The Church: An Introduction

Short Studies in Systematic Theology

by Gregg R. Allison, Graham A. Cole (Editor), Oren R. Martin (Editor)

What comes to mind when you think of the word church?

In this volume, Gregg R. Allison helps define the church and its mission by presenting an overview of the specific doctrines and practices of different churches and denominations. He lays a basic foundation for better understanding the common practices among local church communities ("mere ecclesiology") and the ways that they diverge from one another ("more ecclesiology"). Through this systematic primer, you will come away knowing not only how various churches differ but also how they're ultimately united as the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Genres: Theology, Ecclesiology, Christian, Christianity

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 23, 2021

About the author

Gregg R. Allison (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society, a book review editor for the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, an elder at Sojourn Community Church, and a theological strategist for Sojourn Network. Allison has taught at several colleges and seminaries, including Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and is the author of numerous books, including Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine, Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church, and Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment.

Reviews

[Ethan Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid overview of what a church is and the variety of differences that we can see across churches. Separating the issues between mere and more is an important tactic the author uses to clarify what every church should and must believe in (mere), and where there can be some disagreement (more). My biggest complaint about this book is that some of the chapters should have been expanded upon to provide a lot more information, I know the author wasn’t trying to throw too much information into each chapter but there are certainly times where more information would have been helpful to determine why some people take a different interpretation. Thought it was a really good resource for the Church History & Ecclesiology course I’m taking at my church here in Auburn because it provided a breakdown of the issues before getting together and talking about it. I think that would be the best way to read this book, in conjunction with a class.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good overview of what the Bible teaches about the church and how the historical church has interpreted the verses as well. I liked how the author talked about each topic from two perspectives one as Mere and one as More. For example Mere is what all churches everywhere do, More is what makes each one different. I really liked this way of breaking it down! Very clear! Very memorable! Recommended

[Matt Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, succinct, clarifying, and charitable. Allison highlights the defining and distinguishing elements of ecclesiology (doctrine of the church)with an economy of words as only as seasoned master of the subject can.

I found his mere/more distinction to be especially helpful as he highlights both where all churches agree (mere) and where churches disagree (more) on significant issues. This was perhaps most pertinent in the chapters on church leadership, church government, and the sacraments/ordinances.

This is a superb introduction for those new to the subject and would be especially useful in church book studies and high school and college classes.

I do wish he had used fewer quotations from his previous work. Though they were clear and helpful, the way he kept introducing them was distracting. Similarly, the final paragraph of the chapters were formulaic and overly systematized in a way the rest of the book was not.

This is a fantastic series and I’m grateful it has made Allison’s work on the church so accessible.

Note: I received a complementary copy from the publisher but was not required to provide a positive review.

[Marc Minter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally, this book is a good summary of the main doctrines under the category of ecclesiology. The ignorant reader may benefit from this concise introduction to the subject matter.

However, readers might also potentially be misled regarding just how stark the differences truly are, especially between Protestants (including Evangelicals) and Roman Catholics. His concluding statement even implied that there is no ultimately meaningful distinction between Protestants and Rome. The informed reader will know otherwise.

As a Baptist, I was also disappointed with the author’s unwillingness to present the Baptist views of the ordinances and polity in a more preferred or favorable way. He did argue positively about his views of women in ministry and of the continuation of the sign gifts, but offered no argument on more fundamental subjects.

If you are looking for an incredibly brief and surface-level introduction, then here it is. But, whatever you do, don’t stop reading about ecclesiology after you finish this book.

[Raegan Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible resource for understanding the church in a very basic sense and in a more advanced, nuanced way. The structure was very easy to follow and each chapter lead to deeper understanding. I now feel more equipped to have deeper conversations surrounding the church, its role, its leadership, and its differences throughout denominations. I will be returning to this as a reference tool in the future for sure.

[Alex Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for the book, 5 stars for the 11 weeks of church history and ecclesiology class led by Fuller! Awesome getting to delve into the church and discuss concepts in and outside this book that I have never considered with fellow brothers and sisters. Thankful to belong to a church that doesn’t just do things because “we’ve always done them this way,” but a church where Scripture is foundational in determining how and why we do the things we do. Of course, every church most likely has it wrong in some capacity, so until that glorious day of final triumphal procession, “the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.”

