"Rediscover Church" (Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman)

TITLE: Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential (The Gospel Coalition and 9Marks)
AUTHOR: Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishers, 2021, (160 pages).

Why do we need to rediscover Church? Isn't it enough to simply believe and practice our faith daily? With the rise of online church and how many people have become so familiar with watching Church services on YouTube, Zoom, or other online channels, surely we can maintain this new way of doing church? Well, authors Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman disagree. A Christian without a Church is a Christian in trouble. We still need to get back to the meaning of the Church and to live together as a Community in Christ. There are many reasons why believers stay away from Church. The conventional arguments against the church include things like limited authenticity, distasteful politics, politicizing of religion, negative publicity, lack of transparency, irrelevancy, and the age-old accusation: hypocrisy. With covid, this disinclination from physical church gatherings has been accelerated. On top of this electronic distance, there are also those who feel disillusioned about the lack of pastoral care and the inability of their pastors to match up to the charismatic preachers who draw people to their professional online offerings. With such overwhelming cultural disarray surrounding faith and Church, it is no wonder that many people are looking for a reason to go back to Church. This book comes at the right time to answer that very question. There is a need and a future for the Church. What is necessary now is to go back to the essence of what Church is and what it means to be Church in the 21st Century. Hansen and Leeman began with the metaphor of marriage where Christ is the groom while the Church is the bride. If Christ gave himself for the Church, shouldn't that alone speak volumes about the importance of Church? 

Leeman begins with his personal story of how he had been impacted by a godly couple in church. Once he developed a meaningful friendship among church members, he began to appreciate the meaning of Church. For Church is less about programs, more about people. It is less about performances, but more about perseverance through grace. The key thesis of the book is: "A Church is a group of Christians; who assemble as an earthly embassy of Christ's heavenly kingdom; to proclaim the good news and commands of Christ the King; to affirm one another as his citizens through the ordinances; and to display God's own holiness and love; through a unified and diverse people; in all the world; following the teaching and example of elders." 

Together with Hansen, Leeman unpacks Church chapter by chapter. They write about the criteria for Church membership. They stress the meaning of Church not as entering a building but in a gathering of believers who become Church. In a Church, the preaching and teaching must form the central component of her life. The best form of preaching is expository preaching. They also write about other aspects of Church such as membership, discipline, life together, evangelism, discipleship, leadership, and so on. 

My Thoughts
Do we really need to "rediscover Church?" Absolutely! We are living in pandemic times, forcing many churches to move from regular church meetings to online gatherings. Church is Church only when the people gather together. Technology might do wonders but it can never replace Church. Many of the pointers mentioned in the book are familiar but fundamental. Sadly, many believers have forgotten these very basics of what it means to be Church. Thanks to Hansen and Leeman, we have a book to revisit, refresh, and revitalize our understanding of being a Church. 

There are a lot more things that could be said about Church. The brief chapters here should suffice in terms of initiating a corrective and positive nudging to believers on the margin of leaving Church. Times are tough for everyone. It is easy to be disillusioned, which is why the personal testimonies of Hansen and Leeman are vitally important. They help bring authenticity to the sharing about Church, especially to those who feel more and more distant from anything Church. We need to give ourselves a chance. If God has consistently given us a chance to come together, to be reconciled, and to refresh one another through good works and encouragement, surely we ought to give one another a chance. Anyone who throws a sucker punch at Church is essentially punching himself. Who is the Church? We are. That should keep us humble to recognize that if there is any suspicions about hypocrisy or any forms of negativity we have about Church, look at ourselves first. In spite of all the flaws in our Church institutions, never give up. Discover and rediscover as often as possible.

Finally, I believe a post-pandemic Church will be better equipped and better prepared for the future. God has a purpose for the Church and this purpose cannot be easily thwarted by a coronavirus. As long as we are mindful of God's revelation to us through the Word, Christ's work at the Cross, and the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives, we will gather as Church as regularly as possible. There are many prodigals among Christian people at large. This number is growing daily. Pray that they would return soon, especially because Christ is coming soon. If Christ had died for this Church that we call imperfect and insolent, should we not love the Church as much?  Before anyone brushes the Church aside, read this book.

Collin Hansen (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) serves as vice president of content and editor in chief for the Gospel Coalition. He hosts the Gospelbound podcast and coauthored Gospelbound: Living with Resolute Hope in an Anxious Age. He serves as an elder for Redeemer Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and also on the advisory board of Beeson Divinity School. You can follow him on Twitter at @collinhansen.

Jonathan Leeman (PhD, University of Wales) is the editorial director for 9Marks and cohost of the Pastors' Talk podcast. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books and teaches at several seminaries. Jonathan lives with his wife and four daughters in a suburb of Washington, DC, and is an elder at Cheverly Baptist Church. You can follow him on Twitter @jonathanleeman.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.