The Measure of a Church

After a number of years with struggling with some organizational issues, our 14 member, non-denominational, church board studied this book. It really helped us to understand the difference between Biblical principles and cultural forms. Other useful books of similar vein are Winning on Purpose by Kaiser, Leading Leadership bu Malphurs, & Spiritual Leadership by Blackaby. Of these, Getz's book received the most attention. Now, as a result we are in the process of significantly restructuring the board and senior pastor roles. Lord willing we anticipate the result will be fewer power struggles in our church and more ministry & fewer meetings. for the leaders.

I read Dr. Getz first edition of this book and it changed my perspective on both the church and the New Testament. Although the present edition has been revised and updated with more material, it still advances the original proposition that the Apostle Paul measured the true standard of a church, not in attendance (numbers) or the pastor's speaking ability, but in terms of the three so called Christian graces: faith, hope, and love. This review will refrain from details, but suffice it to say that Dr. Getz does an excellent job proving and explaining his thesis. In fact, in the years since I first read (and outlined) this book I have come to see that faith, hope, and love actually function at the core of Paul's gospel. They might actually be pictured as a fulcrum or focal point between both theology and ethics. Indeed, it is possible to see the graces as major headings or catagories for the greater part of Paul's teachings. Thus one might even advance the idea of the graces as a three-fold center of New Testament theology. Although Dr. Getz does not go this far, his book is the place to start. It is written for lay people and small group Bible studies, but it contains a profound lesson for advanced Bible students and the church as whole today.