Building Healthy Churches from 9Marks
Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and president of 9Marks Ministries1, and Jonathan Leeman, editorial director for 9Marks, have edited an excellent series of practical books for those who want to help build healthy churches. They are short (almost all of them under 120 pages), readable books on what Dever has called the nine marks of a healthy church. Here are the books published so far by Crossway:
Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Words Today
by David Helm (2014)
A wonderful primer on preaching that all preachers (both new and experienced) should read.
Sound Doctrine: How a Church Grows in the Love and Holiness of God
by Bobby Jamieson (2013).
Jamieson shows how sound doctrine nourishes holiness, love, and unity in the church.
The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ
by Ray Ortlund (2014)
This book should be required reading for all Christians. Ortlund shows how gospel doctrine must lead to a gospel culture in the church. The gospel must be the defining center of the church.
Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus
by Jonathan Leeman (2012)
One of the best books I have read on what it means to be a church member.
Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus
by J. Mack Stiles (2014)
Stiles shows how evangelism can become part of the church’s culture. Don Carson says this book “deserves to be read, pondered, and implemented.”
Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus
by Jeramie Rinne (2014)
Rinne gives a concise, biblical job description for elders and shows who is qualified to serve. He shows what an elder is and does.
Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus
by Jonathan Leeman (2012)
Both biblical and practical, this book has real-life case studies of how churches should deal with common situations. The appendix lists mistakes pastors often make in practicing discipline.
Still to come are books on the marks of biblical theology, conversion, and discipleship. All books have helpful indexes (general and Scripture) and are very well written.
These extremely practical books are ideal for missionaries wanting to equip church leaders. They will also help church members grow in loving their church.
As the series editors remind us, “Local churches exist to display God’s glory to the nations. We do that by fixing our eyes on the gospel of Jesus Christ, trusting him for salvation, and then loving one another with God’s own holiness, unity, and love.”
1 See 9Marks.org for more information about this ministry.