What else is new?
I was able to pick up a new book today that I’m really excited to get the chance to read. The book is Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. The books is put out by Re:Lit/Crossway and clocks in around 207 pgs. Here is the Table of Contents and Publisher Description:
ToC
Part I Gospel and Community in Principle
1. Why Gospel?
2. Why Community?
Part II Gospel and Community in Practice
3. Evangelism
4. Social Involvement
5. Church Planting
6. World Mission
7. Discipleship and Training
8. Pastoral Care
9. Spirituality
10. Theology
11. Apologetics
12. Children And Young People
13. Success
Conclusion: A Passion for God
Publisher’s Description: Two pastors outline and apply a pair of overarching biblical principles that call the current body of Christ to a deep restructuring of its life and mission.
“Church is not a meeting you attend or a place you enter,” write pastors Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. “It’s an identity that is ours in Christ. An identity that shapes the whole of life so that life and mission become ‘total church.’”With that as their premise, they emphasize two overarching principles to govern the practice of church and mission: being gospel-centered and being community-centered. When these principles take precedence, say the authors, the truth of the Word is upheld, the mission of the gospel is carried out, and the priority of relationships is practiced in radical ways. The church becomes not just another commitment to juggle but a 24/7 lifestyle where programs, big events, and teaching from one person take a backseat to sharing lives, reaching out, and learning about God together.
In Total Church, Chester and Timmis first outline the biblical case for making gospel and community central and then apply this dual focus to evangelism, social involvement, church planting, world missions, discipleship, pastoral care, spirituality, theology, apologetics, youth and children’s work. As this insightful book calls the body of Christ to rethink its perspective and practice of church, it charts a middle path between the emerging church movement and conservative evangelicalism that all believers will find helpful.
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Wow that looks great. Be sure to let us know what you think because that seems to cover some ideas that I’ve really latched onto recently.