The First Mark: The Preaching of Pure Doctrine
Paul wrote to Timothy: 'What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also' (2 Timothy 2:2).
One of the challenges that we often face, in the now splintered Protestant wing of the church, is that of subjectivity. It is the problem that Paul described in 2 Corinthians 10:12, 'Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding'.
If I were to ask a fellow minister or a church member if pure doctrine was being preached in their church, how do you think they would answer? Very rarely would anyone put their 'hand in the air' and admit that it could be a possibility in their situation, that pure doctrine was absent or defective. Why? Well, let me press the point further and ask a second question. On what basis do you measure, as to whether a church preaches pure doctrine? How would you answer? Most commonly there is little or no guardrail against error in evangelical churches, therefore a subjective independent assessment has entered the church unknowingly, through a side-door.
Let me address five issues to ensure that a church is preaching pure doctrine.
1. Is the church committed to preaching?
It can no longer be taken for granted that a church is even committed to the act of preaching in today's morass of confusion within evangelicalism. It was reported to me recently that in a Christian Centre in Sheffield (notice that they have dropped the use of the word church, which is often an indication that they have departed from the Bible), that the preacher, who is more of a business-motivation speaker, spoke on a fashion-item of clothing. He made no reference to the Bible. At this point any sane professing Christian needs to leave that 'Centre' and find a proper church, one that is free from soulish entertainment.
A common indicator that a church has departed from soundness is often their room layout. Does the church have a pulpit? Commonly, the music band now takes centre stage and the preaching has to be done using a music stand. This can be a tell-tale sign that preaching is being down-graded. Another common error is that the man being introduced as being about to preach, is instead described as being about to 'share God's word'. Those who are called by God must preach and herald the truth of God and not share!
2. Does the church have a detailed reformed confession of faith?
After the end of World War II, the church had been ravaged by liberalism. As a result churches had to come together to confirm their commitment to the inerrancy of scripture and they often declared that they held to the basics of the Christian faith. Perhaps nine or ten points on the Trinity, the deity of Christ, baptism and the Second Coming of Christ, for example. While this may have been a good response to liberalism, it is insufficient for a church to be founded on apostolic doctrine using such basic points. Every church needs a solid reformed confession of faith!
How else can we measure the content of the message being preached without a rich confession of faith? How can we train men for the ministry without such a commitment to the apostles' doctrine? For all of the magisterial reformers such as Calvin, Farel, Luther, Bullinger and so, it would have been unthinkable to have a pure church without a proper confession of faith. The evangelical church in the UK must return to her Protestant roots, if we are to have a real and lasting work of reformation.
3. Are the preachers being trained to handle the pure doctrines of scripture?
I think that the previous answer makes the answer to this question self-explantory. I personally pray for a confessional presbyterian seminary in England and may you join with me in prayer for this. If this is something that resonates with you, then let us collectively join together in prayer, and let us see what our God will do.
4. Are Reformed Confessions and Church Creeds living documents for the elders and church members?
This point has to be mentioned also. A church may be committed to historic creeds and confessions of faith but it may be so, only nominally. Every generation needs to return to the first principles of the faith. A Lutheran minister in Berlin recently described the problem of the lack of doctrinal knowledge in churches in the West. We need ministers, elders and deacons, and church members, who are committed to the joy of the doctrines of the Christian faith.
5. Does the love of God pervade the preaching of the gospel?
This may not seem obvious but it is extremely important. It is not enough to have pure doctrine but pure doctrine must be preached in the love of God, otherwise it is not biblical. Listen to John the Apostle: 'Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him' (1 John 4:7-9).
I sincerely hope that this blog is helpful for us to begin to critically analyse our situation within evangelicalism. I have stated for years that the first step to solving a problem is to recognise that there is indeed a problem in the first place. May we pray for a recovery of the first mark of the church in it's fulness in our generation.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
The Marks of the Church (Part 2)
The Reformers’ Definition of a True Church
One of the earliest recorded definitions of the church is derived from the Apostle’s
Creed, and Christians everywhere have long confessed the belief in a ‘holy catholic
church’ and the ‘communion of the saints.’ The Nicene Creed (381) similarly
established the trinitarian faith and affirms that ‘[we believe] in one holy and catholic, apostolic church.’ This confession provided a framework for what became known as the church’s four attributes. These are unity, holiness, catholicity (universal in relation to the whole) and apostolicity (the apostolic faith and gospel) and this became the norm for the ancient and mediaeval church.
