Doing Church   

 

Yes, we are the church.  Here we'll examine how we "do church"

Recommended Resources

 

 

Affirmations & Denials, by Together for the Gospel (T4G)

It begins:

We are brothers in Christ united in one great cause – to stand together for the Gospel. We are convinced that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and marginalized in many churches and among many who claim the name of Christ. Compromise of the Gospel has led to the preaching of false gospels, the seduction of many minds and movements, and the weakening of the church’s Gospel witness..  [Read more: English, German]

 

 

 

The Cambridge Declaration, by The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

It begins:

Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith.  [read more]

Visit the 9 Marks web site

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church , by Mark Dever

You don't need to listen long to find someone--be in an author, a speaker, a pastor or a professional consultant--with at ten-point plan for increasing effectiveness and growth within your church. Unfortunately, the purpose of too many churches has fallen from glorifying God to growing larger.

Recognizing this problem, Pastor Mark Dever challenges you to recover what the church; instead, they focus on certain crucial aspects that have grown rare.  Whether you are a pastor, lay leader, or involved member of a congregation, you can help cultivate these biblical qualities in your church, bringing it new life and health for God's glory.  And as you work to reclaim the true purpose of the church, you will see and be part of all that God intended the body of Christ to be. [from the back cover]

"The future of biblical Christianity in the Western world is inextricably bound to the future of the local church.  Mark Dever knows this, and his Nine Marks of a Healthy Church is a biblical prescription for faithfulness."

J. Ligon Duncan III

Biblical Eldership--An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, by Alexander Strauch

This subject is vitally important to the local church, but unfortunately, it is often neglected or misunderstood.  The result is that persistent, crippling misconceptions hinder churches from practicing authentic biblical eldership.  Aimed primarily at churches or individuals seeking a clear understanding of the character and mandate of biblical eldership,  this book defines it as accurately as possible from Scripture. [from resources section in rear of book]

Alexander Strauch teaches four sessions on this topic at Desert Springs Church:

"Alexander Strauch has courageously not caved in to the pressures from contemporary culture or misguided evangelicals to become a 'gender bender' ..."

John MacArthur Jr.

First Presbyterian Church
Jackson, Mississippi

 

 Sermons by J. Ligon Duncan

Our brothers at First Presbyterian Church provide us with solidly biblical teachings crucial to the faithfulness and vitality of the body of Christ. The following links take you to FPC's web site where you can view and study the text of the message and/or download the free audio mp3 files.

Biblical Priorities in the Life of Our Church

Five Questions for Church Membership

 

Resource Library

Bethlehem Baptist Church
Minneapolis, MN

 Sermons by John Piper

Our brothers at Bethlehem Baptist Church and Desiring God ministries have provided the body of Christ some excellent teaching. The following list will take you to pages dedicated to the listed topic that contain sermon text and free mp3 downloads.

First Baptist Church
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile

What Is a Healthy Church Member? takes its cue from Mark Dever’s book What Is a Healthy Church?, which offered one definition of what a healthy church looks like biblically and historically. In this new work, pastor Thabiti Anyabwile attempts to answer the natural next question: “What does a healthy church member look like in the light of Scripture?” [Monergism Books page]

 

Articles on Eldership by Thabiti Anyabwile

"If you are thinking about what the Bible teaches about the leadership of the church, or if you have upcoming officer elections and you are wanting to inform both the candidates and the congregation of the qualifications of biblical eldership, then Thabiti Anyabwile has a treasure trove of useful information and wise counsel, here:" [J Ligon Duncan on the T4G blog]

Why We Love the Church

University Reformed Church
East Lansing, MI

Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

An attitude of indifference to the church has become tragically common within American Christianity. As a result, many people fail to make a solid commitment to congregational life and responsibility. The New Testament is clear – to love Christ is to love the church. Kevin and Ted provide a powerful word of correction, offering compelling arguments and a vision of church life that is not only convincing, but inspirational. This book will deepen your love of the church – and for Christ.” --R. Albert Mohler, President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Excerpts:

If Christians are interested in a Christianity free from doctrine, demands, and damnation, they aren't just sick of the church and its unflattering quirks; they're tired of the Christian faith altogether. (p. 87)

 

Being disliked by teenagers and twentysomethings is not our biggest problem. (p. 82)

 

Relationships are indispensable, but not enough. No matter what the teachers of tickling ears say, we do have rules to follow. Jesus didn't say if you love me you'll feel close to Me. He said if you love Me, you'll keep My commandments... (p 178)

 

It's possible the church needs to change. Certainly in some areas it does. But it's also possible we've changed--and not for the better. It's possible we no longer find joy in so great a salvation. It's possible our boredom and restlessness has less to do with the church and its doctrines and more to do with a growing coldness toward the love of God displayed in the sacrifice of His Son for our sins. (p. 225)

 

When Amos predicted a "famine" of "hearing the words of the Lord" (Amos 8:11) he wasn't thinking of the lack of personal conversations about Yahweh over a grande cup of goat's milk. He was thinking about the absence of God's appointed mouthpieces to declare His Word. If we lose preaching--the passionate, authoritative proclamation of God's message from God's man to God's People--we are losing more than a half hour talk once a week. We are losing a normative, essential aspect of Christian worship, one that began in the New Testament, stretches back into the Old, and has had a rich and continuous history over the past two thousand years.... The answer to bad preaching (and no doubt that's what we have in some of our churches) is not no preaching, but better preaching... (p.176)

 

Ironically, as the mainstream media fears an impending Christian theocracy, Christians in America fear their own extinction, or at least their irrelevance. (p. 28)

See Kevin's Madlib of all the "church is lame" books.

Resources:

More Information:

  • Rethinking the Church -- an excellent excerpt from David Well's book The Courage to be Protestant and more.
  • ...more to come

Disclaimer

You will, no doubt, find things you disagree with on this site.  Keep in mind our goal is not to offend, but to inform.  Rather than discussing personalities, we seek to discuss and defend Christian doctrine, issues, lifestyle, and worldview from a distinctively Reformed perspective.  If you believe we have crossed that line, please let us know and we'll consider revising.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns you may email me at Tim @ objectivegospel.org (no spaces).