[Katie Sibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid intro to the study of the church.

[Grace Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just love this series so much! So much helpful exposition on what scripture has to say about church and then how we interpret that and live that out in different ways. Author does a great job of accurately and kindly representing a lot of different viewpoints!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, big picture, systemic theology on the Church. Great resource

[Will Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely disagreed with some things in this book but the 4 stars are based on me liking the formatting and thinking the provided was at least interesting to read

[Carey Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really concise book on the essentials of the church. Dr. Allison also went in on a super brief overview between denominations. Much much clarity was provided. #dontlosethewonder

[J.K. Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Rating - Probably not worth your time


Level - Short (the goal of the series), some academic language, but mostly readable. 


Summary - The book is technically broken into two sections, Foundational Issues and Mere Ecclesiology and More Ecclesiology. However, part one, really functions as more of an extended introduction. The two chapters of this section are The Triune God and the Church, and The Church According to Scripture. The latter looks at the different words used for church, gathering, and temple in the Old and New Testaments. 


The bulk of the book is found in part two, which is broken into six chapters - The Identity, Leadership, Government, Ordinances or Sacraments, Ministries, and Future of the Church. The 'mere' versus 'more' ecclesiology is a rubric of sorts, wherein each chapter he discusses the 'mere' of the particular topic first, which is the basic agreements that all churches have now, or have had in the past. The 'more' part is where he dives into the differences between various churches or theological views. 

There is also the series introduction, and an introduction by Allison, conclusion, 'further reading', and indexes. 

My Thoughts - Allison is a strong writer, who has had success at the popular level. I've read a few of his books and always enjoyed them, but something just wasn't working right in this. It could have been an editor situation, or the way the put the book together, but it often became quite redundant. I mean in a verbatuum since, he would write an intro paragraph for each chapter that end with 'I will show X in turn', then ended the chapter with, 'I have shown X'. It was oddly academic for what I had assumed was meant to be a more popular writing. His Historical Theology text is more readable than parts of this. Additionally, the 'mere/more' was repetitive in the same way and a bit contrived. The actual content, outside of the framework, was very accessible and readable. I'm not sure what was going on. 


The content itself, was kind of a mixed bag. I appreciate his defense/discussion on the Trinity, but it didn't seem to fit. The Church According to Scripture was helpful and interesting. Identity was quick and solid. Leadership was perhaps the worst chapter. He makes the claim that 'elder' and 'bishop' are used interchangeable, which is pretty clear not only in the Greek, but also in the way it is used in the NT. However, he also claims 'pastor' is interchangeable with these two terms as well. He offers in example nor any linguistic proof, but rather points to Peter saying that elders should be good shepherds (the word translated is how we get the word pastor). He then quickly moves on. I am not entirely sure why he makes this claim, which is clearly lacking support, but I could speculate a few reasons that are beyond the scope of this review. 

Government, Ordinances, and Future were the strongest parts of the book. He explanation of governing options was one of the clearest concise write-ups I've seen. The baptism part of Ordinances was short, but I think that is actually a better way to handle. I've seen interesting arguments that there aren't really four views of communion, but really just three, but he sticks with the traditional four views and does a pretty good job with the nuances. Much like Government, the chapter on the Future of the church was one of the best, concise writings I've seen. These two chapters function very well as almost a cliff-notes, without sacrificing too much understanding. 

That being said, this book is still probably not worth your time. While still short, there is too much unnecessary writing and the 'mere/more' distinctions really fell a little flat. There are a few strong chapters, but others are mixed. I appreciate what Crossway is trying to do by basically giving you chapters on what would be a Systematic, but meant to be shorter and more readable. However, based on this one, I wouldn't really recommend that approach. Additionally, there are other books that focus on the Church that are better, though not many hit on the future (but there are hundreds of those). Unless this is a topic you are just starting to read on, and really need somewhere to start (in which case you could benefit from the 'further reading' section), this book probably isn't worth it. 

*I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. More reviews at MondayMorningTheologian.com

[Hobart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S THE CHURCH: AN INTRODUTION ABOUT?
Allison starts with a good Introduction, sketching the ambiguity of the current English term "church"—driving home the need for a book like this. He then spends two chapters with the foundation—outlining both the relationship between the Trinity and the Church and then with a broad overview of the Scriptural doctrine of the Church.