At the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had exclusively claimed these four attributes for itself institutionally, and in response to charges of schism, the Reformers sought to distinguish between a true and false church. Edmund P. Clowney observes that ‘for Luther and Calvin, the preaching of the apostolic gospel defined the true church’ but they also ‘continued to affirm the attributes from the Nicene Creed’ (Edmund P. Clowney, The Church, Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995, pp 92, 101). Two primary marks (notae) were identified by these magisterial Reformers as the distinguishing outward characteristics that make a church a true church.
Calvin’s hugely influential Institutes expressed the view that these marks
apply to visible, individual churches as opposed to the invisible and universal
church (John Calvin, Institutes, 4: 1: 4 and 9, pp 1016, 1023). He states that ‘wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution, there it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists' (John Calvin, Institutes, 4: 1: 9, p 1023. The French Confession of Faith, XVIII, which Calvin prepared in 1559 also states the same two distinguishing marks).
Debate has continued concerning the attempt to discern where the lines should be drawn between falsity and purity and Calvin himself was undoubtedly aware of this complexity. He was prepared to allow for a measure of error but warns: ‘As soon as falsehood breaks into the citadel of religion and the sum of necessary doctrine is overturned and the use of the sacraments is destroyed, surely the death of the church follows—just as a man’s life is ended when his throat is pierced or his heart mortally wounded.’
For Luther as well as for Calvin, the two marks that define a true church are the preaching of pure doctrine and the administration of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper). (Benjamin Charles Milner, ‘The Marks of the Church’ in Calvin’s Doctrine of the Church, Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1970, pp 99-133.)
It is clear that Paul had an all-consuming concern for the church to be well-ordered as his letter to Titus teaches. The church is to be governed by godly and qualified elders, who teach sound doctrine so that the church rests upon a sound foundation. Titus 1:5, 'This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—' and 2:1 'But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine'.
One of the earliest recorded definitions of the church is derived from the Apostle’s
Creed, and Christians everywhere have long confessed the belief in a ‘holy catholic
church’ and the ‘communion of the saints.’ The Nicene Creed (381) similarly
established the trinitarian faith and affirms that ‘[we believe] in one holy and catholic, apostolic church.’ This confession provided a framework for what became known as the church’s four attributes. These are unity, holiness, catholicity (universal in relation to the whole) and apostolicity (the apostolic faith and gospel) and this became the norm for the ancient and mediaeval church.
At the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had exclusively claimed these four attributes for itself institutionally, and in response to charges of schism, the Reformers sought to distinguish between a true and false church. Edmund P. Clowney observes that ‘for Luther and Calvin, the preaching of the apostolic gospel defined the true church’ but they also ‘continued to affirm the attributes from the Nicene Creed’ (Edmund P. Clowney, The Church, Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995, pp 92, 101). Two primary marks (notae) were identified by these magisterial Reformers as the distinguishing outward characteristics that make a church a true church.
Calvin’s hugely influential Institutes expressed the view that these marks
apply to visible, individual churches as opposed to the invisible and universal
church (John Calvin, Institutes, 4: 1: 4 and 9, pp 1016, 1023). He states that ‘wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution, there it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists' (John Calvin, Institutes, 4: 1: 9, p 1023. The French Confession of Faith, XVIII, which Calvin prepared in 1559 also states the same two distinguishing marks).
Debate has continued concerning the attempt to discern where the lines should be drawn between falsity and purity and Calvin himself was undoubtedly aware of this complexity. He was prepared to allow for a measure of error but warns: ‘As soon as falsehood breaks into the citadel of religion and the sum of necessary doctrine is overturned and the use of the sacraments is destroyed, surely the death of the church follows—just as a man’s life is ended when his throat is pierced or his heart mortally wounded.’
