Charles

If I were a pastor at this moment, I would have our leadersread this book by Gary Gilley and the book by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert included in this review section and as I read those two books along with the session, I would personally read Al Baker’s book mentioned in this section as well. Why these books? Because the church is not doing too well today, at least the “institutional church” as we know it. The sad thing is that while many of the leaders are concerned and are frantically trying to fix the leak before the water supply dries up, they are often using the wrong materials which further complicate the problem.

The truth is that God placed the church, the heart of his kingdom, here with a purpose, design, and assignment. He did not intend to let the world determine those things. The church is his body, his bride, his people. He created the church to be among other things but especially, “the ground and pillar of truth.” What makes that so difficult today is we are living at a time when the concept of truth is not very clear because the emphasis is not on God but man. This means that truth, if there is such a thing, is man’s to determine. This is how it tends to play out with no absolute measure or standard whereby general agreement regarding truth can be achieved.

Though we are living in an age often referred to as one of cultural relevance yet there seems to be an innate awareness of standards. Even those claiming that things are relative and may differ for different people in different circumstances, yet, there is an awareness that things such as murder, human injustice, insensitivity to peoples’ needs are wrong.

How often the god of this world, Satan, has blinded the eyes not only of the unbelievers but believers as well to God’s truth. The truth as it relates to this book’s topic is not about gimmicks, circuses, raffles, entertainment, and the like run by the church. The truth is about proclaiming God’s truth as he has revealed it in his book, the Bible.

The author has identified several areas in his attempt to call the church back to its reason for being, namely to proclaim, witness to, and teach the Word of God in a manner that lives will be transformed by the power of the Gospel.

A couple of examples will illustrate the point. Gilley refers to the seeker sensitive approach to how the church goes about its mission. Of course that refers to making your church have curb appeal in order to attract people. Now, no one of course would want the opposite but this tends to happen with this method of church ministry. How it is done, plays to the world’s agenda with truth either taking a back seat or for all practical purposes, or exiting the scene. He uses the most famous church in the U. S., the Willow Creek Church, who has used this model only to finally conclude that they have really failed in discipling the people. Their own surveys have shown that the thousands of people in their flock know very little about the Bible, doctrine, etc.

Then there are those who have bought into the pragmatic method of doing what works to grow the church. “If it works, it must be of God.” As long as the people are coming and filling the pews or chairs, it must be working. The problem with this approach to the church’s mission and ministry is that looks to the standard of pragmaticism vs. looking to Scripture. It looks good so it must be right.

Some churches are allowing themselves to be invaded by the spirit of paganism, generally not intentionally but without discernment. Many of the church’s methods of ministry reflect things characterized not by the Word of God but by pagan practices. This might be called by some, the “name it and claim it” mantra. Gilley refers to a book entitled The Secret by Rhonda Bryne, a book that has tremendously impacted Oprah Winfrey and her eclectic religious leanings, which teaches the “law of attraction.” If you think it, it will be. New Age spirituality is no stranger to the churches using Eastern mystical practices. This can often infiltrate through, art, music, silence, even people. You heard it! Get in touch with your feelings. Be real and authentic. It is all about experience. Eventually, God is quietly dismissed from the scene but when God leaves, so does his lampstand.

In the section in this book entitled “The Way Back,” Gilley calls the church to return to the Word of God, proclaiming, teaching, witnessing to, and living God’s word because that is God’s method carrying out the church’s mission. However following God’s method requires proclaiming and teaching about sin, death, and hell. It requires an ongoing awareness of the need for repentance and changing the way we think about life and reality. The church must help its people develop a deeper understanding, appreciation, application of God’s Word and this cannot be done using the world’s agenda, or accommodating the church’s life to the life the world around it. There is and should be even more, a concern that many people who are professing faith in Christ have no experience of conviction for sin and the need to repent. The whole truth of the Gospel is not being taught and we must remember that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

This Little Church Had None is a call for the church to return to God’s agenda and assignment in preaching and teaching the truth in a life transforming way. It appears that many Christians today are not challenged nor taught that without holiness of life, no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14), and if they are, it is generally a half truth, “O that is something God does. We do no have to do it.”We need this book’s challenge and reminder! It is Gilley’s third book in the series mentioned in earlier edition of Equip to Disciple, This Little Church Went to Market and This Little Church Stayed Home.