Then he moves into the bulk of the book:

I will present the church in terms of its local expression according to the following topics: identity, leadership, government, ordinances or sacraments, ministries, and future. For each topic, the first section—mere ecclesiology—presents the common ground shared by most churches throughout history. This aspect addresses the essence, or core, of the church’s identity, leadership, government, ordinances or sacraments, ministries, and future. The second section—more ecclesiology—describes how this essence expresses itself in the actual identity, leadership, government, ordinances of sacraments, ministries, and future of particular churches.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT THE CHURCH: AN INTRODUCTION?

In summary, ecclesiology properly begins with a consideration of the doctrine of God. Specifically, it is grounded in Trinitarian theology, which leads to this conclusion: There is one people of God, who from eternity past has graciously elected all those who will believe in him by faith and walk with him in obedience, worship, love, and service. This one people of God consists of two aspects: the people of Israel in old covenant relationship with him and the people of the church in new covenant relationship with him. Specifically in regard to this second aspect, the church is the body of Christ and temple of the Holy Spirit. As the body, the church submits to its head, celebrates its diversity of people and gifts, lives out its siblingship in all purity, and portrays and fosters its unity by participation in the Lord’s Supper. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, the church in which he dwells is birthed, empowered, gifted, directed, sent, and sanctified by the Spirit.

The first couple of chapters got me excited for the book, and then after that, each chapter annoyed me more. He totally squandered that start—the "Mere" portions of the chapters were generally decent, but far too short. The "More" portions on the other hand...didn't belong in a book like this (for the most part)—to get into all my problems would involve getting into the nitty-gritty of the arguments. They seemed to be what he wanted to write about more than the "Mere" bits and aren't really introductory ecclesiology.

Also, and this is just one of those things, one chapter felt like it was written in response to my pastor's sermon that day—each point seemed to be counter one of his (or vice versa). I was already having issues with the book, but that might have been the straw that broke the camel's back for me. (not that I think my pastor is infallible, it was just bad timing—and a bad take on the text)

If this was the first book in the Short Studies in Systematic Theology that I'd read, I probably wouldn't have come back for more. But, as it's the fifth, I can keep going, trusting that this was a fluke.

In the end, I think this book tried to do too much. It tried to be all things to all people rather than embracing a confessional point of view as well as getting hung up on the structure, and ends up not accomplishing much at all. Focusing on and fleshing out the "More" portions would've made for a better read, a more profitable read, and a less problematic read. File this one under "don't bother."

[Amber Thiessen · Rating 3 out of 5]

During a time when the apparent distinguishing mark of the church – the public gathering for worship – has been minimized, is a better time than any to consider our own values and beliefs about the church, as well as dig into what scripture teaches us about what and who it is.

The season has been causing us to think a little deeper about who the church is and why it is important especially as we navigate pandemic restrictions and our place in all of it. We see loneliness, increasing anxiety, and isolation when our gathering is absent, and, in contrast, the swelling temptation toward individualism, a "just me and Jesus" approach.

"The Church: An Introduction" by Gregg Allison, is part of the 'Short Studies in Systematic Theology' series, here he gives us the theological basics of the doctrine of church.

In part one he shows us how the study of the church begins with what we believe about God - Father, Son and Spirit - and how the church reveals the Trinity as we are noted to be the people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit.

He traces the assembly of God through the Old Testament and the New, and in light of the new covenant given in the work of Christ, the basic concepts of the church: The local church who gather to worship, grow in maturity and take the gospel out, the global church consisting of all those who love and follow Jesus, the believer after passing away becomes part of the heavenly church, enjoying rest and worship with the Father, and the longing for the return of Christ and the wedding supper of the Lamb.

The second part of the book looks at the identity and function of the local church. He describes who she is as the chosen people of God, who leads the people, and how the group is led. He looks at the celebration of the sacraments, as we remember the work of Christ, the ministries within the local church, as each member serves one another with their gifts, and the glorious future of the church, as we await our bodily resurrection.