For Luther as well as for Calvin, the two marks that define a true church are the preaching of pure doctrine and the administration of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper). (Benjamin Charles Milner, ‘The Marks of the Church’ in Calvin’s Doctrine of the Church, Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1970, pp 99-133.)
It is clear that Paul had an all-consuming concern for the church to be well-ordered as his letter to Titus teaches. The church is to be governed by godly and qualified elders, who teach sound doctrine so that the church rests upon a sound foundation. Titus 1:5, 'This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—' and 2:1 'But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine'.
Monday, 6 August 2012
The Marks of a True Church: Part 1
There is perhaps no more urgent subject than this at the present time in the United Kingdom. From my vantage point it seems that there is often so much confusion as to how the church should function. Our chief concern is the honour and glory of our God but also the well-being and the spiritual care of Christians. In every generation we need to come back to first principles. The rule of faith and practice for the church can be no other than the Holy Spirit speaking in Scripture. Is the teaching of Scripture the rule for how you understand the church?
I intend this to be a mini-series of blogs on this subject. I am part of the church planting committee for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales. Often I make the comment that 'I am not interested in planting churches ... but I am interested in planting the right kinds of churches'. These are churches who are committed to the three marks of a true church.
Do you know what the three marks of a true church are?
They are:
1. The preaching of pure doctrine
2. The right administration of the sacraments (these are baptism and the Lord's Supper)
3. Church discipline; a church needs to be well ordered.
While this is an obvious question for those who know something of church history, it is not commonly taught among Christians in the UK today. Why is this the case? Well if Christians were better informed then they would and could legitimately begin to ask searching questions for their own church's practice. If Christians in the UK were asked today, 'what are the marks of a church?', how would they answer? It would probably include the following:
A contemporary worship band
A lively and relevant talk that addresses my needs
Friendly fellowship
A good range of programmes for the children
Somewhere close to where I live
Lots of opportunities for me to use my gifts
An evangelistic or missional vision
These ideas may sound attractive but do they measure up to Scripture? The answer to solving a problem is often-times to simply get people to recognise that there is a problem in the first place. This blog post sets the 'ball rolling'. Until I write the next blog post a good piece of homework for further study is John Calvin's Institutes, Book 4, Chapters 1-5.
And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church. Colossians 1:18.
I intend this to be a mini-series of blogs on this subject. I am part of the church planting committee for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales. Often I make the comment that 'I am not interested in planting churches ... but I am interested in planting the right kinds of churches'. These are churches who are committed to the three marks of a true church.
Do you know what the three marks of a true church are?
They are:
1. The preaching of pure doctrine
2. The right administration of the sacraments (these are baptism and the Lord's Supper)
3. Church discipline; a church needs to be well ordered.
While this is an obvious question for those who know something of church history, it is not commonly taught among Christians in the UK today. Why is this the case? Well if Christians were better informed then they would and could legitimately begin to ask searching questions for their own church's practice. If Christians in the UK were asked today, 'what are the marks of a church?', how would they answer? It would probably include the following:
A contemporary worship band
A lively and relevant talk that addresses my needs
Friendly fellowship
A good range of programmes for the children
Somewhere close to where I live
Lots of opportunities for me to use my gifts
An evangelistic or missional vision
These ideas may sound attractive but do they measure up to Scripture? The answer to solving a problem is often-times to simply get people to recognise that there is a problem in the first place. This blog post sets the 'ball rolling'. Until I write the next blog post a good piece of homework for further study is John Calvin's Institutes, Book 4, Chapters 1-5.
And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church. Colossians 1:18.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Students Looking for a Church in Sheffield
To all students coming to Sheffield,
Sheffield Presbyterian Church would like to welcome students who are coming to Sheffield to study.
Our worship services are at 11.00am and 4.00pm. Our meeting place is at The Source which is near Meadowhall Shopping Centre and there is a tram stop right outside. It is the Tinsley/Meadowhall South stop.
