Discipleship and the Evangelical Church: A Critical Assessment

by Jesse Hamilton

The Evangelical Protestant church is in the midst of a crisis—but the causes might be different than we think. In this book, Jesse Hamilton argues that the reason for the church’s growing disunity, moral and cultural confusion, and general lack of passion and power is its perpetual neglect of the fundamentals of discipleship—what it truly means to follow Jesus. Our only hope for change is to recalibrate our hearts and lives on the call of Christ and the New Testament distinctives of absolute surrender, deep and abiding holiness, the work of prayer, and engagement with the lost and needy of the world—all the things that the modern church has so often struggled to commit to. But first, the church must come to a biblical understanding of what these things actually are and how we must pursue them. Combining theological rigor with clarity of thought and simplicity of style, Discipleship and the Evangelical Church aims to reach modern Christians with the urgent message of the hour, which is nothing other than the timeless call of Christ to follow him.

186 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2022

Reviews

[Mike Conroy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here are 6 reasons for my low rating:

First, this book is not a critical assessment of discipleship and the evangelical church. It is an assessment of evangelical Christians, not churches. His chapter on missions was the only place where he spoke of the need to belong to a local church. “The apostolic writings make it clear that it was God’s intention, after the resurrection of Jesus, for new, Spirit-filled believers to gather in local churches” (92) When he speaks of the “church” he either means individual Christians or pastors. If a pastor read the title and wanted to address the issue of a lack of discipleship in his church, this would not be the right book. In the conclusion of the book, he says, “We need simple change, one believer or congregation at a time.” (166) But there is no part of the book where he addresses how the gathered church has missed the mark, besides how preachers teach improperly.

Second, this book assesses, but offers no solutions. This book assesses, but does not solve. It points out, but does not offer help. Since he addresses a common problem, this book is not needed. It’s like a tree falls on your house and puts a hole in the roof. You can see the hole. Your neighbors can see the hole. A contractor comes over and tells you that he has a really important assessment to give you. The meeting takes 30 minutes for him to point out that there is a hole in your roof that needs to be repaired. But offers no solutions.

Third, Jesse Hamilton points more to how God empowers Christians to live than he points to what Jesus did to save His people. I think part of the reason for this emphasis is his critique on the “gospel-centered” movement and for those who emphasize the free offer of the Gospel without the call to repentance. But it leads to a discouraging imbalance. I do not think he misunderstands the gospel, but I think his emphasis goes too far the other direction. At the end of a book, he asks, “Are you unsure whether you are a true disciple?” (158) The “unfailing sign” that he points to is whether or not you “keep going.” (158) I understand where this comes from in the Bible. Jesus says that, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” But Christian assurance is deeper than good works that God produces in us; Christians can be assured of their salvation because Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave. This book lacks the sweetness of the saving work of Jesus and His promises for the church. And this leads to unfortunate rhetoric that filled the book, my fourth criticism.

Fourth, the language often used in this book is questioning the reader’s authenticity. “My friend, have you ever truly known the grace and power of the Holy Spirit in your life? Have you ever been filled so marvelously, so unspeakably gloriously, with love to God and our Lord Jesus Christ, that you felt your soul was going to burst?” (70) This kind of rhetoric puts the focus on ourselves and our good works or right emotional experience and not on God and His Word. The focus is on the wrong spot. He assesses that Christians in America are not serious enough and constantly questions them throughout the book. It puts the solution not in God and His promises in Christ for His church, but in our good works. Even if we believe that God alone gives us the grace to do those works, that focus is incomplete by itself. The solution Hamilton provides to the problem in the Evangelical church is for us to be better Christians.

Fifth, he promotes a view of the Christian life on subjective experiences as a means of gaining power and guidance. The general idea he promotes is that if one is spiritual enough, then they will be useful to understanding God’s will and to ministry tasks. He explains a lack of praying enough and spending time in God’s Word as the reason he failed when he was first overseas, but his second trip was successful. The Holy Spirit spoke to his wife in “that still, small voice, unmistakable in its faith-fueled luminesce.” (2) There is a pietism of obedience to God making one more able to serve Him and hear from Him.

Seven, he makes many generalizations about the poor condition of the American church that comes across as self-righteous. He puts down Christians in America. He calls our lack of prayer “laughable.” And has an entire paragraph at the bottom of page 149 that labels American Evangelicalism as “cool, hip, trendy, shallow, pop-oriented, self-centered, world-saturated, unholy, unspiritual… where we can hardly spend five minutes in Spirit-empowered prayer, where we are completely untested, unproved, unsanctified spiritual neophytes, who know nothing of real sacrifice, humility, maturity, and holiness..” (149) It is not helpful to an argument to make such generalizations like this.