Introduction

The authors of this book are also cofounders of a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK called The Crowded House. The name of that initiative might have doubled as the name of this book. Both men have experience in what they write. Timmis is a former director of Radstock Ministries. There he helped the local church engage in world missions. Chester was a church planter for 15 years. Currently they are serving together as the codirectors of the Porterbrook Network a training and mentoring ministry for church planters.

Summary of Total Church

The book is divided into two parts. The first part is the foundation for the entire book. In it, the authors set out the two key components to the thesis of Total Church. The subtitle of the book shows what these two components are: gospel and community. In this part, Timmis and Chester argue that for a church to be biblical, it must be centered first on the gospel (if Christ was not crucified, buried, raised and ascended, then we have no church). The second focus is that of community. All throughout the book of Acts and the epistles of Paul (as well as the general) we read of a community of believers.

This community is a must in a world that no longer views a Christian as someone who is trustworthy and retainer of the truths found on in “The Book.” Without community, it is so easy to see believers leave the church disenfranchised with fellow believers. Perhaps one of satan’s greatest victories is a lack of community in the local church.

Part two comprises the majority of the book and looks at eleven different areas of “doing church” and how they would be impacted if the gospel and community were central to the local church. Here we see what evangelism and social involvement would look like and how they go hand in hand. Church planting would no longer be a concept approved of but would become a way of life in the local church. Discipleship and Training would not be sought out by young Christians longing to be discipled; rather, they would automatically be discipled and trained without having to sign up for a class. Things like theology and apologetics (seminary or local church?) would be taught.

All of this, plus much more, would ultimately lead to a deeper passion for God. Instead of “doing church” in the form of meetings and administrative work (yes, those have their place in the local church but are not as central as many think), the local church would actually be involved in the community by default. In other words, the content of the local church is the gospel while the context is the community of believers.

Recommendation

While you may not agree with everything the authors have to say, I think the concepts in this book deserve to be looked at and judged in light of Scripture. I would contend that the precepts found in the pages of Total Church are in fact biblical. Thus, I would recommend this book as a mandatory read for any young aspiring pastor. It is even more recommended for those who have a heart for planting churches.

As a matter of church government, I think a third part would have been nice to see that dealt with how best to govern this local body of believers. It is hinted at all throughout the book but never really dealt with explicitly. I realize there are differing opinions on church government, and entering into that debate is not within the parameters of this book, it still would have been nice if they took a stab at showing the infrastructure (humanly speaking) of the local church and how it shapes the duties of the church.

While the subtitle claims “a radical reshaping” of the church, I believe what is at issue is not so much a reshaping as much as it is an issue of sola scriptura. Most churches need to do away with the business and pseudo-business models of church life that focus on administrative work and get back to the heart of what a community of gospel believing sinners should be. In other words, we need to stop doing church in our meetings and offices and be the church doing the work of the gospel in our communities.

Chris Brauns, senior pastor at the Congregational Christian Church of Stillman Valley, Illinois has written a much needed exposition on a much maligned topic. In Unpacking Forgiveness, he offers a study of what Scripture says regarding the discipline of forgiveness. He then gives his readers some basic guidelines to begin what is the long journey to true forgiveness.

Every believer must forgive and ask for forgiveness daily whether they realize it or not. This book helps the Christian to see what exactly that looks like as well as what is entailed in forgiveness. Although it may be controversial, Brauns explains how forgiveness, according to the scriptures, is conditional. Most people want to claim that forgiveness is unconditional and must be handed out freely. This idea of “free forgiveness” is nothing less than a feel-good, therapeutic forgiveness that has nothing to do with the Bible and everything to do with the person who is doing the forgiving.

Brauns painstakingly shows how therapeutic forgiveness solves nothing and more often than not leads to bitterness. Biblical forgiveness is conditional upon repentance. Yes, you can offer forgiveness to someone, but if they are not repentant, then they cannot be forgiven. It may be tough for some to understand this concept, but it must be understood that forgiveness does not have as much to do with the people involved as much as it does with Who is ultimately offended—God.

Each chapter includes a list of discussion questions that can be done alone but is best suited for a group study. This becomes especially important when you are instructed to not forgive the unrepentant and allow for the wrath of God to have the final say (see chapter 12).

While I want to write so much more in this review, I fear I cannot. Because I was challenged in my own preconceived notions—however subconscious they were—of what forgiveness was, I want to share everything I learned. However, if I were to do that, I fear that I would in essence be plagiarizing the book in this review! This book is saturated with scripture and consequently, it is one of the more challenging volumes that has come across my desk in some time. If you are not challenged by this book, then you either did not read it or you are not a believer who has experienced true forgiveness at the foot of the cross.

Suffice it to say that this book belongs on the shelf of every believer. What is more is this book belongs in the libraries of every pastor or nouthetic counselor who really wants to deal with the issue of forgiveness with a member of your congregation or a counselee. For those who have been hurt by a spouse, or parent, or friend, this book is a must read. If you ever want to learn to truly forgive and be content with the person who offended you, then you need to read this book.

Now, the first time I saw amazon’s online grocery store, I was pretty skeptical.  For me, there is just something strange about order my cereal on a website and having it delivered to my house. However, my wife (the bargain hunter) noticed that there were often some really good deals (50% off section) at the amazon grocery store.  Not only were there good deals, but I didn’t even have to drive to the store!

The great news is that the savings can get even better! You can get 15% off your order PLUS free shipping using the subscribe and save feature.  Here are the details:

• Set a delivery schedule that fits your needs–every one, two, three, or six months
• Extra 15% discounts on our everyday price
• Free shipping on every order
• E-mail reminders of upcoming shipments
• The flexibility to change your schedule or cancel at any time–no risks, no fees

We’ve used subscribe and save in the past for children’s vitamins and other regular items we go though.  I’m telling you, online grocery shopping is a sweet tip.

