Polity
Book Review: The Multi-Site Church Revolution
Review by John Hammett | 9Marks Journal: Elders (Part 1) | 03.06.2010Much of what this book contains can be transferred to a church planting model, thus accomplishing many of the same goals and relieving many of the troubling ecclesiological questions.
Book Review: Membership Matters, by Chuck Lawless
Review by Owen Strachan | 03.05.2010For its focus on membership and involvement, Lawless’s book is a significant help in directing a church toward a more biblical polity.
Book Review: Elders in Congregational Life, by Phil Newton
Review by Aaron Menikoff | 03.05.2010This book is devoted to working out the nuances of the relationship between congregation and elders.
Book Review: Where Do We Go From Here?, by Ralph Neighbour
Review by Greg Gilbert | 03.03.2010The structure of cell churches the author proposes seems to me to surrender far too much of what it means to be a church.
Book Review: The Church Beyond the Congregation, by James Thwaites
Review by Greg Gilbert | 03.03.2010James Thwaites is a sobering example of what can happen when we allow a philosophy or idea to gain ascendancy in our minds, and only then ask the Scriptures to agree with us.
Book Review: One Church, Many Congregations, by J. Timothy Ahlen and J. V. Thomas
Review by Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Multi-site Churches | 03.03.2010Rather than criticize the book’s handling of Scripture and understanding of the church, let’s just get to the bottom line: should you read this book? No.
Book Review: Multi-Site Churches, by Scott McConnell
Review by Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Multi-site Churches | 03.03.2010An appeal to pragmatic results in order to justify a practice undermines the authority and sufficiency of Scripture.
Book Review: Houses That Change the World, by Wolfgang Simson
Review by Greg Gilbert | 03.02.2010Like so many before and beside him, Simson believes we need a major reformulation of the church’s life and structure.
Book Review: Franchising McChurch, by Thomas White and John Yeats
Review by Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Multi-site Churches | 03.02.2010White and Yeats offer an alternative and excellent course for our generation. Yet I wonder if we still have the ability to recognize healthy food from junk food.
Book(s) Review: Who Runs the Church? and Perspectives on Church Government
Review by Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Church Discipline (Part 1) | 03.02.2010Multiple-views books like this provide a perfect opportunity—an opportunity neither book fully makes good on—to set the record straight about positions that are not mutually exclusive.
Book Review: Organic Church, by Neil Cole
Review by Kevin McFadden | 9Marks Journal: Church Discipline (Part 1) | 03.02.2010You may find this book helpful if you are a church planter, particularly in urban environment, but you’ll need to buttress it with books that have a more solid biblical ecclesiology.
Book Review: They Like Jesus But Not the Church, by Dan Kimball
Review by Kevin McFadden | 9Marks Journal: Living As a Church | 03.02.2010Kimball’s book provides good insight into how some non-Christians think, and readers will be challenged by his excellent diagnostic questions at the end of each chapter.
Book Review: Walking Together: A Congregational Reflection on Biblical Church Discipline, by Wyman Richardson
Review by Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Church Discipline (Part 2) | 03.01.2010Can a pastor use this book for training his fellow church leaders, assuming that not all church leaders are not pastorally and theologically sensible? It gets an easy “yes.”