In each of these chapters he compares and contrasts the commonly held beliefs the church has held throughout history, and how they have diverged in different church traditions. I found it helpful to see these differences and consider how that has impacted where we are today, especially in the context of spiritual gifts. It's also important to see the similarities and how united the church stands in together in Christ.

This book is a very helpful guide for the believer who is interested in learning more about the doctrine of the church, and some basic differences in church traditions. It leans heavier on the theological side, and so I would characterize it as more academic.

Quick Stats
# of pages: 192
Difficulty: Moderate-Academic
My Rating: 3 stars

If you are looking for a basic introduction to the teaching of the church, pick this one up! You'll find it at Crossway or Amazon.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of the Crossway Blog Review Program. A big thank you to Crossway for the book and for the opportunity to post an honest review.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allison manages both to lay a basic foundation for better understanding the common practices across the church ("mere ecclesiology") and to delve into the ways in which various churches diverge from one another ("more ecclesiology"). It is very hard to write about ecclesiology from a "neutral" perspective (as if one existed). Allison mostly succeeds, though I would quibble here and there, especially with his overemphasis on the local church vs. groups of local churches. But then again he's a congregationalist (Baptist), so what do you expect?

His discussions of "more ecclesiology" are rather basic, but again mostly accurate. It's an okay introduction to many of those topics, but I'd suggesting moving along rather quickly to more specific resources such as How Jesus Runs the Church for polity, Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin's Doctrine of the Lord's Supper for communion, Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction for men's/women's roles, etc.

[Josh Loomis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Church: An Introduction is a very solid book about what it claims to be about, the church. It is not super in-depth, which may leave some readers wanting, but it is a fantastic introduction to the various structures and view of different churches and denominations. Allison does a great job at fairly representing different viewpoints, while also explaining the different arguments and nuances people have for their viewpoints. For someone who wants to know more about church differences, this book is a fantastic starting point.

[Joel Blanco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer on the doctrine of the Church by Gregg Allison. Allison presents components that define the Church in a fair and simple way including presenting differing views such as cessationism and continuationism; egalitarianism and complementarianism; and the view of the church within different eschatological views. At times, the author would indirectly reveal his hand on certain viewpoints he himself sides with but all in all, he does not caricature the opposing views.

A good resource to whet the appetite for any person seeking to know about the Church.

[Michael Deschenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing primer on what draws all churches together and where they differ. A perfect surface level appraisal of each view on various topics that primarily focuses on their arguments for and scriptural basis. If I didn’t know the seminary Gregg taught at, I wouldn’t know which positions he took other than his desire for unity in the church and knowledge of what is out there.

[John Dube · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Good things here, but brief. I know that’s the point of this series, but it feels flat. Positively, Allison is a clear writer and this book does make me want to read his larger work on the church, Sojourners and Strangers.

[Joseph Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great synopsis of the nature and identity of the church. Allison sticks to what Scripture says, and presents differing views in a charitable and consistent manner. If you want a quick primer on the church from a trustworthy source, use this book!

[Mira Felzien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful overview of the church. Continually pointed back to scripture. Spoke to the common beliefs and practices that all Christians share and the breaks that typically divide us denominationally.

[Caleb Pipes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to ecclesiology. Greg Allison is brief but pointed. A great starting point for the basics.

[Anndrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview. Has really helped me begin to think these subjects through.

[Joshua Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book addresses A LOT of foundational theology. I appreciated the authors assessment of the differing views found within the church. Great read!

[Matthew Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always struggle with writing reviews of books that I did not enjoy reading. It is not that the information presented is incorrect, but more of the manner in which it was presented. I felt like the author said the same things multiple times. As short as this book was, I feel all of the information could have been presented in twenty or thirty less pages. Granted, I am no biblical scholar, but that is my thinking.

It was not that the book was horrible. It did have its bright points. If you are curious as to how other churches may be led or conduct themselves, this is a great starting point. It could be useful to get a grasp on some church history among denominations and how and why these divisions happened. This will be one that sits alongside the others in the series as they are important. It will be one that I reference, but likely will not become one that I reread to get a deeper understanding.

Crossway sent this to me for me to read and review. I was not obligated to provide an endorsement. As always, my thoughts and words are my own and have not been influenced in any manner outside of the written manuscript.

[Erik Spohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic overview of the church in a biblical, balanced way.