In churches today, little work goes into training. Gospel growth is seen as the job of the pastor, and since it is impossible for him to engage each member personally, everything is done at the large-group level. He becomes the manager of events, meetings, and groups. This is bad news because it encourages the congregation to be spectators.

The good news is an alternative method proposed by The Trellis and the Vine by Australian authors Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. Their thesis is this: Structures don’t grow ministry any more than trellises grow vines. Churches must make a radical shift in ministry philosophy—away from erecting and maintaining structures, and towards growing people who are disciple-making disciples of Christ. “Training is the engine of gospel growth. Under God, the way to get more gospel growth happening is [for pastors] to train more and more mature, godly Christians to be vine-workers—that is, to see more people equipped, resourced and encouraged to speak the word prayerfully to other people, whether in outreach, follow-up or Christian growth” (90).

The authors assert that the primary job of the pastor is to teach and train his congregation, by his word and life, to be become disciple-making disciples of Jesus. Payne and Marshall contrast Pastor as Trainer against two common models in today’s church: Pastor as Clergyman and Pastor as CEO. The Clergyman is like the one employee in a small corner store. He preaches, leads the service, counsels and does visitation. The CEO is like the leader of a large staff of a department store. He is the manager who oversees small groups, big events, and attractional meetings. The Trainer, however, is more like the coach of a team. He trains disciples to disciple others, encourages people ministering to people with the overarching goal that his congregation is continually in mission mode. The pastor’s aim in people work is developing mature vine-workers who can speak the truth of God to others.

Gospel growth is a key term and is broken down into four basic stages: (1) Outreach (2) Follow-up (3) Growth (4) Training. The final goal is training others to multiply disciples. All Christians should teach others—whether at home, in the congregation, or in the community (Eph. 4:15-16; 6:4; Col. 3:16; rom. 15:14; Heb. 3:12-13; 10:24-25)—though not all are teachers (1 Cor. 12:29; Jas. 3:1).

How This Book Changed Me

1. We must be willing to lose people from our own congregation if that is better for the growth of the gospel. We may pour countless hours into people only to find that they will take another job elsewhere or enter another ministry. We train people for the benefit of God’s kingdom, not our own churches.

2. Ministry is people. It is a team game. “Up to 100 names are associated with Paul in the NT, of which around 36 could be considered close partners and fellow laborers” (112).

3. Don’t be a control freak. A bit of messiness is inevitable in this form of people ministry. Organizational chaos can be managed. Control of sound doctrine and godly character is the real issue.

4. The Gospel Growth Chart (87) helped me see my flock in a different light. The seven reasons for pastoral “apprentices” reminded me how vital internships are to the church (144-146).

5. Sunday sermons are necessary but not sufficient. Richard Baxter is the ultimate example of one who personally catechized and instructed his flock in their homes with the chief motive being the salvation of souls.

Conclusion

The growth of the gospel is the focus in Scripture, not the growth of the church as a structure. The Trellis and the Vine implores a mind-shift from running programs and events (the trellis) to building and training people (the vines). This may at times be a chaotic and inconvenient strategy (training evangelists takes time) but in the end it will yield a stronger church. “The real work of God is people work—the prayerful speaking of his word by one person to another” (27). In sum, this highly practical book asserts that the goal of ministry is disciple making. “The sermon on Sunday should aim to make disciples” (153). Start with a few disciples, train them, and watch people multiply. The theme verse: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

Bibliography

Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. The Trellis and the Vine. Australia: Matthias Media, 2009. 196 pp.

Have you ever wondered if what you’re doing for the poor is really helping? When Helping Hurts reveals the painful and complex truth about poverty and offers practical concepts, principles, and strategies. This book focuses on appropriate ways for the Western church—and its missionaries—to participate in poverty alleviation at home and abroad. Part 1 lays a foundation for all poverty-alleviation efforts by discussing the fundamental nature of poverty and then drawing out some implications. Part 2 discusses three key issues that should be considered in poverty-alleviation strategies. Part 3 then applies all of these concepts to a set of strategies designed to alleviate poverty through increasing people’s wealth.

