Review of "Loving the Church."

I've read about 20,000 pages since I started seminary three years ago (including "Reformed Pastor" twice, to which our beloved president said upon hearing that, "isn't once enough?"). Those words and sentences, some good, some bad, have been instrumental in shaping how I understand myself and God's world. Of those pages, there certainly has been some gems. I believe John Crott's book, Loving the Church is one of them. I wanted to cheer after almost every page! I wrote a review of it for a class, which I'm posting here to give you just a taste of it. I'm hoping that anyone who has wondered about Christ's clarion call for His church would read this book. Our independent, consumer-driven culture has clouded our minds. May God help us rediscover His purpose for us within His body here on earth.

This review is of the book, Loving the Church: God’s People Flourishing in God’s Family by John Crotts. John Crotts, a graduate of the Master’s Seminary has been the pastor of Faith Bible Church since 1995. He has authored a few other books, mostly related to personal growth and family discipleship. In this book, he tackles a surprisingly neglected subject: the purpose and function of the blood-bought church of Jesus Christ.

Clearly, the book is written for laypeople. The content of the book is built around a fictional encounter the main character, John, has at a coffee shop with a few other individuals in search of what a biblical church is supposed to look like. After the initial “divine” encounter, they decide to have regular meetings in order to determine exactly what the Bible says about the church of Jesus Christ. Through the narrative portion, Crotts admirably illustrates many of the common misconceptions in America regarding the function and the purpose of the church. These narratives served to be a mental break from a thoroughly theological topic. The main chapters are didactic, and provide the theological backdrop to the brief discussions of the newly formed fellowship. Although there were a few times the narrative portions seemed a bit forced, I found this tactic wonderfully refreshing.

The book is divided in two main sections of six chapters each. The first section, titled, “What is God’s Family?” provides the theological foundation that our understanding should be based on. The next section, “How You Fit into God’s Family,” explains how this should look practically in the life of every believer. The book begins with a much-needed clarion call for a proper understanding of Jesus’ church. After describing the plethora of material that exists to strengthen families, he says “Amidst all the calls for husbands, wives, and children to fulfill their biblical roles, sadly, very few people emphasize God’s family as a vital element” (11-12). He proposes that the Bible does, in fact, provide a blueprint for believers in regards to their purpose and function in the local church, and he is determined to help individual believers understand clearly what that is.

It is difficult for me to bridle my enthusiasm for this book. I found valuable insights on just about every page. The language in a few places is a bit unpolished, and I did find some spelling errors, but much like one forgets the idiosyncrasies of a faithful and Spirit-led preacher of God’s Word, I forgot all about them a few pages into it. Each chapter presented in laymen’s terms wonderfully rich content that was easy to digest. It carries a rare, but precious quality of simplicity and depth that I hope will serve Christ’s church. Perhaps the most insightful and compelling theme about the book was the stark contrast of most pep-rally books. Some may use the gospel to motivate (guilt?) individuals to “return the favor” through serving their local churches, and sadly, that is why many serve. Crotts takes a refreshingly biblical approach by suggesting, again and again, that if you are not a vital part of a local and faithful assembly, you don’t what you are missing! His case is not for a “higher level” of faith, but for divine necessity.

After establishing the need in narrative form in chapter 1, Crotts continues to develop the need by explaining how many parachurch organizations and our autonomous society have clouded the idea of what a church is supposed to be and how it is to function. He makes valuable insights about how so many, in keeping with our consumer driven culture, attempt to replace the local church through the sermons online, Christian radio, and biblically based books. “In their minds,” writes Crotts, “they have successfully replaced all the benefits of the church while removing the burdens” (26) He explained how foreign this is to the biblical design, and how easily individuals and families can become deceived if they continue to insist on withdrawing from local fellowships. I find his arguments difficult to counter. He believes at the heart of this is pride and a consumer-driven mentality that demands God’s church meets our felt-needs.

Crotts does not begin laying the theological framework until chapter 3, where he explains, from Scripture, exactly what the church is, and how it is built. This chapter, and each of the successive chapters concerning the theology of the church, is essentially a distillation of Robert Saucy’s book, The Church in God’s Program in laymen’s terms. He builds a case of the church’s importance through 9 statements: 1) The church is designed for God’s glory, 2) Jesus is building the church, 3) Jesus loves the church and died for it, 4) Jesus is the foundation of the church, 5) The church is made of precious building materials (us!), 6) The metaphors for the church reveals its worth, 7) The church is the pillar and support of the truth, 8) God designed the church to spread His glory to the nations, 9) God designed the church for your spiritual life, growth, and health. All of these were wonderfully developed, with attentions especially given to point 9 throughout the rest of the book, as well as the importance of the local assembly.

The rest of section 1 goes into detail about exactly what the Bible teaches about how that fleshes out. In simple and clear terms, he explains the purpose of elders and deacons, the mission of the church, and what the Bible says about our own roles. He even explains the biblical term for “church” and defends a plurality of elders. Perhaps the most helpful chapter is chapter 5, where he adequately builds a case for who the authority of the church is supposed to be: Jesus Christ, mediating His authority by His Word, through faithful and godly elders. The Word of God is the standard, and contains all we need (2 Tim 3:16, 17).

