The Church

	Identity & Composition	(Updated 05/05/06)

Nature & Structure

	Manual of Church Order J.L. Dagg One of the most cogent defenses of the Baptist view of church structure and practice. His arguments for the meaning and subjects of baptism, including a thorough refutation of infant baptism are, to my mind, convincing. Dagg also presents a strong case for following apostolic church practice (pp.84-93), plural oversight (pp.263-266), and maintaining a regenerate church membership (pp.100-121, 275-276). In fact, there are some statements and quotations within his work that are worth the price of the book itself! Highly recommended. - Darryl M. Erkel
	The Universality of the Church according to the Confessions of Baptists Tom Wells Available from Tom Wells. Tom Wells, 7686 Granby Way, West Chester, Ohio 45069-2300, phone (513) 779-1191
	*The Relationship of Israel to the Church* Tom Wells There are two prominent beliefs today regarding Israel's relationship to the Church: one stating that the ancient ethic nation of Israel was the "church of the Old Testament", as taught by Covenant Theology and the second stating that Israel and the Church are "two separate people with separate promises and separate futures", as taught by Dispensationalism. In contrast to these systems this booklet demonstrates that Israel and the Church have a typological (type/anti-type, shadow/substance) and organic relationship. The Church is the New & True Israel! 35 pages. Available from Tom Wells. Tom Wells, 7686 Granby Way, West Chester, Ohio 45069-2300, phone (513) 779-1191
	Baptist: Thorough Reformers John Quincy Adams

Leadership & Pastoral Ministry

	Biblical Eldership Alexander Strauch What is the nature of biblical eldership? Strauch carefully unveils the biblical teaching on this question and hopes to help restore, challenge, and revitalize this ancient office. It's not just for elders; it's for anyone concerned with biblical church life. 288 pages.
	The Minister as Shepherd Charles Jefferson This is perhaps one of the best books written on the importance of church leaders maintaining the humble, shepherd-model in pastoral ministry, as opposed to the corporate CEO model current in our day. Although Jefferson delivered these lectures to the influential Broadway Tabernacle in New York City in 1912, his words are still relevant and challenging today (perhaps even more so!). In his Introduction recommending the book, Warren W. Wiersbe writes that Jefferson's work “is one of perhaps a dozen in my library that I try to read again each year. It does my heart good!” (p.7). And it will guarantee to do your “heart good” as well. - Darryl M. Erkel
	Minister of Mercy: The New Testament Deacon Alexander Strauch As the New Testament teaches and the Protestant reformers recognized, deacons are to be involved in a compassionate ministry of caring for the poor and needy. Strauch outlines the biblical responsibilities and qualifications for deacons. 191 pages.
	Reforming Pastoral Ministry Challenges for Ministry in Postmodern John Armstrong The focus of the Bible is not successful living. Its not successful churches. It's not family or co-dependencey or self esteem. IT IS CHRIST. And yet Sunday after Sunday, millions of Americans sit and listen to "therapeutic" or market-driven preaching. They hear sermons aimed at resolving emotional needs or attracting the seeker. They walk away inspired to solve their problems or to consult their Bibles a little more often, perhaps, but they never see Christ. They miss the Christ whose life, death, and resurrection affect every aspect of their existence. They need the King of Glory--and preaching centered solely on Christ that recaptures the wonder of His holiness. But preaching with such an emphasis requires an understanding of the nature of pastoral ministry in the postmodern age. With current fads robbing Christ of His glory, training yourself to be discerning in the face of the techniques and methods suggested for the church today is a must. You can then sift them through the sieve of Scripture and reform anything that diminishes Christ. These writings by working pastors will challenge you to do just that. They will encourage you to focus thoroughly on Christ in your ministry so that the glory of Him and Him alone is what draws believers and unbelievers to the throne of God.
	The Supremacy of God In Preaching John Piper There are certain books that become available to us which ought to be allowed to cut into the line of unread books and be given a high priority in the stewardship of the time that is allocated for useful reading. One such book is The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper. This book sets forth a biblical case for the kind of preaching which under the blessing of God will bring us face-to-face with the vision of an all glorious and enthroned God. Much biblical counsel is given with respect to the cultivation of utter dependence upon the power of the Spirit of God in undertaking the task of preaching. The author then identifies ten specific elements in the preaching of Jonathan Edwards that modern preachers ought to seek to embody in their own preaching ministries. This material is a marvelous distillation of a comprehensive view of what constitutes true biblical preaching.
	Introduction to Biblical Counseling A Basic Guide to the Principles and Practice of Counseling John MacArthur & Wayne A. Mack These two well-respected authors insist that Christians learn to think biblically about all counseling-related issues. While many today are applying secular psychology's perspectives to counseling situations, this important source book returns unashamedly to the historical and theological roots of the sufficiency of Scripture. Extensive material is also provided by Dr. Mack to equip pastors and mature Christians for the practical task of counseling.