If you are unable to read the whole book, chapters 4 and 7 are the best. Before surveying these two chapters, it’s important to understand a key point made by the authors. A wrong view of God affects everything, including economics. So, if we believe that the primary cause of poverty is oppression by powerful people, then we will primarily try to work for social justice. If we believe the primary cause is personal sins of the poor, we will labor to evangelize and disciple them.

If You Can Only Read Two Chapters… and a Couple Weaknesses

Essential Chapter #1 is “Not All Poverty Is Created Equal” (ch. 4). Whenever evaluating poverty alleviation, we must discern whether the situation calls for relief, rehabilitation, or development. “Relief” is the urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid to reduce immediate suffering (e.g. The Good Samaritan). “Rehabilitation” begins as soon as the bleeding stops. It works with the victims. “Development” is a process of ongoing change in the life of the people. “One of the biggest mistakes that the North American churches make—by far—is applying relief in situations in which rehabilitation or development is the appropriate intervention” (105). Asking the right questions is essential (v. 106). Above all, we must avoid paternalism. Do not do things for people that they can do for themselves.

Essential Chapter #2 is “Doing Short-Term Missions without Doing Long-Term Harm” (ch.7). The authors dare to question the validity of STM’s, especially those done to help the material needs of the poor. Though there are benefits, here is a summary of seven problems that STM’s create. (1) A failure to understand the culture (individualism v. collectivism, monochronic v. polychromic). (2) Giving must be done in a short time. (3) “Relief” is usually the wrong response. (4) Deep relationships with the nationals are impossible. (5) Paternalism is created (read the long quote on p. 169!). (6) STM’s is often a colossal waste of funds. It is not unusual for a trip to cost $30k in airline tickets for a single team to have a two-week experience. “The money spent on a single STM team…would be sufficient to support more than a dozen far more effective indigenous workers for an entire year. And we complain about wasteful government spending!” (173). (7) Some Christians will only give to missions if they can experience a trip themselves. If there is no trip, the money will go elsewhere.

Are there solutions? Absolutely! (1) Make sure the host organization requests a team. The church shouldn’t force the matter. (2) Be sincerely open to not sending a team. (3) Design the trip to be about “being” and “learning” as much as “doing”. (4) Avoid paternalism. (5) Keep the number of team members small. (6) Don’t focus on the adventure and fun the team will have. (7) Don’t overstate that STM’s are the only ones serious about missions.

The weaknesses of this book are few. At times the authors appear naïve, especially when presenting the almost Utopian motives of the Third World (e.g. Africa is not as time conscious as the West because it wants to “build relationships”; many poor Americans are not working because they feel inferior). Further, the books suggests that the Great Reversal (the church’s large scale retreat from poverty alleviation from 1900-1930) was caused by the evangelical’s split from the overall theological drift by liberals toward the Social Gospel. It was not a result of government programs (like FDR and LBJ’s war on poverty). I remain unconvinced.

Conclusion

I typically don’t gravitate toward books that emphasize the church’s role in poverty alleviation. This book was different because it understands the dangers and complexities of social ministry and proposes biblical solutions. Chapter four was the most helpful, but every pastor and Christian interested in missions must read chapter 7.

Bibliography

Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. Chicago: Moody, 2009. 230 pp.

This work is over 30 years old but is still among the clearest, most concise treatments of the marriage/divorce debate. It is biblical and readable for the layperson. The book has three sections. Part 1 address marriage, seeking to define it and debunk some common misunderstanding. Part 2 addresses divorce, with important chapters on definition, attitude, and the key OT and NT passages. Part 3 addresses remarriage and when it is and is not permissible after marriage.

