always in a sanctified way. This book is no exception. Consider this, a portion of a short anecdote he shares: "If you call yourself a Christian but you are not a member of the church you regularly attend, I worry that you might be going to hell." Why would Dever extend such a warning and do so at the beginning of the book? "I want [the reader] to see something of the urgency of the need for a healthy local church in the Christian's life and to begin sharing the passion for the church that characterizes both Christ and his followers." Church health and church membership really are that important.

The book falls into three parts. In the first, Dever answers the question of "What is a healthy church," ultimately defining it as "a congregation that increasingly reflects God's character as his character has been revealed in his Word." In the second part he looks at the first few of the nine marks of a healthy church, defining three of them as essential: expositional preaching, biblical theology, and a biblical understanding of the Good News. In the final part he looks at the remaining six "important" marks, which are: a biblical understanding of conversion, a biblical understanding of evangelism, a biblical understanding of membership, biblical church discipline, biblical discipleship and growth, and biblical church leadership. Those who have read 9 Marks of a Healthy Church will recognize parts two and three as a summary of nine chapters of that earlier book.

My wife and I have been members of an unhealthy church in the past (though, thankfully, we are now privileged to be members of a distinctly healthy church) and I suppose the one thing I would wonder about a book like this is how likely it is to make its way into churches that may need it most! After all, pastors of unhealthy churches will certainly not be likely to commend it to the members. In a few locations, and most notably at the end, Dever urges caution to those who are members of unhealthy churches, urging them to proceed carefully and biblically in trying to bring about change. "Pray, serve, encourage, set a good example in your own life, and be patient. A healthy church is less about a place that looks a certain way, and more about a people who love in the right way." This is a valuable charge and one that clearly proceeds from a pastor's heart.

What is a Healthy Church? is a valuable little book and one I hope is widely distributed and widely read. Churches that truly seek to be healthy should be glad to distribute this among its members and to discuss it. I think it could make a valuable title for study. Those who truly desire church health have nothing to fear from it, and certainly a lot to gain.

In Mark Dever's remarkable style, this small text is both poignant and concise, delivering a remarkable amount of information in a credible and easily digestable way. He writes from experience, often giving personal examples, but also from a heart focused on a Christian vision grounded in biblical truths. There are excellent principles stated with motivational certainty of God's church alive and well when His followers are obedient and worship and work together in a covenantal relationship. Mark Dever has other more intense and well-developed books on church life and integrity, but this one is a gem and an easy "starter course."

This book is essentially a condensed version of "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever - Pastor of a Large Conservative Baptist Church in Washington D.C. What makes this book valuable is the concise presentation of the nine practices that make for a healthy church. It is a good resource for a church staff, elder board, deacon board, or small group to go through. I used it to teach through the "nine marks" in an adult Sunday school class in the church where I am the senior pastor.

The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church are as Follows:

1) Expository Preaching
2) Biblical Theology
3) A Biblical Understanding of the Good News
4) A Biblical Understanding of Conversion
5) A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
6) A Biblical Understanding Membership
7) Biblical Church Discipline
8) Biblical Discipleship and Growth
9) Biblical Church Leadership

I think that any church that focuses on these areas is going to be pretty solid. However, it doesn't guarantee health. I think character and emotional health come into play as well - e.g. - 1 Corinthians 13 talks about love being an essential quality of the church; also, many churches have good doctrine, infrastructure, and do all the above, but live in a false peace (see Peter Scazzero's - The Emotionally Healthy Church).

Overall, I recommend this little book as an introductory primer as a good evaluation tool, containing specific areas for local churches to have a good "check list" of ideas and practices to shoot for as they seek to be more Biblical in what they do when they gather together as a local church body. For more detail then what Dever writes in this book - I would recommend the slightly larger book - Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.

Take Mark Dever's The Deliberate Church and 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, condense them down to their core ideas, and you have What is a Healthy Church? This small book (128 pages) published by Crossway serves as a splendid introduction to Dever's practical insights into the reformation of the evangelical church.

What is a Healthy Church is divided into three sections. The first focuses on the biblical vision of church - a people, not a place - a family, a fellowship, a body - and the people through whom God's glory is most brilliantly displayed. Dever emphasizes the importance of commitment, church membership, and theological integrity.

The second section lists three essential marks of a church. These are the marks that Dever claims must never be compromised. He considers expositional preaching, biblical theology, and a biblical understanding of the gospel as the three core elements that are essential to church health.

The third section lists six other marks of a healthy church (though he calls these "important" rather than "essential.") These marks are a biblical understanding of conversion, of evangelism, of membership, biblical church discipline, discipleship and growth, as well as biblical leadership.