Body Life & Community

	Critique of Youth Ministry Chris Schlect Written by a former youth minister, this paradigm-shattering booklet proves that our modern obsession with youth culture is rooted in evolutionary humanism. Rather than helping families, youth groups are undermining the role of fathers and alienating the hearts of our young.
	Family Worship Kerry Ptacek Makes the case for the necessity of family worship in the home and age-integrated worship in the assembly.
	Uniting Church and Home A Blueprint for Rebuilding Church Community Eric Wallace This book serves multiple purposes. First, it presents a strong biblical overview of the crisis of anti-family sentiment in the church and of the biblical solution to the crisis. Second, this is the right book to share with your pastor because of its gracious tone and respect for church leadership. We picked this as the most important book of 1999 because it offers helpful solutions for families concerned about the big business, debt-ridden, highly bureaucratic, anti-family approach to church life prevelant today. Wallace warns against the trend toward peer-segregation and youth culture. He argues for family-centered activities and demonstrates that God desires the local church to reinforce the family, and the family to bless the local church. - Doug Phillips
	How Modern Churches Are Harming Families John Thompson Audio Tape. 60 minutes. This is a masterful presentation of the modern crisis between church and home by a man who wears the three hats of father, pastor, and theologian. Thompson addresses eight problems -- wrong philosophies of: 1.) church growth; 2.) how to meet the needs of a congregation; 3.) outreach; 4.) loyalty; 5.) shepherding families; 6.) socialization; 7.) ministry; and 8.) Scripture. In each case, Thompson shows us that the Bible is the best antidote to the problem. This is a life-changing tape.
	Hospitality Commands Alexander Strauch As a young Christian in my teens, I spent hundreds of hours in the home of a beloved pastor observing his devotion to his wife and seven children. Family hospitality has changed my life. In this fine booklet, Strauch demonstrates that hospitality is a non-optional biblical command designed to build strong Christian communities and win souls. - Doug Phillips

Baptism

	Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace An Appraisal of the Argument That as Infants Were Once Circumcised, So They Should Now Be Baptized Paul King Jewett One of the greatest works on the issue
	A Handbook of Objections to Immersion as Baptism with Answers Tom Wells Available from Tom Wells. Tom Wells, 7686 Granby Way, West Chester, Ohio 45069-2300, phone (513) 779-1191

