Total Church

Steve Timmis & Tim Chester

Two pastors outline and apply a pair of overarching biblical principles that call the current body of Christ to a deep restructuring of its life and mission.

“Church is not a meeting you attend or a place you enter,” write pastors Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. “It’s an identity that is ours in Christ. An identity that shapes the whole of life so that life and mission become ‘total church.’” With that as their premise, they emphasize two overarching principles to govern the practice of church and mission: being gospel-centered and being community-centered. When these principles take precedence, say the authors, the truth of the Word is upheld, the mission of the gospel is carried out, and the priority of relationships is practiced in radical ways. The church becomes not just another commitment to juggle but a 24/7 lifestyle where programs, big events, and teaching from one person take a backseat to sharing lives, reaching out, and learning about God together.

In Total Church, Chester and Timmis first outline the biblical case for making gospel and community central and then apply this dual focus to evangelism, social involvement, church planting, world missions, discipleship, pastoral care, spirituality, theology, apologetics, youth and children’s work. As this insightful book calls the body of Christ to rethink its perspective and practice of church, it charts a middle path between the emerging church movement and conservative evangelicalism that all believers will find helpful.

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Vintage Church

Mark Driscoll & Garry Breshears

Defines a biblical church as one that properly balances the eternal truths of Scripture with timely, relevant methods designed to engage the culture.

The book in the popular Re:Lit series picks up where Vintage Jesus leaves off, beginning with a focus on the person and work of Jesus and then exploring the confessional, experiential, and missional aspects of his church. This study grows out of the vintage concept of taking timeless truths from Scripture—truths about church leadership, preaching, baptism, communion, and more—and blending them with aspects of contemporary culture, such as multi-campus churches and the latest forms of technology, to reach people with the gospel.

While Vintage Church is helpful for pastors and church leaders, it is the kind of book you could hand to someone who has questions about ecclesiology but finds the very term ecclesiology intimidating. The authors put forth twelve practical questions about church doctrine and answer them in clear, biblical language that lay people and new believers can understand.

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On Church Leadership (Book You'll Actually Read)

Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll knows something about church leadership. He founded Mars Hill Church in Seattle in 1996, and it is now one of the fastest-growing and most prolific church-planting churches in America. Writing out of his personal experience and biblical conviction, Driscoll examines six important areas of church leadership, packing big truth into this little book, making it a book you’ll actually read.  This book also includes some helpful appendices that answer seventeen common practical questions about church leadership, as well as a sample membership covenant and a list of recommended reading for further study on church leadership.

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Confessions of a Reformission Rev.

Mark Driscoll

This is the story of the birth and growth of Mars Hill Church, one of America’s fastest-growing and most innovative churches located in one of America’s toughest mission fields. It’s also the story of the growth of a pastor, the mistakes he’s made along the way, and God’s grace and work in spite of those mistakes.

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Nine Marks of a Healthy Church

Mark Dever

What makes for a healthy church? A large congregation? Plentiful parking? Vibrant music?  This new expanded edition of Nine Marks of a Healthy Church is not an instruction manual for church growth. It is a pastor’s recommendation of how to assess the health of your church using nine crucial qualities that are neglected by many of today’s churches.

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Elders and Leaders

Gene Getz

Strong leadership in the church is exactly what God had in mind. However, very few people, Getz believes, understand the biblical pattern for church leadership. He has written Elders and Leaders to unravel the mystery and alleviate the confusion surrounding this critical topic. 

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Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership

Alexander Strauch

This comprehensive look at the role and function of elders brings all the advantages of shared leadership into focus. Beginning with the four broad categories of eldership (leading, feeding, caring, and protecting), Biblical Eldership explores the essential work of elders, their qualifications and their relationships with each other.

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