“Total Church: A radical reshaping around gospel and community” review
I have just finished reading “Total Church: a radical reshaping around gospel and community” by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester, IVP, 2007.
Steve Timmis and Tim Chester lead The Crowded House – a network of churches based in the North of England. As the name suggests the majority of these churches started as house churches. “Total Church” presents a model of church that is both gospel centred and community centred.
The book is in two parts, the first part (which is quite short) sets out some of the biblical principles of being both gospel centred and community centred. The second part is more practical drawing from the authors’ own experience looking at how being gospel and community centred shapes different aspects of church life. Topics covered here include evangelism, church planting, discipleship and training, theology, social action, and pastoral care.
The book is well written, quite easy to read and to grasp the concepts but provides enough food for thought as to how we can be both gospel and community centred together as Hope Church.
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