Section 2 is aptly titled. Plenty of application has already been implied. Section 1 alone would make this a priceless resource for pastors everywhere, but section 2 provides just the extra nudge some more stubborn pew-warmers may need. It is as if Crotts lifts his finger from the Bible he was pointing at, and points it directly at the reader. He also briefly addresses problems like the lack of biblical evidence for a command to be a part of a local assembly with pastoral wisdom. He is also sure to make the reader understand there is no perfect church, and no perfect elder, but commitment to a local assembly is essential (85). He asserts that holiness is the greatest gift you can give to your family (112), and believers cannot adequately grow in holiness outside of the local church. Chapter 10 is full of wonderful illustrations concerning the use and exercise of spiritual gifts. He says, “The best way to identify your gifts is to serve in the local church” (119). He makes an incredibly convicting case that if you are a true believer, you are grieving the Spirit of God by not exercising the gift He has given you to serve and edify the local church. The final chapter, more than anything else, is a call to repentance. He ends by reminding the wayward Christian of the gospel, an assures them God has forgiven them for their neglect, but reminds them that true repentance demands they get involved and committed!

In conclusion, I absolutely loved this book. The book is not perfect, and certainly not the only book that should be written on the topic, but I believe it should be required reading for every new member of a church. As valuable as Dever’s 9 marks has been, this book is far more practical. If there are weaknesses that could be discussed, the audience is limited to those that exist in a western culture. The principles, of course, are timeless, but the illustrations and perceived problems may not carry the same weight in other cultures who perhaps have an entirely different set of problems that fight against God’s design, but by God’s design, that is not where He has placed John Crotts. As a graduating seminary student preparing to work at a church plant full of many different church experiences and backgrounds, and I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed me the opportunity to read this book.

Our Roman Catholic Friends

I'm not sure if the (very evangelical) bride and groom planned on sitting the evangelical seminary student next to the young, outspoken and articulate Roman Catholic at their wedding, but I do know it was God's plan. My Roman Catholic friend was determined to dispel common misconceptions between evangelicals and Roman Catholics, insisting that we cease infighting and disunity, and come together in spite of our differences around our common union in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sounds good, right?

Unlike many nominal Roman Catholics, he had an assurance of his salvation rooted in Jesus Christ alone, believed that Scripture is the supreme authority, and denied that the sacrifice of the mass was a re-sacrificing of Jesus Christ. "Jesus Christ was sacrificed once for all," he said. I know... he almost sounds evangelical, but don't give him too much credit. After our conversation about the mass, I said, "So you believe the mass is symbolic?" He just sort of smiled, and said, "no, it's not symbolic, but it isn't a re-sacrifice, either." Puzzled, I asked, "Than what is it?" (Had he been paying attention during that part of his Roman Catholic apologetics class, he would have told me it was one sacrifice that is perpetually repeated through the mass) He didn’t have an answer, but didn’t believe he needed one because it is essentially not a salvation issue, just as long as we can agree it is not a re-sacrifice. He then went on to tell me about the many misconceptions (such as a sacrifice of Jesus during the mass) that evangelicals have about Roman Catholics, and how, if we would just seek to understand each other, we would see that there are very few differences, except a couple of traditions.

I couldn’t help myself, but in my defense, it was a genuine question. I asked, “So the Roman Catholic Church has renounced the Council of Trent?” He smiled warmly, and stared for a few seconds. “What do you mean?” he asked. I told him that the Council of Trent says anyone who does not believe the sacrifice of the mass is a real and true sacrifice (had I been more prepared, I would have brought up propitiation) of Christ is to be anathema. It was at that point the wheels started to come off. He tried to assert that the council the Roman Catholic Church holds is not the Council of Trent, but the last ecumenical council. I asked him if that council renounced anything taught at the Council of Trent. It was about that time he went from being a thoroughly outspoken and articulate defender of Roman Catholicism to somewhat sheepish.

I say in hindsight, I was encouraged by his humility. He told me he wasn’t aware of the council of Trent, and that he believed salvation was by grace alone through faith alone. I told him the council of Trent specifically denies that. He said he would need to study some more, and I made sure he understood that if he disagreed with the council of Trent, he was not a Roman Catholic.

When he began to open up, I went right to where every conversation concerning God's redemptive plan should begin and end: not experience, not tradition, not religion, but the Word of God. He told me Catholics have more than just the Bible, they have the sacraments. I asked him, “where do those sacraments come from?” He seemed to understand my point, and said, “The Bible.” I don’t know if his heart was receptive, or if he was trying to think of things to say, but I used it as an opportunity to explain to him my concern.

I told him that when I started seminary, I was very committed to a theological system known as Calvinism, but as I continued to study the Bible, I recognized inconsistencies, and was forced with the choice to either believe the Bible, or the system I had committed myself to. I told him that Jesus faced the very same problem. What he taught was so different than what the Scribes and Pharisees had come to believe through their manmade traditions that it almost seemed like an entirely new religion. I told him about Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, and how he was amazed that Nicodemus, being the teacher of Israel did not understand what He was saying. I said he has to make a choice: he needs to decide for himself what his authority will be.

The truth is, Roman Catholicism and every other religion have answers for every refutation we give them. They want to tip their hat to biblical authority to make people feel safe, but when push comes to shove, whom they determine as their authority will determine their allegiance. There was a time when the Catholic Church ran parallel with the Word of God, but eventually, subtly and over time, misunderstandings and misapplications were overlooked or accepted until the top began to totter. What makes the top totter and fall is not doctrinal error, it is an allegiance to a man, system, or religion other than the Word of God. Our job is to know and understand our Bibles so well that if you run into a religious person that claims the Bible as their authority, you will be able to challenge them to think critically about what they believe, and who they honestly give their allegiance to. I would add, also, that we need to pray earnestly during the conversation that the Spirit of God would open up their hearts and their minds to understand His Word.