Title: The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel
Authors: Mark Dever and Paul Alexander
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1-58134-738-3
Pages: 224
Reviewer: Todd Davis. Todd is a church planter from Heritage who pastors Redeemer Bible Church in Brighton, Colorado.
About The Deliberate Church
Christians today are faced with numerous competing ideas for how to do and be a church. Many authors have recently set forth their thoughts for building effective churches in this age under such titles as Simple Church, Deep Church, Missional Church, and Organic Church. The Deliberate Church is Mark Dever and Paul Alexander’s presentation of what they understand to be the proper basis for building a church— “God’s Word, encapsulated in the Gospel” (22). Mark Dever pastors Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. and is the president of 9Marks Ministries. Paul Alexander serves as pastor of Fox Valley Bible Church in St. Charles, IL and formerly was a pastoral intern at Capitol Hill under Dever.
Alexander explains the nature of his collaboration with Mark Dever on this book in his preface: “The words are mine, but they’re mostly Mark’s ideas; I’ve just put them on paper.” In response to some of the books mentioned above and others like them, Dever and Alexander explain in the foreword that this book is “not new,” “not a program,” and “not a quick fix” (20). Instead, they state, “What we are trying to be careful about . . . is building the church on and around the Gospel of Christ. More specifically, we are trying to be careful about building our church according to the pattern that God has given us in Scripture” (21). The Deliberate Church calls its readers to this same commitment and seeks to detail this Scriptural pattern and Gospel basis.
Summary of the Book
The authors have structured this presentation into four sections.
Section 1 (chs. 1-5) is entitled Gathering the Church and focuses on the Bible’s principles for bringing people into the church. The Biblical principles in this section are related to the central tasks of a pastor, Biblical evangelism, church membership, and church discipline.
Section 2 (chs. 6-12), When the Church Gathers, sets forth Scriptural instruction for what churches are to do when their members meet. This instruction deals further with the pastor’s role, the focus of the different gatherings of churches, the significance of the baptism and the Lord’s supper, the care of members for one another, and the purpose and style of music for churches. The authors also deal with the necessity of drawing the elements of worship from the Bible (the Regulative Principle) in this section and the Bible’s centrality in church services.
Gathering Elders is the title of Section 3 (chs. 13-18) and it presents the Scriptural teaching on the need and qualifications for elders, the process of installing elders, and issues related to the selection and role of church staff.
Finally Section 4 (chs. 19-21), When the Elders Gather, discusses what elders should do in their regular meetings. The first of these chapters stresses the importance of elders spending time in the Word and prayer together, and the final two chapters provide counsel for what to talk about in elder meetings and how to make decisions in those meetings. The conclusion summarizes the book by directing the readers to the need for churches to keep their focus on bringing glory to God and on ministering to believers and reaching out to the lost with the gospel.
Highlights
Throughout the book, Dever and Alexander contend that the gospel and the Scriptures dictate both the message of the church and its methods. They write, “In whatever we do, we want to be careful about allowing God’s Word to set our trajectory, power our progress, and govern our methods” (21). The Deliberate Church presents a convincing argument for basing church practice on Biblical instructions and principles rather than on the latest fad or mere tradition. This book also shows that the gospel is at the heart of this Biblical doctrine. Dever and Alexander do more than make this case though; they also expound much of this Scriptural teaching. One distinctive focus in their presentation is on the importance of membership in the church, but only for those who are truly born again and living faithfully as Christians. Another noteworthy aspect of The Deliberate Church is its argument in favor of the regulative principle, which is the idea that “everything we do in a corporate worship gathering must be clearly warranted by Scripture” (77). Dever and Alexander explain that the regulative principle fleshes itself out in worship services when Christians “read the Bible,” “preach the Bible,” “pray the Bible,” “sing the Bible,” and “see the Bible” (through the ordinances). The authors also provide some helpful thoughts on the distinctive purposes of various church gatherings. Along with these distinctive focuses, Dever and Alexander provide a rather thorough coverage of Biblical church practice and leadership.
Recommendation
The Deliberate Church is a necessary and helpful presentation in an era when Christians, both leaders and those who follow them, are continually looking outside of the Bible for new ways to build churches. This book calls to Biblical faithfulness those being lured toward these other methods. For those who are already committed to a Biblical, gospel foundation for churches, this book will confirm them in their position, cause them to think further through the Biblical ramifications for church practice, and give them a greater familiarity with the various passages in the Bible that deal with these matters. These benefits will also equip those who converse with other Christians who do not share the viewpoint presented in this book, and it would be a good challenge for this latter group were they to read it themselves. With these values in mind, all Christians would profit from reading The Deliberate Church and allowing it to direct them to the gospel and the Scriptures to guide and empower their lives as members of Christ’s Church.
