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joshrskinner's review against another edition
4.0
Joe Thorn has written a set of resources that the Church desperately needs and from which it will benefit greatly. These are short, approachable books that manage to cover complex and touchy topics with a degree of depth and clarity not often found together. Being able to distill these sorts of issues to a few pages while still presenting them in a thorough manner that even a novice will not struggle through too much is a gift, and Thorn (plus editors!) certainly has that gift.
The first book in the series is The Heart of the Church: The Gospel’s History, Meaning, and Message. Thorn covers the Gospel at its most basic level and dives into some more complex doctrines associated with the Gospel (e.g. justification, sanctification, the role of good works, the atonement, calling, etc.). Again, he does so in a way that will not leave the new believer behind, but he does not shy away from issues that will lead to questions and greater conversation.
The second book is The Character of the Church: The Marks of God’s Obedient People, and Thorn deals here with some more of the day-in, day-out aspects of a local church. Thorn examines what aspects must be present in a local church for the church to be healthy and biblical (Gospel preaching, sacraments, discipline, elders, deacons, evangelism, and discipleship). This volume will prove immensely helpful, especially for Baptists. Some sections may limit its ability to be a resource for non-Baptist churches, but if you just sprint over the baptism section as quickly as possible you won’t get too wet and should make it to the other side relatively unscathed. If you’re familiar with Thorn at all, you know he is firmly convicted of his beliefs and exceptionally gracious and loving with those whom he disagrees. That Spirit-led maturity is on display in this volume especially and makes the set that much more of an asset to the Church.
The final volume of this set is The Life of the Church: The Table, Pulpit, and Square. Thorn dives into some more thorny (huh?, huh? :-D) issues in this book and, again, does so quite well. Thorn looks at fellowship, how we worship as a corporate body, and how we engage the world around us. As if he wasn’t asking for it enough in his previous volume by dropping words like sacrament and excommunicate, this time around he has an entire chapter devoted to liturgy…and a good one at that! The section on how the church can engage the public square through participation, restoration, conversation, and multiplication is especially helpful. The fact that Thorn does not present multiplication as a method of creating a series of spin-off churches but rather as engaging in the process of aiding other bodies of believers in seeking to grow into a biblical and healthy existence is encouraging as well.
But, in fairness, most every line of these three books is encouraging. The topics addressed and the manner in which they are covered make this series a must have, especially for Baptist ministers welcoming new believers and new members into their local bodies. I am praying that plenty of churches will see the benefit of these books and utilize them accordingly. The Church around the world will be blessed for it.
ARCs provided for review
The first book in the series is The Heart of the Church: The Gospel’s History, Meaning, and Message. Thorn covers the Gospel at its most basic level and dives into some more complex doctrines associated with the Gospel (e.g. justification, sanctification, the role of good works, the atonement, calling, etc.). Again, he does so in a way that will not leave the new believer behind, but he does not shy away from issues that will lead to questions and greater conversation.
The second book is The Character of the Church: The Marks of God’s Obedient People, and Thorn deals here with some more of the day-in, day-out aspects of a local church. Thorn examines what aspects must be present in a local church for the church to be healthy and biblical (Gospel preaching, sacraments, discipline, elders, deacons, evangelism, and discipleship). This volume will prove immensely helpful, especially for Baptists. Some sections may limit its ability to be a resource for non-Baptist churches, but if you just sprint over the baptism section as quickly as possible you won’t get too wet and should make it to the other side relatively unscathed. If you’re familiar with Thorn at all, you know he is firmly convicted of his beliefs and exceptionally gracious and loving with those whom he disagrees. That Spirit-led maturity is on display in this volume especially and makes the set that much more of an asset to the Church.
The final volume of this set is The Life of the Church: The Table, Pulpit, and Square. Thorn dives into some more thorny (huh?, huh? :-D) issues in this book and, again, does so quite well. Thorn looks at fellowship, how we worship as a corporate body, and how we engage the world around us. As if he wasn’t asking for it enough in his previous volume by dropping words like sacrament and excommunicate, this time around he has an entire chapter devoted to liturgy…and a good one at that! The section on how the church can engage the public square through participation, restoration, conversation, and multiplication is especially helpful. The fact that Thorn does not present multiplication as a method of creating a series of spin-off churches but rather as engaging in the process of aiding other bodies of believers in seeking to grow into a biblical and healthy existence is encouraging as well.
But, in fairness, most every line of these three books is encouraging. The topics addressed and the manner in which they are covered make this series a must have, especially for Baptist ministers welcoming new believers and new members into their local bodies. I am praying that plenty of churches will see the benefit of these books and utilize them accordingly. The Church around the world will be blessed for it.
ARCs provided for review
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