We all want our church to grow. Some say that the best way to grow the church is to make the church attractive to seekers. Have sermons that gives answers to their problems, create a powerful worship experience, and do everything you can to pull people in. Then someone comes along and asks the question, “What if we got it all wrong? What if the key to growing the church is the Gospel? What does that mean?”
Hi, my name is Terence, and I’m your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review The Gospel-Driven Church: Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace by Jared Wilson. 240 pages, published by Zondervan in March 2019. Available on Amazon Kindle for USD 1.99 and in Logos for USD 25.64.
Table of Contents
Clarification on Wilson
In my last book review on Dale Ralph Davis’ The Word Became Fresh, I referred to The Gospel-Driven Church. In that review I sided with Davis against Wilson. Now, I don’t want to give listeners the impression that I disagree with Wilson’s book as a whole because that is far from the case, as today’s book review will prove.
Let’s start with the author.
From the Amazon biography, I read:
Wilson serves as Pastor for Preaching and the Director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri and as an Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Author in Residence at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the host of the For The Church Podcast and co-host of The Heart of Pastoring Podcast.
Jared Wilson has written more than 20 books. Let me pick out some of the more interesting titles from the pile. We have The Gospel According to Satan: Eight Lies about God that Sound like the Truth. Another one is: The Story of Everything: How You, Your Pets and the Swiss Alps Fit into God’s Plan for the World. Or how about this one: Friendship with the Friend of Sinners: The Remarkable Possibility of Closeness with Christ.
Enough with his other books. Let’s talk about today’s book: The Gospel-Driven Church: Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace by Jared Wilson.
The Gospel is the Center
This book has ten chapters. It starts with the problem Wilson identifies as the Attractional Church. More on that very soon. After describing the problem, he progresses through the solution, which is, of course, the Gospel: what it is, why it is the center of the church and how we can make it the center.
What does a Gospel-Driven Church mean for the worship service? That is chapter 6. What about Discipleship? That is chapter 7. Missions? Chapter 8.
This book assumes the best of the reader; that is, the reader will actually do what the book prescribes. So chapters 9 and 10 offer comfort and warning for the pastor who is now terribly burdened that Gospel-Driven is the correct way.
“But,” you say, “isn’t the Gospel the center for every church?” That is what every church would say, but it’s not what every church actually does. And that is the dilemma that hits Pastor Josh in the book.
Attractive for the Wrong Reasons
Pastor Josh is the character Wilson has created to draw readers into what can be a very dry topic. Pastor Josh of LifePoint Church faces a dilemma. He is not sure the church is doing what it should be doing. On the surface, LifePoint Church is doing well. Attendance is strong. Leaders are happy. And Pastor Josh is well-liked and respected. So, what is the problem? What is the problem indeed?
The Attractional Church is also known as the Seeker Church or Seeker-Sensitive Church. The sermons, music, ministries, and the overall strategy of the church are designed to appeal to seekers.
“That doesn’t sound wrong. It sounds like Great Commission work, doesn’t it?”
Well, no. To Wilson, it sounds like consumerism and pragmatism. Wilson writes:
The way a church wins its people shapes its people. Consumeristic values and pragmatic methodology will win consumers and pragmatists. If they aren’t won by the glory of Christ, they aren’t won to the glory of Christ. In the end, the attractional paradigm doesn’t go deep enough. It doesn’t go deep enough to cause real heart change, and it doesn’t go deep enough to grow a church in the ways that count eternally.
There was once a time when I was super into The Purpose-Driven Church by Rick Warren. That book shaped what I, as a young Christian, thought a church should be. Exciting, growing and purposeful. Even right now, I believe that Christians in the Attractional Church are sincerely doing what they do out of a good heart and biblical convictions. However, Wilson makes the persuasive argument that The Purpose-Driven Church is wrong at its core.
Metrics of Grace
Wilson’s thesis for the book is that if your dream is to grow the church, then use the metrics of grace, which are themselves drawn from Jonathan Edwards’ list. There are:
- A Growing Esteem for Jesus Christ
- A Discernible Spirit of Repentance
- A Dogged Devotion to the Word of God
- An Interest in Theology and Doctrine
- An Evident Love for God and Neighbour
I think most churches would have no problems with Metrics 1, 2, 3 and 5. Jesus, Repentance, Word of God and Love for God and Neighbour are not disputable. But an interest in theology and doctrine? Aren’t those things what prevent the church from growing? Doctrinal clashes. Theological tribes. Theology and Doctrine turn people off. At best, they should be reserved for the clergy, the teaching class, not for the everyday Christian. What the everyday Christian needs is how the Word of God is an answer to their everyday problems. That right there is the attractional model. We attract people by giving them what they want. The people want what solves their immediate problems in the family, at work, in school, in the heart. Theology and doctrine are only as useful to the extent it attracts people, which is not very much.