Our website is: www.sheffieldpres.org.uk
We look forward to meeting you,
Kevin Bidwell
Minister
Sheffield Presbyterian Church would like to welcome students who are coming to Sheffield to study.
Our worship services are at 11.00am and 4.00pm. Our meeting place is at The Source which is near Meadowhall Shopping Centre and there is a tram stop right outside. It is the Tinsley/Meadowhall South stop.
Our website is: www.sheffieldpres.org.uk
We look forward to meeting you,
Kevin Bidwell
Minister
Monday, 2 July 2012
Setting our Sights on Heaven: Why It’s Hard and Why It’s Worth It, by Paul D. Wolfe
Paul D. Wolfe
Banner of Truth, Edinburgh, 2011, 194pp, paperback.
ISBN: 978 1 84871 143 3
Setting our Sights on Heaven. What a marvelous subject to be writing on as a Christian author! Sinclair Ferguson in his ‘Foreword’ is sadly right, when he accurately diagnoses a problem faced by many contemporary churches. He writes: ‘We are inexperienced in breathing in heavenly air. But the soul that has breathed in heaven’s joyful passion for the glory of God senses more and more just how abnormal, fallen, and distorted this-world-focused life has become’ (xi).
The subject matter of this book makes for compelling reading. The work is structured in two parts: Part 1, ‘The World to Come’ and Part 2, ‘The Cure for What Ails Us’. Chapter Two, ‘Show Me the Way To Go Home’ is particularly useful, to help those who fear death, so that they can be comforted with the sure promise of the Christian’s future hope, ‘life on the new earth’ (43). Chapter Three ‘Set Your Minds’, could pastorally help us all, to become re-orientated upon the goal of our faith. This chapter emphasises the exhortation of Peter the apostle, to ‘set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:13).
There are two comments that can be made to perhaps improve the readability of this project. Firstly, I could not help but think that this book came across as a systematic theology of the doctrine of heaven. This is not wrong in itself, but the material could have been arranged differently. Secondly, the book would have been greatly enhanced if it had included a chapter which expounded the last two chapters of the Bible: Revelation Chapters 21 and 22. In this section of scripture we encounter the ‘heavenly air’ at it’s freshest.
Even if you do not read this book, may you be gripped anew with a vision of heaven,as John the apostle was, on the Isle of Patmos. ‘And I saw no temple in the city, for it’s temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and it’s lamp is the Lamb’ (Rev. 21:22-23).
Banner of Truth, Edinburgh, 2011, 194pp, paperback.
ISBN: 978 1 84871 143 3
Setting our Sights on Heaven. What a marvelous subject to be writing on as a Christian author! Sinclair Ferguson in his ‘Foreword’ is sadly right, when he accurately diagnoses a problem faced by many contemporary churches. He writes: ‘We are inexperienced in breathing in heavenly air. But the soul that has breathed in heaven’s joyful passion for the glory of God senses more and more just how abnormal, fallen, and distorted this-world-focused life has become’ (xi).
The subject matter of this book makes for compelling reading. The work is structured in two parts: Part 1, ‘The World to Come’ and Part 2, ‘The Cure for What Ails Us’. Chapter Two, ‘Show Me the Way To Go Home’ is particularly useful, to help those who fear death, so that they can be comforted with the sure promise of the Christian’s future hope, ‘life on the new earth’ (43). Chapter Three ‘Set Your Minds’, could pastorally help us all, to become re-orientated upon the goal of our faith. This chapter emphasises the exhortation of Peter the apostle, to ‘set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:13).
There are two comments that can be made to perhaps improve the readability of this project. Firstly, I could not help but think that this book came across as a systematic theology of the doctrine of heaven. This is not wrong in itself, but the material could have been arranged differently. Secondly, the book would have been greatly enhanced if it had included a chapter which expounded the last two chapters of the Bible: Revelation Chapters 21 and 22. In this section of scripture we encounter the ‘heavenly air’ at it’s freshest.
Even if you do not read this book, may you be gripped anew with a vision of heaven,as John the apostle was, on the Isle of Patmos. ‘And I saw no temple in the city, for it’s temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and it’s lamp is the Lamb’ (Rev. 21:22-23).
