The Deliberate Church is Dever’s conclusion to his trilogy on church health, which began with the hugely popular Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, which was followed by Polity. (Cf. also Dever’s short booklet Display of God’s Glory). This book is Dever’s attempt to be practical about the ecclesiology outlined in the previous works. It is a functional, hands-on approach to church life, offering suggestions that range from when to circulate the agenda for elders’ meetings and even how to staple the necessary papers to a minister’s weekly priorities. Dever contends that this ‘Gospel-driven and governed’ approach stands in direct contrast to a variety of church-methodologies currently on offer, primarily discerned in its plain, non-innovative, Word-orientation. Of course, ecclesiology is always set within a culture, so even Dever’s suggestions will be contextualised and do not reflect ‘divine purity,’ but his effort is to remove those aspects of church life that obscure the Gospel and to emphasise those that highlight it. ‘Be deliberate about the gospel in the life of your church’ is the message of this book.

Dever and Alexander divide the book into four sections: ‘Gathering the Church,’ ‘When the Church Gathers,’ ‘Gathering Elders,’ ‘When the Elders Gather.’ Section one addresses issues surrounding the formal relationship of the church members such as evangelism, the roll, membership classes, and church discipline. Section two deals with the worship service itself, including preaching, reading the Bible, praying, music, and the sacraments/ordinances. Sections three and four are essentially detailed accounts of the qualifications of elders, their training, and the relationship between staff and non-staff elders.

In a book such as this one that is so specific in its approach, one can find a trivial objection for virtually any point raised, but that, it seems, is not the greatest insight to be gained. A better view is to consider the practical applications of some overarching concepts. First, as has been highlighted, Dever wants the gospel to be the focus of the church. Thus, elder meetings spend significant time in reading the Bible and in prayer; sermons are detailed, lengthy, and lack personal illustrations; and members and potential members are rigorously challenged regarding their personal faith. Second, Dever places a great priority (rightly) on the corporate nature of ecclesiology so that each practical application has as its backdrop the unity of the body of Christ—though there is very little talk of that concept outside the bounds of his local church, save a brief discussion on international mission. Third, leadership is a key feature of the church. Dever devotes approximately eighty-five pages to sections one and two on church membership and worship, and approximately seventy pages on elders. These broad concepts are the strength of the book.

I would offer a caution for the reader in regard to Dever’s tone. Often the lines between ‘helpful suggestion’ and ‘this is the right way to do it’ can be blurred in this book, and the young pastor that seeks change in his new charge will find opposition and disappointment if Dever’s approach is not handled with great patience and care. Some things you find here will not apply to your denomination or will be covered in some other way. Other practices may not be best for your congregation and you may have to find another tactic.

My one criticism is the same one I offer contemporary evangelicalism in general, which is that the book lacks a deep Trinitarian piety. The church is an image of God—a being in communion with the divine life of Father, Son, and Spirit; thus, it is imperative that the church exist the way God exists, and all of her ministries should directly reflect this fact. That God is Trinity is the distinguishing mark of the Christian faith, yet most would not be able to articulate what difference it makes to the life of the church and if we said ‘binity’ or ‘monad’ rather than ‘Trinity’ would not know the difference. Given the subtitle of the book, ‘Building Your Ministry on the Gospel,’ I was hoping for more along these lines. To be fair to Dever, he from time to time alludes to the work of the Persons (and I am certain he embraces this point), but a more explicit Trinitarian connection and foundation would have been welcomed.

That being said, the fact that I am not Baptist, advocate shorter sermon-lengths and reside outside of the USA does not detract from the value of the book. We would do very well to hearken to Dever’s voice on being a deliberately gospel-oriented leader for a society that needs nothing more or less.

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