Dever warns his readers to not abandon weak or struggling churches and their ministries too quickly. He offers "quick tips" for those who consider leaving their church. His tips include prayer, motivation-checking, reconcilation, and an emphasis on humility. Dever also gives sound advice to those who do leave a church, passionately pleading for unity and forgiveness instead of schism and heartache.

Throughout the book, Dever weaves personal testimony and memorable illustrations into the text in order to elucidate his argument and to keep the book light and practical. Though Dever makes some weighty statements, this book can be read quickly and with relative ease. Busy pastors might be inclined to pick this book up before trying Dever's other, longer works.

I enjoyed this book despite having listened to the 9 marks series. I found it to be just the right size to use as a sort of handbook or to give to someone considering a church situation or looking for a church. The content is solidly planted in the Bible & concisely & clearly presented.

Dever's first book on the subject of local church health was 'Nine Marks of a Healthy Church'. But following its success, Dever revamped it into the more lay friendly title, 'What is a healthy church?' I would recommend starting with the later book and then moving to the longer earlier title if you're still hungry.

In his books Dever believes that there are three essential marks of a healthy church:
(i) expositional preaching;
(ii) Biblical theology;
(iii) a Biblical understanding of the good news.

Then Dever adds that there are six important marks of a healthy church:
(i) a Biblical understanding of conversion;
(ii) a Biblical understanding of evangelism;
(iii) a Biblical understanding of membership;
(iv) Biblical church discipline;
(v) Biblical discipleship and growth;
(vi) Biblical church leadership.

This is not to suggest that the many things you would expect to find in churches shouldn't be there, e.g. prayer. But Dever's lists are meant to be diagnostic of when a church might be unhealthy, not a comprehensive list of what makes a local church in general.

Bottom line is that if you love Jesus, then you must also love his bride. And the best way to love his bride is by keeping her healthy. And thankfully Dever gives us a great deal of good advice as to how go about the task.

I heard Mark Dever in person in October of 2010 and he gave me/us (other pastors) a copy of the book. I believe that there are better written books, at times it became a slow read for me, but what is critical is that he addresses the key issues of what a healthy church is and defines them very well. Because of its accurate brevity, and the fact that I agree with him. I ordered copies for our entire Elder board to read and review.

One thing that struck me the first time I had opportunity to encounter Mark Dever was "this guy thinks a LOT deeper than I usually do." I'm glad that he does, because it's given him the opportunity to develop what he calls the "9 Marks of a Healthy Church." On my shelves I can find both a booklet and an expanded book by that title. This little book is the replacement for the booklet in introducing people to Dever's brainchild 9 Marks Ministries.

The book itself is divided into three parts--the definition of a healthy church; then two parts dealing with the nine marks--three of which are described as "essential" (if one or more of them are missing, your church is probably not really healthy), and six remaining marks that are designated as "important" (desired, and expected in healthy churches, but not essential--these are marks that will develop as the church grows spiritually).

For the most part Dever, keeps the material flowing, and writes on a level for most readers to follow. At other times, he slips into his academic mode and will leave the unsuspecting reader behind. My advice--bear with him. He is working diligently to remain faithful to Scripture, and you'll catch back up in a few pages. There are occasions in the reading that some will disagree with Dever's conclusions--which is okay, but disagreement will still cause the reader to do two things (at least that is the author's desire): think more intently about what they believe (and why it varies from Dever's viewpoint), and study more Scripture to find the foundation for their beliefs.

This is a good little introduction to church life. You should read it. (four out of five reading glasses)

--Benjamin Potter, August 31, 2010

What Is a Healthy Church? by Mark Dever

Everyone who is a part of a church family has an opinion about what is necessary for a church to be healthy. Unfortunately, there are probably more unhealthy churches than healthy churches in our culture. Mark Dever, Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and Executive Director of 9Marks, provides a clear, Bibical picture in answering the question, What is a healthy church?

In three helpful sections, Dever answers in full the question articulated in the title. Part 1 provides a motivation for being a healthy church - to be a reflection of God's character! Part 2 reveals three essential marks of a healthy church. These are non-negotiable commitments that a healthy church must make. Finally Part 3 identifies seven important marks that are often found in healthy churches. Another feature Dever includes is a "Quick Tips" section at the conclusion of each chapter. These tips provide great counsel on topics such as, If You're Thinking about Leaving a Church, How to Find a Good Church, and more.

This is a fantastic read! Dever writes in a manner that is ideal for both pastors and laity within the church. His counsel is doctrinally sound and challenging. I highly recommend this book. I give What is a Healthy Church five stars.

The perspectives provided in the book are quite useful for ministry development. The author asks challenging questions throughout which will 'rattle' quite a few world views. But this is all healthy and even necessary in the "Post Christian" era. People need to see the church, not religion. Also, the way we do church must constantly be evaluated in the light of a Christ-like life in our current circumstance, not how things have always been done, or what is easiest for us.