Monday, 18 June 2012
Post-modernism in Western Society: "I feel, therefore I am".
The dominant worldview at the present time in England, but also in the Western world is called post-modernism. Post-modernism began around the 1960's as a reaction to the rather arrogant claims of absolute knowledge by the modernists. Modernity reached it's climax, which was the 'age of reason'. One of the quantum shifts was probably from a mindset that confessed "I think, therefore I am" to "I feel, therefore I am".
Absolute facts gave way to the highest authority in post-modernism which is the opinion of the individual. No one person is right, we all have a view and though it is subjective, it must be expressed. All opinions are equally valid, protests the post-modern person. This produces a reaction and disdain of authority, of moral absolutes and political correctness is the order of the day. Tolerance is the new anthem. However, there is a problem. The Achilles' heel of post-modernism is that it is itself extremely intolerant of absolute truth. This leaves post-modernity in a dilemma.
Why is this? The Lord Jesus Christ made absolute claims such as His uniqueness and therefore Jesus is intolerant of the claims of other religions. Jesus Christ said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The Book of Acts presents a similar view of the early church as we read: 'And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved'. Christian's have often taken on a post-modern world view which is a form of worldliness and it is without people often realising it. Here are some examples of post-modernity.
1. Christian worship becomes an individual experience, often with the aid of Beatles' style music bands to facilitate the desired experience.
2. An in-built resistance to biblical authority structures develops. After all, everyone has an equally valid subjective idea and opinion. People just assume that their interpretation of matters is just as valid as those of a trained pastor, even when they are wrong.
3. Every individual needs to be aware of the advantages but also the dangers of using the internet, because we can find people online and instantly who will agree with us. This could cause us as Christians to simply seek people out who agree with us and we must remember that the internet and private study cannot substitute the church. This may not be a danger directly related to post-modernism but it can be. We all need to be aware of holding private interpretations which do not have a historic or confessional foundation ('Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation', 2 Peter 1:20).
4. In the realm of politics there develops a crisis of conscience because due to evolution and post-modernism there are no right and wrongs. Adultery becomes a life-choice and it is no longer called sin or declared to be wrong. This then contradicts the voice of God in the Ten Commandments.
5. Post-modernism looks down on history. What can history teach us when there is no God controlling things? History becomes a series of random events, and rather antiquated ones at that. Facts do not count, but the personal opinion of the interpreter becomes what really counts.
6. Modern art captures this prevailing thought. A piece of confused seemingly meaningless art is paraded in the world's art galleries and the question becomes: 'What does this art mean to you?'. One person says they can see a political uprising in a Salvadore Dali painting, another says 'I can see a whale', another cries 'It is a balloon'. All are right, because this style of art is intended to create an open-ended response.
7. Reformed confessions are not seen as necessary by Christians who have fallen prey to post-modernism. A post-modern Christian is excited about new ways of doing things and new interpretations of the Bible. Objective truth or the intended meaning of scripture is not the desire of a professing Christian who has been overcome by post-modernism, often unknowingly.
Let us consider how much this prevailing worldview has affected you. How does this impact your view of authority, the authority of the Scriptures, or the authority of God? In what way have you taken on a post-modern worldview without realising it? If you are a Christian, here is a prayer of David that you could pray.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!(Psalm 139:23-24).
Absolute facts gave way to the highest authority in post-modernism which is the opinion of the individual. No one person is right, we all have a view and though it is subjective, it must be expressed. All opinions are equally valid, protests the post-modern person. This produces a reaction and disdain of authority, of moral absolutes and political correctness is the order of the day. Tolerance is the new anthem. However, there is a problem. The Achilles' heel of post-modernism is that it is itself extremely intolerant of absolute truth. This leaves post-modernity in a dilemma.
Why is this? The Lord Jesus Christ made absolute claims such as His uniqueness and therefore Jesus is intolerant of the claims of other religions. Jesus Christ said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The Book of Acts presents a similar view of the early church as we read: 'And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved'. Christian's have often taken on a post-modern world view which is a form of worldliness and it is without people often realising it. Here are some examples of post-modernity.
