September 19, 2017September 18, 2017 Peter Witkowski Book Reviews

A Review: God’s Very Good Idea

A quick glance at the T.V. screen and the list of stories on your web browser reveals an good-idea-1 America increasingly defined by violent street protest, Black Lives Matter, The Alt Right, football players kneeling, and Confederate monuments being torn down. The chaotic world of American race relations is touching everyone, including our children.

Entering into to this dark world with Scriptural brightness, Trilla Newbell wrote the book, God’s Very Good Idea, to help children understand why people are different, why differences lead to conflict, and how Christ unites differing people with his love. Newbell’s book reveals how our human differences fit into the gospel with a simplicity and colorfulness that preschoolers can relate to and that adults can appreciate. Given our time, I believe Newbell’s book is a very good idea. I am thankful to her and to the Good Book Company for having the foresight to publish this delightful book.

Summary of the Book

good-book-3 The illustrated pages begin with creation, detailing how God creates all kinds of different people who all reflect his image, having hearts full of love. But because Adam and Eve sinned and because we sin, God’s very good idea was corrupted by sin. People began to fight with each other because they were different. Thankfully, God does not leave people in their sin. Jesus came to live and die to forgive people for sin. He made a way for people to once again love him and to love each other. He redeemed the lost so that all kinds of people would be a part of God’s family. As the book says, “God MADE it. People RUINED it. He RESCUED it. He will FINISH it.”

Why Get It?

good-idea-2 I encourage you to grab a copy of this book because Newbell does an excellent job of placing the discussion of human differences within the gospel narrative. She neither minimizes nor ignores the reality that different skin colors and hobbies can lead to tensions. She places the blame for racial conflict in the heart, knowing that racial struggles are truly heart struggles. Our differences are not the result of sin. But they have been influenced by sin. Consequently no subset of people is inherently better than another group of people. And no group is more like God than another group. All men and women are created in the image of God. All are fallen. All can be redeemed by the blood of the cross. We live in a day where people are quick to violently divide over differences. Newbell’s message of peace via the cross is desperately needed and extremely helpful. If you want to equip your kids a biblical perspective on how to relate to people that are different than them, I encourage you to grab a copy of God’s Very Good Idea.

Can you think of a better idea?

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July 27, 2017July 27, 2017 Peter Witkowski Book Reviews

Is Our Church Healthy: A Review of Nine Marks Of A Health Church

Do you attend a healthy church? To answer this question, we first have to know what a healthy church is. In an age where church means everything from programs to personal interest stories, knowing the marks of a health church is increasingly hard target to find much less hit. Even the traditional markers of people, money, and buildings can be deceptive because Paul explicitly warns that in 2 Timothy 4:3

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions

A church may have a large budget, a fuller parking lot and magnificent facilities and still be an extremely unhealthy church because the gospel is not preached.

Mark Dever wrote Nine Marks of a Healthy Church seeking to help people like you and me to understand what God has designed the church to be. Pastor Mark tackles the subjects of expositional preaching, biblical theology, the gospel, conversion, evangelism, church membership, church discipline, discipleship, and leadership with 295 pages of plainly written words. Each chapter addresses the above marks of a healthy church with biblical conviction and practical insight that is as helpful as it is easy to read.

If you are a children’s leader, a lay leader or a member, I encourage you to read of copy of this book for we all have a responsibility to care for our church. As the great British preacher, Martin Lloyd Jones said,

Unless we, as individual Christians are feeling a grave concern about the state of the Church and the wold today, then we are very poor Christians indeed (p.8).

Whether or not your pastor preaches the Word as it appears on the page or forces the Word to fit his agenda will greatly influence the spiritual maturity of your congregation. Your churches decision to not discipline the married couple heading to divorce court will great influence your ability to disciple your friends. Your church’s decision to place a high value on church membership will greatly alter how you baptize. How your church approaches these nine mark will reveal much about your churches character and health.

We need to know how to to evaluate all these things in more if we hope to have healthy, godly church. All church members have a God given responsibility to guide and direct their church. Mark writes,

Whether in selecting teachers or paying for them, in approving their teaching, or in simply consenting to listen to them repeatedly and happily, the congregation that Paul envisioned here was culpable for the false teaching that they endured and sponsored. - p.237

God’s calls all of us to maintain the health of our local church. Shirking our duty does not free us from our responsibility.

If we love our church, we will be passionate about our church’s health and future. And if we hope to wisely encourage or rebuke our church leaders and our church body, we must have a firm grasp of what doctrines and practices define a healthy church.

If you desire to know more about the church and about how to encourage your church towards gospel health, I encourage you to read Nine Marks of a Health Church.

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June 22, 2017June 21, 2017 Peter Witkowski Book Reviews

When Your Church Needs Saving: A Review of The Prodigal Church

prodigal-church Skinny jeans, guys wearing earrings, and the out of control drummer whipping his head around. These are the images we associate with the attractional church. Videos of Elvis capping off our Christmas concert with a guitar solo might also pop to mind. We often envision attractional churches as the illegitimate baby of the Willow Creek and Saddleback church movements that has set up house in the middle of a trendy urban environment where pet salons and vintage, clothing boutiques have replaced the baby stores.

If we (like most churches) reside far away from the hustle and bustle of the modern city, we usually deem ourselves safe from the shady influences of the seek-sensitive movement. Surely, the church that is busy promoting the arrival of the next gospel quarter is not man-centered. Or is it?

Jared Wilson’s book The Prodigal Church helps us understand that context is not everything. Content is everything. More specifically, gospel content is everything. The little country church off a lonely dirt road can be just as seeker-sensitive as the mega church in New York City. Any church that trades the doctrines of grace and the proclamation of gospel truth for the for self-improvement sermons built around 5 point outlines that promise victory of something is an attractional church regardless of that church’s social media presence. And such a church is still an unhealthy church even if it has large numbers because the gospel is not going forward.

I am thankful for Jared Wilson’s book. He helps believers understand what the attractional church model is, why this method of church growth is failing, and how to determine if our ministries are being driven by this seek-sensitive mindset that often devalues God in its attempt to value people.

So is your church in need of saving? Should you take time to read Wilson’ book? Let me ask you this:

Have you ever gotten to the point in ministry where the Bible you preach from on Sunday seems unable to help people with pornography, divorce, and bullying on Monday morning?

If you answer yes, I encourage you to grab a copy of this book. It is quite possible that your issue is not the Bible but your ministry philosophy, your view of God. The Prodigal Church will help you make this assessment. Click below to grab your copy today.

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