Wilson acknowledges the dangers and problems of an unhealthy interest in theology and doctrine, but he quotes Edwards: “the true people of God love to know the things of God.” He quotes the Great Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt 22:37) With emphasis on loving God with all our mind.
Opposites Do Not Attract
Perhaps you are not yet convinced that there is that much of a difference between Attractional versus Gospel-Driven. At this moment, perhaps you think that these are just two ways among many other ways to do church. Wilson provides a helpful table of differences, which I will just read out lines, and I hope it is enough for readers to want to find out more.
In Attractional, growth is numbers versus in Gospel-Driven, growth is health.
Worship as attraction versus worship as response.
Preaching as application versus preaching as proclamation.
Weekend as experience versus weekend as assembly.
Gospel as feature versus Gospel as center.
Story, Teaching, Instructions
In this book, Wilson gives us the story of Pastor Josh and LifePoint Church to serve as a surrogate for all these ideas. We follow Pastor Josh as he wrestles with all these ideas with his leadership team, some of whom feel out of place with his newfound convictions. In one of the dramatic points of the story, the creative director leaves the church and charges Pastor Josh with having a midlife ministry crisis. Through the story, Wilson gives us a vivid look at the cost of making this change and argues that this change is worth it. For it is the right thing to do.
But stories are not all that Wilson offers. He also gives us the teaching. He draws from Scripture to give us the certainty that this is biblical. Everyone claims that their way is biblical, so it becomes even more important that Wilson traces out his interpretation from verses in 1 Corinthians, to Philippians, to Romans, to Titus, to Galatians and so on. By showing his working, readers can and should and must discern whether Wilson’s claims are true. And Wilson draws on theologians, pastors, Christian thinkers from the past and present to show that this idea is not his; he is merely putting together a vision for the church that is from the Bible, a vision that other devout Christians have also seen in Scripture.
But teaching is not all Wilson offers. He also gives us step-by-step instructions on how to move towards a Gospel-Driven Church. He looks at the preaching, the worship, discipleship and missions. He explains what it takes to be a Gospel-Centered change agent. You need the 3Cs: Conviction, Courage and Commitment. And he offers ten keys to shepherding the transition, a list which begins with number one: take it personally, but don’t make it personal and ends with number ten: Keep Preaching the Gospel.
This is a three-in-one book. Story, teaching and step-by-step instructions. Complete for the reader to pick up, go out and change the church. This brings me to a question and a thought on the book.
Is the Book for Leaders Only?
My question is: Is the book for all Christians or for senior management, for pastors and leaders? I find this book very relevant, but I must admit it’s because I am invested in the questions and answers posed in this book. I would not recommend this book to a new Christian. He would be confused by the arguments and the call to action, unless he is like me and likes to think about questions like, “What is a Church?”
But other than pastors and leaders, this book can also be helpful for the thinking and caring church member. If there is something tugging you that maybe your church is not going down the right path, then this book can help you think through it. In fact, I would suggest that the diligent reader read two books side-by-side: The Purpose-Driven Church by Rick Warren and The Gospel-Driven Church by Jared Wilson, and discern which is the correct way.
Can I Just Take the Best Ideas?
My thought is that some would read this book and try to apply 2 Thessalonians 5:20, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.” Meaning, some readers would read Wilson’s book and see whether there are elements that can be adopted in the Attractional Church without losing what makes the Attractional Church so ‘successful’. In other words, some would try to adopt a pragmatic approach to this book. And I will just say right now, if you are the type of person who gets ideas from different books, churches, pastors, videos, wherever you go, you pick up ideas, and you see how it fits in your context, then you are misunderstanding the book. This book is offering a shift in the ground of what the church is. It is a big shake-up, a point that is made clear in the story of Pastor Josh and LifePoint Church, in the Scripture and interpretations Wilson gives, in the warnings and preparations Wilson gives in anticipation of pushback.
In conclusion, after reading this book, you might be tempted to buy everyone a copy of this book because you lack the imagination of Wilson’s story, the clarity of his teaching and the steady hands of his instructions. But at the end of the day, if you do decide to move towards that glorious destination of a Gospel-Driven Church, you and the church will have to make that journey yourself, and you have Jared Wilson to thank for that.
This is a Reading and Readers review of The Gospel-Driven Church: Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace by Jared Wilson. Thank you for listening. Bye-bye.