Envisioning the Congregation, Practicing the Gospel: A Guide for Pastors and Lay Leaders

by John W. Stewart

Reflecting a wealth of ministerial experience, this accessible and instructive book is designed to equip lay leaders and pastors of Protestant churches to better envision and practice gospel-driven ministry amid the challenges of our twenty-first-century context.

Especially addressing Baby Boomer and Gen X leaders, seasoned pastor and practical theologian John Stewart presents and explains five biblically mandated, foundational practices for being and nurturing the church: belonging, discipling, witnessing, serving, and worshiping. Stewart believes that these five practices are “essential markers” for congregations that seek to remain faithful to their risen Lord, and he offers memorable examples of how specific churches are carrying them out well.

Church leaders of every generation will find in these pages much practical wisdom on how to enhance their congregational life and mission. For any congregations wanting to remain faithful to their biblical heritage and mandate, Stewart’s Envisioning the Congregation, Practicing the Gospel provides an excellent roadmap for doing what God calls the church to do.

236 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2015

Reviews

[Taylor Ramage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I'm a lay leader at my church and even though I'm not the target audience for the book (Boomers and Gen Xers trying to figure out how to get us dang kids back in church, among other things), I still found it interesting and informative. Most mainline protestant churches certainly struggle with waning attendance and Stewart's five models definitely help some while not positing a particular style of church or worship over another. I think anyone who's a lay leader in their church will find some practical ideas they can try to shift things in their congregations.

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The word on the street is that churches are not only dying, but they are irrelevant. Many are the fixes for our predicament, many of which depend largely on marketing gimmicks. And as is so often true of marketing gimmicks they become old hat very quickly. Besides, these fixes usually presume a consumerist mentality, so the church becomes either Walmart or Starbucks. Big Boxes or coffee bars. There's usually not much God in these fixes, perhaps because God doesn't test well as a consumer product. To give but one example -- worship. Worship is designed not with God in mind, but the consumer -- the person in the pew.

John W. Stewart believes that things can be different. With that in mind he writes a book that he hopes will be read by lay leaders and pastors. A former pastor and seminary professor, he wants to reach out to those at the congregational level, hoping to empower leaders to guide congregations into becoming more grounded in faith so that their practices might reflect their devotion to the God revealed in Jesus.

This is a book on ecclesiology that focuses on five practices that Stewart discerns to be present in the Book of Acts. These practices, which he calls by their Greek names, are essential, he believes to becoming vital congregations. Oh, and I should note he writes to Mainline Church leaders (like me). These practices are "koinonia" (the arts of belonging), "Maryria" (Arts of Witnessing), "Mathetes" (arts of discipleship), "Diakonia" (the arts of serving), and letourgia (the arts of worship -- both corporate and personal). These are the "biblically-mandated, time-honoured, Spirit-infused practices," that must be present. None can be avoided. Thus, for instance diakonia without leitourgia, is merely social service, but leitourgia without diakonia is cheap grace. Interestingly, he notes that Mainline churches do pretty well with the diakonia, but are weak in both discipleship and witness.

Before he gets to the practices, which are not original to him, nor is his discussion that original (but that's not his purpose -- his intended audience is the lay leader for whom this is new material), he offers his take on the contemporary scene. This is where I have some concerns. The book has a dated feel to it. For one thing, he speaks of his intended audience as Baby Boomers and Gen-X folk, whom he believes are the church's current leaders. That may have been true a decade back, or even five years ago, but Millenials are quickly moving into leadership roles. The first wave of Millennials are now in their mid-30s. They are leading congregations as pastors and as lay leaders. This needs to be taken into consideration. The data that he appeals to also seems dated -- often a decade old. There is the sense that Stewart had been working on the book for some time, and only recently got around to finishing. In at least two occasions he spoke of someone recently writing something, and the reference is to a book published in the early 2000s if not earlier. Much has happened in the past ten years.

So, here's my take. You might want to go elsewhere for your cultural analysis. But his discussion of the five practices could prove helpful. Though, while the book isn't a difficult read it will take some patience on the part of many lay leaders. It is a good book, but could be better, if only to recognize that the leadership pool is larger than he imagined.