“The Deliberate Church” by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander

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Church growth has been the way that many churches in North America have defined success. It is said in some cases that growth is the fruit of health and while that may be the case in some circumstances, it does not equate that a lack of growth is a sign of poor health. In The Deliberate Church:Building Your Ministry on the Gospel, Mark Dever and Paul Alexander discuss several keys to Biblical health in a church using the standard that is intended to define just what a healthy church is.

The Deliberate Church is designed to help liberate both leaders and members from the tyranny of popular growth models and church fads.
(Page 202)

This standard is the infallable canon of scripture, and this is certainly one book that you will want to read with a Bible close at hand. This is not to imply that there are doctrinal errors in the book, but rather to celebrate the large quantity of scripture that supports the conclusions of the authors. What’s more, I was unable to locate any passages taken out of context. In the experience I have had, church growth and the false ideal of the mega church have been two roads replete with potholes of misapplied scripture. With an absence of such errors, this book is a refreshing read in this genre.

The book is divided into four sections: Gathering the Church, When the Church Gathers, Gathering Elders and When the Elders Gather. Even the section titles reflect the meaning of the ekklesia by defining the various aspects of the church in terms of gathering. The sections are further divided into short chapters of an appropriate length to discuss within a meeting of elders who desire a church that God would bless in His worship. Also conductive to this format, there are many places in the book where questions are offered to promote discussion in the topic of the current chapter. The conclusion is quite simple to understand: a healthy church is a Godward-looking church. In contrast, an unhealthy church is one that seeks to please the seeker who does not have a desire to know God for who He is.

The job of the church, then, is not to show people a reflection of themselves. We are instead biblically obliged to raise their gaze, redirecting their attention from themselves to their Creator
(Page 197)

In this book, church leaders are reminded to model for the congregation just how we are to approach God. This is evidenced in the call for expository preaching, God-focused prayer, maintaining relationships of all kinds and exhibiting the patience to trust that God will gather His chicks under His wings (Luke 13:34) in His time and through His ways. We are to clarify the gospel and preach it as it is presented in the Bible to avoid confusion among the congregation. There is also a fortitude of information in regards to church discipline as a way of restoring a member to the fold.

Entertainment is not what we are to do, nor are we to be manipulative for the sake of statistics or pride. Instead, many examples are given at several levels of church administration. How we “do” church and how we lead a church are both given ample discussion, again with many examples and points for discussion. As the co-authors point out several times, “What you win them (the congregation) with is likely what you’ll win them to.” This implies that if you base your message around entertainment, those under your care are more likely to miss the gospel message that you are called to present.

If there is any aspect of the book that some may disagree with on Biblical grounds, it is in the role of the ordinances. The book is written from a Southern Baptist set of definitions that I agree with, but there are some who may reject the book as a whole based on these chapters. I would like to see all Churches be familiar with this book, regardless of doctrinal differences. No matter your denomination, this book would be an excellent addition to the library of the church and of the pastor.

The book has 202 pages of text with an additional 22 pages for appendices and indexes. Looking at the wealth in this book, I would have to say that it is the most comprehensive, most gospel focused, most Biblical book on conducting the corporate worship of God and the administration of His church that I have ever seen. Being deliberate about our churches is not easy, it takes a lot of work! But the payoffs are immeasurable.

Further reviews of this book can be found at the Diet of Bookworms.