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Title: Understanding the Church: The Biblical Ideals for the 21st Century by Joseph M. Vogel, Joseph M. Vogl, John H. Fish ISBN: 0-87213-901-8 Publisher: Loizeaux Brothers Pub. Date: February, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.99

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: A welcome addition to contemporary Christian studies
Comment: In Understanding The Church: The Biblical Ideal For The 21st Century, Joseph Vogl and John Fish effectively collaborate to address such fundamental questions as what is meant by "the church" within a Christian context, the purposes of the Christ in founding the church, what resources were endowed with its creation, and did Christ intend that the function of the church be essentially connected with its nature and purpose. With scripture having primacy in exploring these issues, Understanding The Church then addresses the nature of the church, the character and life of local churches, as well as the autonomy and interdependence that govern interaction between the churches and within the broader Christian community. Originally presented as a series of essays for a colloquium sponsored by Grace Bible Chapel in St. Louis, Missouri, Understanding The Church is a welcome addition to contemporary Christian studies reading lists and reference collections.

Rating: 4
Summary: A good Bible college intro text
Comment: At this side of the millennial threshold, wading through the deepening waters of change, the issue of reexamining the nature and future of the church is foremost on the minds of theologians, church educators, ministers, and denominational leaders. What will the church look like at the midpoint of the next century? Will the structure of the church require change to survive? Will the mission and functions of the church change? Will the institutional church survive its own success or succumb to a structure too rigid to adapt to the winds of change? Understanding the Church sidesteps contemporary conversations of the sociological dynamics of the church or the usual speculation as to generational shifts within the body. Being a compilation of papers presented at a 1997 colloquium at Grace Bible Chapel in St. Louis, Missouri, the book reviews basic questions about the nature, structure, and functions of the church. The seven essays that make up the chapters of the book do not stray far from the biblical text for interpretations and prescriptions on rudimentary questions about the church from a strictly Protestant theology. The book begins with an almost apologetic chapter on the necessity of maintaining the primacy of Scripture in understanding the nature of the church and any interpretations as to her form and function. This foundational chapter limits its understanding of the church not only to a Protestant theology, but more, to that of the Brethren Church (and even narrower, the Open Brethren, at that). This self-limited understanding of the nature of the church is the book's greatest weakness. The following chapters explore further the nature of the church from a strictly biblical theology, and issues of the identity, nature, and character of the local church versus the universal church. The final two complementary chapters examine issues concerning the autonomy and the interdependence of local churches. Rather than providing a new vision for the church in the 21st century, the book offers up a 19th century conservative evangelical biblical theology of the church typical of what would be found in a sophomore year systematic theology course at a Bible college. The "biblical ideal" for a 21st century church that appears in the book's subtitle seems to be a call for a return to an idyllic "first century church"-the yearning to return to the days of a fabled ecclesiastical Camelot. Some will find comfort in the certitude that a propositional systematic biblical understanding of the church provides. Unfortunately, such a stance is inadequate in helping churches deal with the overwhelming complexities that the church faces in the 21st century.