1. Christian worship becomes an individual experience, often with the aid of Beatles' style music bands to facilitate the desired experience.
2. An in-built resistance to biblical authority structures develops. After all, everyone has an equally valid subjective idea and opinion. People just assume that their interpretation of matters is just as valid as those of a trained pastor, even when they are wrong.
3. Every individual needs to be aware of the advantages but also the dangers of using the internet, because we can find people online and instantly who will agree with us. This could cause us as Christians to simply seek people out who agree with us and we must remember that the internet and private study cannot substitute the church. This may not be a danger directly related to post-modernism but it can be. We all need to be aware of holding private interpretations which do not have a historic or confessional foundation ('Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation', 2 Peter 1:20).
4. In the realm of politics there develops a crisis of conscience because due to evolution and post-modernism there are no right and wrongs. Adultery becomes a life-choice and it is no longer called sin or declared to be wrong. This then contradicts the voice of God in the Ten Commandments.
5. Post-modernism looks down on history. What can history teach us when there is no God controlling things? History becomes a series of random events, and rather antiquated ones at that. Facts do not count, but the personal opinion of the interpreter becomes what really counts.
6. Modern art captures this prevailing thought. A piece of confused seemingly meaningless art is paraded in the world's art galleries and the question becomes: 'What does this art mean to you?'. One person says they can see a political uprising in a Salvadore Dali painting, another says 'I can see a whale', another cries 'It is a balloon'. All are right, because this style of art is intended to create an open-ended response.
7. Reformed confessions are not seen as necessary by Christians who have fallen prey to post-modernism. A post-modern Christian is excited about new ways of doing things and new interpretations of the Bible. Objective truth or the intended meaning of scripture is not the desire of a professing Christian who has been overcome by post-modernism, often unknowingly.
Let us consider how much this prevailing worldview has affected you. How does this impact your view of authority, the authority of the Scriptures, or the authority of God? In what way have you taken on a post-modern worldview without realising it? If you are a Christian, here is a prayer of David that you could pray.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!(Psalm 139:23-24).
Friday, 15 June 2012
Book Review: 'Everyday Church: Mission by Being Good Neighbours' by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester
Everyday Church: Mission by Being Good Neighbours
Tim Chester & Steve Timmis
Inter-Varsity Press, Nottingham, 2011, 197pp, paperback.
ISBN: 978 1 84474 520 3
Tim Chester and Steve Timmis appear to be carving out a popular brand of the church. However, their vision for ‘gospel communities’ amounts to a radical reshaping of traditional beliefs about the church. This latest printing moves beyond Total Church (2007) by presenting a myriad of more developed proposals for evangelism to be carried out by ‘missional churches’ (10, 51).
Everyday Church has seven chapters, and the Epistle of 1 Peter forms something of a spinal column throughout. It is not intended to be a commentary on 1 Peter, but rather a ‘dialogue with the first letter of Peter’ (11). The initial chapter ‘Life at the Margins’ offers a brisk analysis of the changing face of the UK, one that is a perceived to be a ‘post-Christendom context and culture’ (20-28). They should rightfully gain a sympathetic audience from any Christian who is concerned about the sad state of our nation. An evangelistic fervor shines through, one that is commendable, especially given that ‘70% of the UK population have no intention of attending a church service’ (28). Their analysis though, leads them to unfortunate conclusions which are unsupported by biblical exegesis and which should make people committed to reformed convictions nervous.
Chester and Timmis suggest in Chapter One that ‘Sunday morning in church is the one place where evangelism cannot take place in our generation because the lost are not there’ and that the ‘bedrock of mission will be ordinary life’ (31). The next chapter ‘Everyday Community’ places great stress on the development of gospel communities ‘with a commitment to being a family’, whereby Christians live as part of an ‘everyday community of grace’, which becomes for them, ‘God’s missionary strategy’ (64-6).
