©2010, Shepherd Press, 138 pp. hbk.

Statistics and empty pews evidence the migration of people from local churches. Many of these end up at home for a variety of reasons rather than attending another church. The author of Loving the Church seeks to address this issue biblically in a unique format.

The book opens with a number of non-church-goers providentially ending up at a coffee shop. The initial conversation between two people ultimately draws in nearby, interested customers. Material interest sparks a concerted effort to study scriptural teaching about the church and to meet regularly to discuss their findings. Participants in the group had dropped out of church for a number of reasons including: to spend more time with the family, a lack of biblical teaching, and the failure of the body to minister to an errant member.

Chapters begin with participants providing engaging conversations as they meet to discuss their particular focus for the week. This is followed by a narrative of scriptural teaching on the subject. Topics covered include the origin and purpose of the church, the blueprint for the local church, the importance of the church for Christians and the importance of the individual member in a local ecclesiastical setting. The author also devotes space to church discipline and the sacraments.

This book is marked by a commitment to scriptural teaching, a love for the church, and a well-written style. Sufficient scripture references are provided for the reader to search out biblical teaching for himself. The volume is written from a Baptist perspective, thus readers will have to look elsewhere for an emphasis on covenantal theology, particularly as it is worked out in infant baptism. Also, there is no mention of the connectedness of church courts that would come from someone with Presbyterian background. No appeal process is mentioned beyond the decision of the local elders.  But there is so much positive included in this book that these criticisms should not hinder anyone from reading the book and profiting from it. For example, the author stresses the importance of parents teaching their children, the importance of the church, and the importance of the corporate body as apposed to individualism.

This is a good book for study individually or in a group setting. College students who may be drifting away from a local church body or being tempted to drift can see their time wisely spent in a study of this volume. This work is a good reminder to pastors and teachers to ground their members in the importance of the church and to pray that God’s Spirit will root this teaching within the heart of the hearers.

©2011 Byron Snapp, Hampton,Virginia