Top off the good deals with good selection (they have a great selection indeed) and the amazon grocery store is a great thrifty idea.

This morning I was walking to the bus stop and checking my email (on my phone) as is my usual custom. I came across an alert that there was a new comment on my post about the GTS forum. I click it and read this:

Leslie on November 12th, 2008 6:45 am
If you’re going to have a forum, you need to maintain decent blog posts to keep people’s attention. I also read thru a reader, and this site has been going downhill fast. I used to be proud to send articles to people and now I’m lucky if the post has more than 2 lines that just link to other people promoting their blogs and/or promoting me to buy some bible software.

Now, I wish I could say that I read this and what like, “eh, whatever.” But like a parent who hears other kids making fun of their son or daughter, I took it personal. As I sat on the bus (actually, I’m still sitting on the bus) I came up with all kinds of ways to respond. There was the sarcastic response, the angry response, the funny response, the ignore it response… but this is what I came up with.

My response: Well Leslie, you’re right. The level of content has really gone down around here. It has been a challenging couple of months for me and my family. After only 9 months in Orlando we had to drop out of seminary and move 3100 miles across the country for me to start a new job that seems to indicate that my journey back into vocational ministry is on a VERY long pause. In the midst of packing our house, moving cross country, unpacking, settling in, and starting my new 40+ hour a week job with 1 hours round trip commute has left me with little time for writing on GTS.

Not only me, but all of the GTS crew is going through times like this. Terry has taken a full time ministry job while still trying to take classes and be a good husband and dad (oh, and he lives in a house that appears to be falling apart, has a car that keeps getting broken into or ran into, and has recently had to go to court to testify about his parents divorce when he was a kid). Jeff has been wrestling through the decision to out school on the back burner as he assumes the weighty role of assistant pastor at a church and Kari has been working to wrap up her studies. Jake is working something like 30 hours a week plus taking a full load. And Chad is doing web work for Asbury, serving in a church and taking a full load.

So, as you can see, we all have our plates full. I really wish your comment would have been something like,  “Hey, noticed the content has been going down and hope everything is ok with all the GTS writers. I really appreciate your hard work and effort and hope that things pick up on the site…” Alas… it was not.

The fact of the matter is that none of the writers get paid to write here. I get a little bit of money from advertising (read: LITTLE) and it comes nowhere close to recouping the cost of hosting and 100’s of hours I’ve put into developing the site. So, we all do this because we like it and because we hope to help people.  Please take all that into consideration when you write things like the site “has been going downhill fast.”

Now, I said it earlier, and I mean it… you’re right.  The site isn’t what it used to be.  So, here are some things that Going to Seminary readers can look forward to:

1. In January, Jake Belder will be quitting his day job and focusing more fully on his studies. When that happens, he will also be taking over as the managing editor around here.

2. I will continue on as a occasional writer and handle all the site maintenance.

3. Terry will be posting book reviews on a regular basis along with his less frequent but always brilliant posts.

4. From what I’ve heard from Jeff and Kari they’ll still be posting from time to time (they tell me they have a coupe great posts up their sleeves right now).

5. I am working on a new section of the site that will allow people to submit story ideas… but, I’ll say it right now, if you want to write for Going to Seminary, just pitch me your article using the contact form. We’re always open for new and guest writers.

Other than that… we’re doing what we can over here. So, if you like the site, then say a prayer that we don’t all sink under the sea of responsibilities we have… oh, and giving us money would also greatly help the cause.

So, Leslie… no hard feelings… and I hope that we can get this ship up and running again soon.

(oh, and the short posts with links and “selling software” is from the section on the site called “Quick Bits Around the Web.” They are designed to be short and point you to other things around the web that we think are cool. Also, they are MUCH easier to write than a full post).

This is my stop… gotta get off the bus and go to work…

The New Media Frontier (TNMF) is a call to arms for the Christian where it concerns the use of technology. This book is directed at any Christian who uses a computer, especially those who blog. The book begins with the oft quoted statement (changed somewhat), “It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.” Those reading this review immediately know what is being implied in regards to TNMF. Every search in a search engine runs the risk of pornography. However, the Internet can most certainly be used for Kingdom purposes as is evidenced by this website and others like it.

TNMF is a series of papers divided into two parts. The first part is called “The Landscape of New Media” and offers an introduction to things like blogging and podcasting. Matthew Lee Anderson offers three dangers to accepting this new media uncritically: desensitization, the deficiencies of online communication, and losing reality by sitting in front of our computer screens.

The second part of TNMF is how to engage the new media. With chapters topics like youth ministry and facebook and virtual classrooms and evangelism and apologetics, this section of the book is like one of those Time Life do-it-yourself series (before DIY was cool!) offering up tips and advice on how to use the Internet for the glory of God.

Each author does a decent job of providing the pros and cons to the use of TNMF. They caution against getting carried away with this new resource and to be mindful of Who is reading. One statement in the book that I thought was of special interest was at the end of the chapter on pastors and the new media. “Blogging turned out to be, like most pastoral efforts, hard work with limited rewards (at least this side of heaven).” (p. 136)

If you are reading this review, then you should read this book. Because the Internet is here to stay, we must all as Christians, and even more so as ministers, become conversant with what is being called the New Media. Yes, it does have its evil side, but it also has its good side. It is our job, I believe, to use this resource for the purpose of the Kingdom, but to do so in a discerning and critical way. This book will be a good start to becoming just that.

If you’re answer is yes, then I’ll give it the ax. If it is “no” then get over there and start using it. Whatever you decide I’ll do at the end of the week.

Cheers!
_ryan