Before His ascension, Jesus entrusted his church with the
task of producing disciples by teaching them to conform their lives to the
commandments of the Lord. That means
that the church should be calling people to follow Jesus and to walk in the way
of their new Lord and Savior. This is “Great
Commission” language that is easily understood by most. But, what does it specifically mean to “follow
the teaching of Jesus” or to “walk the way He walked”? What does a healthy, growing follower of
Christ look like? These are the
questions that Anyabwile’s book is aimed at answering. It is organized around ten areas of
faithfulness that a Christians should display in order to be described as a
healthy member of his or her church. He
describes these areas as follows; a healthy church member is: a discerning listener, a biblical reader, a
gospel-centered person, a genuine convert, a biblical evangelist, a committed
worker, a seeker of discipline, a lifelong learner, a humble follower and a
prayer warrior.
There are at least two ways in which this short book can be
of benefit to the church. First, it is a
helpful read for individual church members who want to seek to grow in their
faith by taking a comprehensive look at how they are serving God through their
membership in the local church. Some may
be intimidated by the subject matter of the book, assuming that it will result
in a guilt-inducing laundry list of the things that they aren’t doing. Having read the book, however, I
can tell you that Anyabwile’s tone is upbeat and optimistic. It is obvious that his goal
is to encourage Christians toward greater joy in our walk with the Lord rather
than heaping on rules, regulations and guilt.
Second, it can be a helpful read for church leaders and teachers who are thinking through how best to shape the disciple-making focus of their church.
Here are some important excerpts:
“The Lord’s intent is that you play an active and vital part in His
body, the local church. He intends for
you to experience the local church as a home more profoundly wonderful and
meaningful than any other place on earth.” p. 14
“Apart from the
gospel, the church has nothing to say—that is, nothing to say that cannot be
said by some other human agency.” p. 39
“It sometimes appears
as though some Christians believe the gospel was meant to be preached widely
until it reached them and then stored safely in the vault of their person
history, away from everyone else.” p. 44
“We must be converted
ourselves. This may sound obvious, but probably
40 percent of the people I interview for membership in our local church tell me
of a time when they were church members but did not understand the gospel and
were not, by their own assessment, converted people.” p. 48
“God’s intent [is that]
the local church be central to the life of His people.” p. 64“It is impossible for members of a church to care effectively for each other if only a few people own the responsibility of correcting or instructing brothers or sisters in need of it.” p. 81
“The most chronic
problem facing churches and Christians is the lack of consistent spiritual
growth and progress in discipleship.” p. 83
“Neglecting to
participate in the corporate life of the church or failing to actively serve and
be served is a sure-fire way to limit our growth.” p. 91
“The health of a local
church may ride exclusively on the membership’s response to the church’s
leadership. How the congregation
receives or rejects its leaders has a direct effect on the possibilities of
faithful ministry and church health.” p. 95
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