Today I am giving you three reasons as to why you should read the book Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timins. It’s not that the book says anything new, as there is nothing new under the sun; it’s the way that Steve frames the questions and then answers them with real world situations. Part 1 is only two chapters: Gospel and Community; Part 2 then fleshes out these two ideas across 11 different chapters. The book finishes at about 200 pages, making it possible to read quickly as a whole. It’s also set up so it can be consumed chapter by chapter over a longer period of time, which is what I did for the past 2 months to allow the teaching to stew and inspire me to love the church more. Here are my three reasons:

Reason #1 – Most of the teaching we get as Christians is not new information but things we have already heard said in a new way. Total Church does this; you get old truths about the Gospel, church community and pastoral care but said in new refreshing ways.

Reason #2 – Being in Community is never easy and the clear portraits of what it means to live in community in this day and age are a needed blessing. The stories in this book talk about real people tackling difficult life problems that are handled by the church living out the gospel in community.

Reason #3 – It’s short. At 200 pages the book is easily digestible. If you don’t have much time, you can read one chapter at a time and digest it as needed.

As a general rule, I don’t make book recommendations lightly. Ecclesiastes 12:12 points out: “…of making many there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh” Ultimately I would rather have you reading your bible more and other books less but this book will bless both your heart and your mind. If you have the time and money, buy the book and be blessed by reading it.

Pastor Steven