What I like and a couple concerns

I like that Adams deals with the exception clause at the end. Let’s understand God’s basic intention for marriage before we get to the exceptions. I also thought his two greatest contributions were his strong stance against modern separation (ch. 6) and arguments against the betrothal view (ch. 10). I had a couple concerns as well. First, Adams did not give a very thorough definition of marriage and left me with questions. He strongly denies that marriage is to be equated with the sexual union, for then the pastor could not call the couple “married” at the alter and adultery would automatically create a new marriage. Rather, marriage is fundamentally “a contractual arrangement” (13). This was somewhat ambiguous. Is this contract oral or written? Must there be parental consent or a bride price? Does culture define these questions? Second, Adams’ tone—as in many of his books—is very dogmatic. Other positions have “no biblical evidence.”

Conclusion

I’ve never read a book under a hundred pages so packed with information. Adams is concise, confident (abrasive?), biblical, and thorough. This is among the best works I’ve read on the issue. Overall, I agreed with Adam’s core positions: (1) Divorce is “heinous” and is always the result of sin. (2) The only two grounds for divorce is unrepentant porneia (adultery and other sexual sins) and desertion by an unbeliever. (3) The spouse is bound to forgive and remain with a repentant spouse who has fornicated. (4) Divorce breaks the marriage bond, not adultery. (5) Remarriage is morally permissible whenever divorce is morally permissible. (6) Separation (living for substantial time away from the spouse but short of formal divorce) is not a biblical option.

Bibliography

Jay Adams. Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980. 99 pp.

During a long drive home from Zimbabwe, my colleague asked me, “What’s your greatest fear?” Without hesitation: “moral failure in the ministry.” No idea brings more trepidation than this. I still remember taking bike rides to the bridge with my youth pastor and praying with tears of fear and sobriety that God would keep us faithful in the ministry. For this reason, I read Alcorn’s little book on the Purity Principle every year. It reminds me of God’s safeguards in our world of sexual and hedonistic allurements.

The Purity Principle is this: Purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid. There are no exceptions to this rule. And while an infinitely holy God created sex, a deceitful fallen angel has twisted it. Getting—and staying—pure is hard work. We must set not only mental boundaries (because the battle begins in our mind), but tangible boundaries as well. This is the purpose of the book.

Alcorn asks the right questions. “Who should educate the child about sex?” “How far is too far for dating couples?” “Why is sex so dangerous?” “What will adultery actually cost me?” (89!) “What guidelines should parents install for their dating children?” Please don’t read this book if you want to be comfortable. But if you desire to get on the road to purity, look no further.

Three reasons you should read this book

• It’s short and direct. In other formats, it would be under 70 pages. Readable in three hours.
• It’s politically incorrect—no, “evangelically incorrect”. How many writers or pastors are there in mainstream evangelicalism that would take shots at movies like Titanic? It’s not even rated R! “That’s legalistic”, they say. But Alcorn stays the course, unafraid to warn the reader of the moral quicksand ahead, including movies with nudity, Internet without filters, and ministries without accountability.
• It’s practical. We all know that immorality is wrong, so the book does more showing than telling. What we need is reasons why we should take such drastic, eye-gouging measures in dealing with sin like Jesus suggests. Alcorn does not disappoint. Examples: Stop watching TV. Avoid novels with sex scenes. Ask you wife to screen the mail. Remove the TV when you’re alone in a hotel. “Sound drastic? Compare it to gouging out an eye or cutting off a hand!” (67)

Conclusion

Bill Bright prayed: “Lord, before I would ever betray my wife and commit adultery, please kill me.” Fortunately, The Purity Principle will help us stay alive. This powerful little book teaches us how to get pure and stay pure. It is unique because the teenager and retiree will find it equally convicting and applicable. Every Christian man should read this book.

Bibliography

Randy Alcorn. The Purity Principle: God’s Safeguards for Life’s Dangerous Trails. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2003. 93 pp.