This book is the third included in the review books for this issue. They have a common theme or thread, each with a slightly different approach but generally reaching the same conclusion. Given the best case scenario of a very disconcerting reality, Allen Baker’s sub title refers to the “anemic church.” The church needs to be revived. It needs to recommit itself to lifting high the cross of Christ, proclaiming the whole Gospel to the Whole world, so that the truth of God will go forth and accomplish its purpose.

From all appearances one could easily conclude, if statistics communicate clearly, that the church is often getting in the way of God’s truth rather than being the instrument for proclaiming it. It has not always been that way. Baker suggests that the church of the western world is becoming more and more anemic and in need of a transfusion. Ministers are discouraged. Some are caught up in sin. Some have negative attitudes about the church and even God. Truth is not always a high a priority.

While this book is written for a wider audience, I suggest it is a challenge to pastors. It contains over 50 different topics ranging from election, predestination, apostasy, and extremism, to the purpose of suffering. Each topic is about two to three pages in length. The book can be read at one sitting, or used in connection with one’s regular devotions.

You will be aware of the author’s passion and heart for the truth of the whole Gospel, his love and concern for the church, plus his desire to see and be a part of a much needed revival. He says, “the western church is in big trouble. Most pastors I know are terribly discouraged in their ministries. So are their people.”

Each topic is written in a very readable and informative, as well as, challenging style. You will learn about the Bible and theology and Reformation and New England history. You will also hear the cry for an urgent need for prayer and preaching the whole truth of God which hopefully would revive the church and make her to be the “city on the hill” (following John Witherspoon’s description) that God intends her to be. In this book you will hear the plea for repentance for sin manifesting itself in changing the way you think which in turn determines the way you live or behave. Yes, our lifestyle does make a difference and seeing Christ as Lord in all of life, living with a kingdom world and life view perspective is the proper aim for Christian living.

In the lead article on the Kingdom misunderstood parts one and two, we have been suggesting that while the church is at the heart of the kingdom but is not as broad and wide as the kingdom, it has a unique role to play in making kingdom disciples. Sadly, not many churches have clearly come to grips with their mission within the kingdom. This causes the church to lose its focus, to become derailed, and extremely confused and frustrated regarding its role. Then there are those who believe that the church’s mission is determined by man and not God.

There are those who genuinely believe that the church’s primary role is to seek to have a social transforming role, or to become the champions for social justice, or the place where all energies and resources should be directed at what we call mercy ministries. What is the church and what is the church supposed to be and what is it to do? In working with church leaders over the years, particularly in strategic planning, it has not been unusual to find many of those churches struggling with those kinds of issues. What is our mission? We cannot do everything so what should we be doing? Those are often heard questions at those times.

Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert have tackled the assignment to come to grips with and define the church mission. DeYoung should be no stranger to you. He has written and we have reviewed some of his writings such as: Just Do Something, Why We Are Not Emergent, Why We Love the Church.

As the previous book by Gary Gilley suggests, so does this book— the church has and continues to be losing its focus or objective. It is being knocked of course, distracted, using its resources for some good things but things that are not necessarily what God has primarily assigned to the church. They write, “We’ve been arguing in this book that the mission of the church is best defined not by a charge to engage the world’s social structures in an effort to build the kingdom or join God in his work of remaking the world, but rather by the Great Commission that Jesus gave to his followers, just before his ascension-that is, verbal witness to him and the making of disciples.” In other words the primary mission of the church is through proclamation and teaching of the Word to make disciples. The church’s role is not changing culture but to preach and teach the Word of God to the end of making people to be more and more like Jesus.

