A Critical Review of Building Blocks of the Church, by Anton Bosch.
By Stuart L. Brogden
The world of Christian books has been growing at a fast rate for many years, with books on “how to do church” filling many shelves and some becoming “New York Times Best Sellers.” It seems that most “church books” over the past decade have drifted away from the Word of God, extolling the “wisdom” of man with tenuous claims on Truth, doing a disservice to the body of Christ. We have no shortage of books prescribing how to build or operate the local church. Why should anyone pay any attention to this book?
From the preface through the end of Building Blocks, Bosch observes that we humans are today as we were when Jesus walked the planet – laying aside the commandments of God, holding to the traditions of men. But the promise of this book is to provide the building blocks of what God’s church ought to look like – and Bosch makes sure to rest on Scripture alone for the design of the church of Christ Jesus.
Bosch gives the reader 16 chapters that look to Scripture for insight and instruction on how the church should live and be led. Unlike many other “how-to” books, Building Blocks looks not to man nor to results – only to the Word. Everything else is fallible. It was refreshing to see a church book claiming to re-examine the basics; I was eager to see if it measured up.
Bosch tells the reader, “One of the objections of this book is to attempt to cut through much of the accumulated tradition of the past 2000 years.” (page 21) In examining myriad movements, from the current church growth mania and home churches, to practices and beliefs that are unquestioned by many but not supported by Scripture, Bosch gently but firmly compares each to the Word of God. The reader is challenged to surrender the traditions of man for the Truth of God – all in all, a very highly recommended choice (see Mark 7:1 – 13).
Building Blocks of the Church is a thought provoking look at what God has said and preserved through the ages for the benefit of His church. Bosch consistently encourages us to look to the Bible and humbly lays out his personal conclusions, some of which are certain to challenge the reader to turn to the Scriptures and prayerfully ask if closely held beliefs are man-taught or of God. It's clear, throughout the book, that the author's desire is for the reader to search the Bible and seek the Lord, rather than sell his personal program for church growth.
Rather than critique each chapter, which is what I do with error-prone books, I will be content to highlight some of what I see as most important and the couple that “rocked my doctrinal boat”, so to speak.
Bosch builds patiently, examining “patterns and principles” of Biblical application, moving on to “the priesthood of the believer” - in which he examines the dubious distinctions between “clergy” and “laity”. As with man and woman, those who rightly fulfill the offices of the local church have a specific role but are not better than the saints who are “mere” members. The tendency in some churches for pastors or deacons to “control” ministries rather than train up disciples to entrust ministries to appears to me to run contrary to the will of God as revealed through the teachings of Paul (Ephesians 4:11 – 16 & 2 Timothy 2:1 – 2) and of the Lord (Matthew 20:25 – 28). How many man-followers within a given church care more about following the Lord?
Building Blocks examines the authority of the church, the autonomy and interdependence of the local church, using a cross section of appropriate scripture references to support his conclusions. The author includes chapters detailing the offices of the church, the connections with old testament prophets, and myriad aspects that influence the execution of these offices today and the perceptions people have of them. One issue that I have been pondering for a few years is that of the subtle influence payroll can have on full-time pastors. Men whose livelihood and family welfare “depend” on the “faithful giving” of church members, compounded by the burden of church debt and cash requirements, must be influenced to some degree by such pressures. Should pastors carry this burden, or should they be free from the expectations of wealthy men, building expansions, and worldly bankers? (Acts 6:1 – 7) “Trust in God” is our command (1 Timothy 4:10), not “work the plan” (James 4:13 – 15).
Lest anyone get too comfortable, Bosch addresses the abuse
of certain church offices (such as the
“New Apostolic Reformation”) and, rather than be content in pointing our error,
he examines Biblical doctrine and stipulates the provocative position that
these offices continue, but not with the same warrant or authority as in the old testament or early church. The modern apostle, for example, is one who
takes the Gospel into virgin territory, planting churches among the new
converts, shepherding them for the glory of Christ; much as modern evangelists.
Regarding another hot topic in post-modern culture, Bosch examines and holds to male leadership within the church and those offices (elder, apostle, prophet) designed to function as such. But he rightly sees the office of deacon as that of a servant (the word describes waiting on tables) of the brotherhood, something women have done and are not prohibited from doing in Scripture. Many in my Southern Baptist circles have reflexive opposition to female deacons and many sound Bible scholars (such as Wayne Grudem) conclude that women cannot serve as deacons. But Bosch presents a credible, if not conclusive, argument that the Bible approves of and expects service from female deacons. Let the reader search the Word of God to discern the will of God.
It is my personal observation that many believers give no thought to what the Bible teaches about the nature of the local church, from its mission (to equip saints for ministry) to its standing before God and among other local churches. Building Blocks devotes two chapters to examine this latter issue – showing how the Bible reveals that each local church is to stand on its own before the Lord Jesus yet work in harmony with other churches for the glory of God. Multi-campus churches, remote denominational authorities, and fiercely independent churches each fail to reflect God's plan. Each Christian should prayerfully consider how he influences his church – by action or inaction – to follow God or follow man.
Bosch concludes the book by warning of the dangers posed by all traditions of men, from sound ones to flaky ones, and points us back to the Bible as the only reliable source of Truth about God's plan for the church.
No matter if you agree with Bosch or not, you will be richer in your knowledge of God's Word if you read Building Blocks and study the Bible to see if what the author says is True. I highly recommend this book for any who want to better understand what the Bible says about building the church.