Church Regression & Reformation

	Whatever Happened to the Reformation? Calling Evangelicals Back to Their Reformation Roots Johnson & (Editors) Trying to get a handle on what's wrong with the evangelical church and blaze a path out of our theological morass? Then this book is necessary reading for you. It is a trumpet call to return to that better, higher, purer, and wiser gospel which evangelicals once held. — Jim Boice Bruce Ware, Darryl Hart, John MacArthur, and others join the editors in calling evangelicals to recover their Reformation roots. Too many evangelicals believe methodology and results trump theology. To reach a postmodern society they too readily adopt an unbiblical view of God that many Americans find more palatable. Or they subsume Bible study and preaching to secondary status. Whatever Happened to the Reformation? urges us to turn to the theology of the Reformers and allow it to shape every aspect of church and family life. Take it and read!
	Compromised Church The Present Evangelical Crisis Examined John Armstrong (Editor) Is the Evangelical Church in trouble? Though many observers believe the evangelical church is still going strong, some are concerned that it is in dire need of theological reformation and spiritual renewal. These thought-provoking essays from some of evangelicalism's leading voices deal with the present state of the Christian church, particularly in the areas of ecclesiology, worship, and doctrine. They discuss the evangelical church's perspective on its traditions, worship practices, and theology. They also explore what kind of biblical understanding is reflected in the typical church's liturgy, how today's church relates to its culture, in what ways the church may have compromised itself in ecclesiological matters, and how to respond to those concerns in light of Scripture and church history. This book was written to give a fuller view of the issues challenging evangelicalism, plus give ideas on what can be done to bring biblical reformation and a new spiritual vitality to the body of believers.
	The Coming Evangelical Crisis Current Challenges to the Authority of Scripture and the Gospel R. Kent Hughes (Editor), John, Jr. MacArthur (Editor), R. C. Sproul (Editor), John H. Armstrong (Editor), Michael Horton, Albert, Jr. Mohler The fourteen contributors to The Coming Evangelical Crisis assert that the practices and beliefs that have guided the church since the Reformation are in jeopardy. The past few decades have seen a drift away from the doctrines that were the driving force of the church for nearly four centuries. Perhaps that is why, despite the church's widespread evangelism programs, million-dollar crusades, and aggressive strategies for church growth, our culture continues on its course of disbelief and moral decline. In The Coming Evangelical Crisis, the fourteen respected Christian leaders and thinkers sound the alarm about the growing trend toward a tentative and diluted gospel message. Unless a concerted effort is made to correct the drift away from fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, the church will become even less effective in the years ahead. The Coming Evangelical Crisis is a compelling and challenging work, a valuable resource for pastors, teachers, leaders, and anyone who is concerned about the effectiveness of the church in this generation and for the next decade of a new millennium.
	No Place For Truth, Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? David Wells Time magazine described this treatise as a "stinging indictment of evangelicalism's theological corruption." Wells dissects the collapse of theology in contemporary evangelicalism in order to encourage a renewal of historic Protestant theology. 318 pages.
	Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses It's Will to Discern John MacArthur Jr. Steeped in Reformation thinking, this powerful book explains biblical discernment in a world of deceptive trends. MacArthur carefully dissects the Vineyard laughing "revival" and the recent "Evangelicals &Catholics Together" statement. 256 pages.
	Ashamed Of The Gospel, When the Church Becomes Like the World John Macarthur Jr. This is Macarthur at his best. Very clear book. Lots of comments on relevant Bible texts. May be his most important book ever. Says that he knows why the church in America is lacking power. He sounds like Spurgeon when he fought the Downgrade controversy in the 1880's.
	*Roman Catholicism: Evangelical Protestants Analyze What Unites and Divides Us* John Armstrong (Ed.) This collection of essays from leading Evangelicals helpfully rehearses the history and theology that led to the Reformation and the continuing division with Rome. 318 pages.
	The Bleeding of the Evangelical Church David Wells The author believes that we have allowed ourselves to be shaped by the popular culture whose ethos is alien to God-consciousness, to "other-worldliness", and to passion for biblical truth. A much fuller treatment of the same themes will be found in the author's influential books, No Place for Truth and God in the Wasteland. 13 pp pamphlet. (Paperback).
	Losing Our Virtue Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision David Wells In Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision, theologian David Wells argues that the Church is in danger of losing its moral authority to speak to a culture whose moral fabric is torn. Although much of the Church has enjoyed success and growth over the past years, Wells laments a “hollowing out of evangelical conviction, a loss of the biblical word in its authoritative function, and an erosion of character to the point that today, no discernible ethical differences are evident in behavior when those claiming to have been reborn and secularists are compared.” The assurance of the Good News of the gospel has been traded for mere good feelings, truth has given way to perception, and morality has slid into personal preference. Losing Our Virtue is about the disintegrating moral culture that is contemporary society and what this disturbing loss means for the church.