Book Review - TOTAL CHURCH

TOTAL CHURCH by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

I began reading this book having already heard Steve Timmis speak (via podcast) and already having an idea of what the authors were proposing. However, I had no idea that within a week I would be recommending this book to everyone I know. I may not agree with every single claim or proposition, but the thesis of this book is so strong and needed, that even if I disagreed with many of the particulars, I would still recommend this book. However, since I concur with the vast majority of the details, I truly cannot help but herald the need for this book in our local churches. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK, THEN STOP READING MY REVIEW AND GO READ THIS BOOK.

The thesis can be found on the cover of the book as the subtitle: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community. They propose that "church" should be focused on the Gospel and should be done in the context of community. As they state:

This book argues that two key principles should shape the way we "do church": gospel and community. Christians are called to a dual fidelity: fidelity to the core content of the gospel and fidelity to the primary context of a believing community. Whether we are thinking about evangelism, social involvement, pastoral care, apologetics, discipleship, or teaching, the content is consistently the Christian gospel, and the context is consistently the Christian community. What we do is always defined by the gospel, and the context is always our belonging in the church. Our identity as Christians is defined by the gospel and community.

This idea seems commonsensical as you read the New Testament, but the Western Church has lost this shape and reshaped itself primarily around the mold of programs, meetings, and buildings. The wake up call of these authors needs to be heeded by the American church.

Another theme that runs throughout this book is missional living in our communities. They challenge all Christians to live as missionaries in their communities, because God has sovereignly placed each one of us in our exact location. This missional living means doing the same cultural exegesis, lifestyle sacrifice, and community invasion that a foreign missionary undertakes. Many stories from members of their church are included to support their claims and lend credibility to this model (although, they would hate that I just called it a model). These stories not only prove that this way of "doing church" is more than simply an idealistic model, but also put flesh on the principles espoused throughout the book.

I could find a few minor details that I disagree with or find concerning, but those instances were few, far between, and ultimately overshadowed the grand message of this book.  Timmis and Chester are calling the church to reconsider the definition and purpose of the church, and they have done much of the work for us. I cannot think of a church leader, pastor, or member who would not benefit from reading this book. Every pastor should be promoting this book to his flock. If I were a pastor, I would make this book mandatory reading for the leaders of the church.

The primary complaint I have heard concerning this book, is that their model is idealistic and "won't work in my situation or church." The people that make this comment probably also find the Bible too idealistic and, in their minds, Scripture probably won't work in their situation. This pervading mindset explains why the American church has strayed so far from the New Testament picture of the organized church. It seems that most pastors believe that being biblical won't work, but being entertaining, materialistic, and timid will work. This explains what we see whenever we walk through the doors of most church buildings. The disturbing part is that no one has told these pastors and leaders that what they are doing in the name of pragmatism isn't actually working. They aren't building the church, they are building buildings and community programs. They aren't even what the Bible defines as pastors/elders, they are country club directors. I am begging everyone to read this book and compare it with the New Testament picture of the church. Don't trust these two men anymore than you trust your local megachurch pastor; trust Scripture.

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Total Church Theology

A quote from Total Church, regarding theology:

The main thing that prevents us from understanding the Bible alright is not lack of hermeneutical skills but our sin. Our sin warps our understanding because we all tend toward self-justification.

A significant part of the problem behind academic theology and biblical scholarship is the way in which it is, all too often, self-referential. Professional theologians often write about and for other professional theologians. In the New Testament, church leaders were responsible for guarding the flock from error (Acts 20:28-31). They were, if you like, theologians-in-residence within the congregation. We have often moved this function of guarding from error into the academy, but this is a dangerous place for it to reside.

If true theology is the fruit of engagement with the Bible set in the context of the local church [which he argued for previously], then much of what passes for theology is not theology at all. Why do we allow such people to set the agenda?

Please understand that this is not a plea for dumbing down the truth of God, nor for despising theology per se. It is a critique of professional theology removed from the furnace of life and not hammered into shape on the anvil of the local church. As Calvin says, doctrine is an affair "not of the tongue, but of life. It is not apprehended by the understanding and memory alone, as other disciplines are, but it is received only when it possesses the whole soul, and finds a seat and resting place in the inmost affection of the heart. . . . It must enter our heart and pass into our daily living, and so transform us into itself that it may not be unfruitful for us."

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Missional Living: Ask Yourself These Questions

As I am reading “Total Church” (which I can already recommend to everyone), Steve Timmis and Tim Chester encourage people to imagine that they are a part of a church planting team in a cross-cultural situation in some other part of the world and answer the following questions:

What criteria would you use to decide where to live?

How would you approach secular employment?

What standard of living would you expect as pioneer missionaries?

What would you spend your time doing?

What opportunities to share the gospel would you be looking for?

What would your prayers be like?

What would you be trying to do with your new friends?

What kind of team would you want around you?

How would you conduct your meetings together?

They make the point that most Christians expect missionaries in a foreign country to ask these questions, but we seldom, if ever, ask these questions of ourselves, in our own context. We are all on the same mission for God. Just because some of us do not need a passport, doesn't change our mission. We need to ask ourselves these question regardless of our location or vocation. This whole mindset that causes us to think radically about overseas missionary activity while remaining complacent in our own city and neighborhood is not biblical.

Missional living is not just something missionaries engage in or something for us to do once a month; missional living should be our lifestyle. Ask yourself these questions, and then in another month, ask them again. We need to start asking these questions and never stop.

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What is Total Church?

I have begun reading Total Church and will hopefully have a review of this book by the end of the week. This book has been highly recommended by many pastors and leaders, including Mark Driscoll and the other guys at Resurgence and Acts 29. However, since this book has such a vague title that could easily be confused with one of the other  ______ Church  books that have been published over the past few years, I am posting a quote from the Introduction to inform potential readers of the premise and purpose of this book:

This book argues that two key principles should shape the way we "do church": gospel and community. Christians are called to a dual fidelity: fidelity to the core content of the gospel and fidelity to the primary context of a believing community. Whether we are thinking about evangelism, social involvement, pastoral care, apologetics, discipleship, or teaching, the content is consistently the Christian gospel, and the context is consistently the Christian community. What we do is always defined by the gospel, and the context is always our belonging in the church. Our identity as Christians is defined by the gospel and community.

Read more...