The marks of the true church are not seen in the starting of hospitals, or running shelters for the homeless, or picketing or lobbying for social justice. While those may be things that Christians should do and support, that does not equate with defining the mission of the church. Proclamation, witness, and disciple making best define the church’s mission. Those must have priority and if some of the other things suggested above are included in the church’s life, referring to the institutional church, they must be justified as supporting its primary mission of disciplemaking.

That is what we are attempting to say in the lead article in this issue. God’s one kingdom with the church at the heart of it, is only effective as each part does its work. If Christians are to promote things like social justice, feeding the homeless, providing for the needy, they do so in the name of Christ, not the institutional church. They write, “if you think the church’s mission is to build a better, more just world, then of course the church must be involved, in some way or another, in increasing the social, economic, and political well-being of its city’s citizens…” but they go on to say, “If that is what you believe (regarding the church’s mission) then you’re actually defaulting on the mission if you are not doing things that work toward that goal.”

The real challenge comes is being willing to ask and answer these questions: what is the church’s mission? What will best further that mission? Is social transformation of the world the church’s assignment? Are there some good things that the church could do but maybe should not in light of its mission?

The challenge for church leadership, to use their words, is to keep the main thing the church’s main thing, and what is that? Making disciples, preaching Christ and him crucified, equipping the saints for their work in ministry both in and out of the church. D. A. Carson echoes my thoughts clearly, “This is the best one (referring to the church’s mission) if you are looking for sensible definitions, clear thinking, readable writing, and the ability to handle the Bible in more than proof-texting easy.”

Not only would this book be an excellent read for pastors and church leaders, its ten chapter layout would lend itself to a good book to read, study, and discuss with the adults in the church. It is really a book about Christian living as well as one that helps define and clarify the church’s mission. The truth is we cannot do every good thing that could be done and we want to do what God wants us to do and to do it well.

I was introduced to Herman Bavinck from my seminary theology class. That was amazing for at that time the seminary’s theology was quite eclectic-a bit of P.Tillich, R. Bultmann, K. Barth, and some John Calvin. We were assigned to read Bavinck’s Our Reasonable Faith. I had not heard of him at that time and not certain of his theology. However, reading that book quickly assured me that I was reading a biblically reformed Dutch Theologian of the highest caliber. I also found, as I was reading the class notes, syllabus, and other books by Cornelius Van Til, frequent references and quotations from Bavinck, I grew in my appreciation of him.

I have collected in my library over the years all the works of Bavinck translated into English and often refer to them. I was pleased when Baker Books published his four volumes. I was even more pleased when I learned of the abridged one volume version of the four. Realizing the tough economic situation facing us, I feel much freer to recommend this one volume in hopes that it will encourage our pastors and teachers to read, use, and refer to Bavinck regularly. The first chapter of the book,”Dogmatic Theology as a Science” is worth the entire book. It should be required reading for every seminary student and or at least by the Presbytery’s examining committee of its candidates for ordination. John Bolt and those who assisted him in this project are to be commended.

Having read of their intention in developing this abridgment, I have checked copy with the original four volumes and have found their efforts commendable. Dogmatic theology is simply another name for Systematic Theology which is as Bavinck says is the orderly study of the Christian faith and a summary of its truth content. He says, “the Reformation recognizes no truth other than that which is given on the authority of God in Holy Scripture.” But he further clarifies, “Church dogma is never identical with the absolute truth of God itself since the guidance of the Holy Spirit promised the church does not exclude the possibility of human error. At the same time, it is a mistake to devalue dogma itself as a temporary aberration from the pure essence of a non-dogmatic gospel as many modern theologians do.” One further quote to give you a sense of where Bavinck comes from, “For God to be knowable he must have revealed himself not only in deeds but also in words. The objective knowledge we need for dogmatic theology comes from divine revelation.” He goes on to underscore that such revelation is found in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. He says, “Religion and faith must precede theological reflection; the theologian must be a person of faith and the first theological step for a person of faith is to acknowledge revelation.”

I was asked by a seminary student several weeks ago who were my favorite theologians. I will list the ones I mentioned to him below. I cannot recommend this book too highly. It will be a magnificent book to own, read, study, and use in one’s personal spiritual growth, as well as in preaching and teaching the Word.

