Thabiti Anyabwile’s little book What Is a Healthy Church Member? is helpful. It does no more than the title suggests, which keeps it short. Lands exactly at 120 (small) pages. When I first got it I was looking through the table of contents and doing an x-ray and before I knew it I was 57 pages in. Simple, practical, and readable.
The best books always include practical suggestions, and there are some good ones here, which is great for new-ish believers asking the “how-to” questions. Here are some of those sections:
How can church members cultivate the habit of expositional listening?
- Meditate on the sermon passage during your quiet time
- Invest in a good set of commentaries
- Talk and pray with friends about the sermon after church
- Listen to and act on the sermon throughout the week
- Develop the habit of addressing any questions about the text itself
- Cultivate humility
What does a committed church member look like?
- Attends regularly
- Seeks peace
- Edifies others
- Warns and admonishes others
- Pursues reconciliation
- Bears with others
- Prepares for the ordinances
- Supports the work of the ministry
I’m going to keep a few of these on hand to give away.
An X-ray. Nice! I’m almost done reading Reinke’s Lit!, and I love it! It will be one of my highest recommendations from now on.
Yes. I loved that book. It was one of my favs of 2012. So much fun to read.