‘Everyday Pastoral Care’ (chapter 3) outlines that pastoral care is a community responsibility and that ‘we need to get away from the idea that “a minister” in the sense of an ordained church leader does gospel ministry in the pulpit on Sunday’ (79-80). The authors acknowledge that their suggested approach will mean that ‘we should be ready for mess and indeed welcome it’ (83). Perhaps this anticipated ‘mess’ is what the apostle Paul calls ‘confusion’ (1 Cor. 14:33). Paul suggests a different solution for ‘churches who are at the margins’, as he counsels the elders at Ephesus to ‘care for the church of God’ (Acts 20: 28).
In the remaining chapters, the authors recommend that we should drop our preoccupation with ‘church’ (99); it is the gospel communities where the main action of fellowship, evangelism and encouragement takes place, some of which do not meet on Sunday for worship at all (111, 122). For a book that is supposed to be about the church, there are a number of gaps. There is, for instance, little mention of the centrality of propositional preaching, the sacraments, the Lord’s Day, and the use of the moral law for sanctification. For those readers who desire a completely new approach to the way that we do church, it will be welcome: for those readers who are committed to the historic marks of a true church (preaching, sacraments and discipline), there will be any number of red flags raised.
Tim Chester & Steve Timmis
Inter-Varsity Press, Nottingham, 2011, 197pp, paperback.
ISBN: 978 1 84474 520 3
Tim Chester and Steve Timmis appear to be carving out a popular brand of the church. However, their vision for ‘gospel communities’ amounts to a radical reshaping of traditional beliefs about the church. This latest printing moves beyond Total Church (2007) by presenting a myriad of more developed proposals for evangelism to be carried out by ‘missional churches’ (10, 51).
Everyday Church has seven chapters, and the Epistle of 1 Peter forms something of a spinal column throughout. It is not intended to be a commentary on 1 Peter, but rather a ‘dialogue with the first letter of Peter’ (11). The initial chapter ‘Life at the Margins’ offers a brisk analysis of the changing face of the UK, one that is a perceived to be a ‘post-Christendom context and culture’ (20-28). They should rightfully gain a sympathetic audience from any Christian who is concerned about the sad state of our nation. An evangelistic fervor shines through, one that is commendable, especially given that ‘70% of the UK population have no intention of attending a church service’ (28). Their analysis though, leads them to unfortunate conclusions which are unsupported by biblical exegesis and which should make people committed to reformed convictions nervous.
Chester and Timmis suggest in Chapter One that ‘Sunday morning in church is the one place where evangelism cannot take place in our generation because the lost are not there’ and that the ‘bedrock of mission will be ordinary life’ (31). The next chapter ‘Everyday Community’ places great stress on the development of gospel communities ‘with a commitment to being a family’, whereby Christians live as part of an ‘everyday community of grace’, which becomes for them, ‘God’s missionary strategy’ (64-6).
‘Everyday Pastoral Care’ (chapter 3) outlines that pastoral care is a community responsibility and that ‘we need to get away from the idea that “a minister” in the sense of an ordained church leader does gospel ministry in the pulpit on Sunday’ (79-80). The authors acknowledge that their suggested approach will mean that ‘we should be ready for mess and indeed welcome it’ (83). Perhaps this anticipated ‘mess’ is what the apostle Paul calls ‘confusion’ (1 Cor. 14:33). Paul suggests a different solution for ‘churches who are at the margins’, as he counsels the elders at Ephesus to ‘care for the church of God’ (Acts 20: 28).
In the remaining chapters, the authors recommend that we should drop our preoccupation with ‘church’ (99); it is the gospel communities where the main action of fellowship, evangelism and encouragement takes place, some of which do not meet on Sunday for worship at all (111, 122). For a book that is supposed to be about the church, there are a number of gaps. There is, for instance, little mention of the centrality of propositional preaching, the sacraments, the Lord’s Day, and the use of the moral law for sanctification. For those readers who desire a completely new approach to the way that we do church, it will be welcome: for those readers who are committed to the historic marks of a true church (preaching, sacraments and discipline), there will be any number of red flags raised.
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