Being grateful to God for Herman Bavinck and the impact his writings have made on my life and ministry, I was pleased when my friend Ron Gleason, PCA pastor in Yorba Linda, Ca., Grace Presbyterian Church, wrote a biography on Bavinck. Gleason has written a delightfully scholarly and challenging biography of this man.

Bavinck was born 1854 in the Netherlands. He died in 1921. He succeeded Abraham Kuyper as professor of systematic theology at the Free University in Amsterdam in 1902. Gleason writes, “Bavinck was a theologian who sought to bring theology to the church of Jesus Christ. Even though he was well-acquainted with the various technical theologies and philosophies of his day, that did not deter him from writing many tracts and publications of a very spiritual nature. He contributed articles to many church publications and was a sought-after speaker and well-loved preacher.”

Especially because I attribute much to Bavinck for challenging me to thinkChristianly and for helping me understand the importance of having a Christian world and life view that is consistent with God’s truth, I am grateful to Ron Gleason for his many insights into the life and work of Herman Bavinck. He has written an in-depth warm and complete biography that will bless you as you read. This biography serves us quite well in furthering our understanding not only of Bavinck himself, but understanding the setting in which Bavinck lived and ministered.

[My answer to the seminary student mentioned above regarding my favorite theologians: John Calvin, Charles Hodge, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, Louis Berkhof, and more recently, Wayne Grudem, Robert Reymond, and Michael Horton.]

Nancy Pearcey, author of the best selling Total Truth, has produced another outstanding and timely book. Don’t let the main title keep you from reading the sub-title which really states the purpose of the book. If you are familiar with Total Truth, you know that Pearcey writes from the same world and life view perspective found in other writers such as Abraham Kuyper, Francis Schaeffer, Chuck Colson and others. She is a prolific writer with an unusual ability to understand the world, its ideologies, challenges, and the kinds of solutions Christians need to consider to have the influence of salt and light desperately needed in today’s world.Her brief introduction really underscores that last statement. The title is ‘Why Americans Hate Politics.’ As she develops this idea, especially reflecting the younger generation and their cynical attitudes about politics, she is most insightful. Her amazing ability to discern and explain the development of politics, especially in America, is merely an illustration or example of her understanding of culture in general. She begins by emphasizing how America is “no longer animated by a moral vision. It became purely pragmatic.”

As she reminds us of the political focus on “the common good,” she also raises a legitimate question of who can define or determine the public good? Therefore, if there is no public good, how can politicians carry out their purpose of doing what is in the best interest of the public good?

The book deals with the antithesis between religion and secularism. For example in the first part of the book, she eloquently explains how secularism has successfully separated facts and faith, thus creating a dualism that puts faith, religion, values, morals, and ethics in one realm and science, reason, facts, and logic in another. Of course this strikes at the heart of a Christian world and life view, a kingdom perspective. She states in the beginning, and demonstrates throughout the book, the two major world views reflected in the Enlightenment with reason, science, fact, and logic and the Romantic movement with its focus on faith and values. The rest of the book really shows how these two schools of thought have formed the foundation for modern secularism, though both go in different directions while operating on the same secularist foundation.

In understanding something of this development, we can better understand how liberalism, and especially liberal churches have and are failing to teach the totality of truth. The Bible as the source of truth and authority has been pushed aside and in some cases removed completely.

After going into depth throughout the book to show the impact and results of secularism and its dualistic approach to life in the area of art, movies, and culture in general, she reminds us of the challenge for Christians, people of the truth, who see Christianity as a total truth system, a way of life, a world view from a kingdom perspective. We must see ourselves as missionaries to our own cultue. Of course the church plays a major role in equipping people to live with a total Christian worldview.She raises an extremely penetrating and thought-provoking question using art as one main example, “How can the church nurture new generations of artist to give visual and verbal expression to a Christian worldview?”Saving Leonardo, like Total Truth, will challenge you to realize that Christianity, while emphasizing the relationship with the Triune God, as a total way of life, there can be no dualism for us.