A primer by respected Washington, DC pastor and 9Marks ministry president Mark Dever on the doctrine of the church that explores the important issues of church life, other doctrines, worship, and polity.
What Makes for a Healthy Church? You may have read books on this topic before but not like this one. Instead of an instruction manual for church growth, this classic text points to basic biblical principles for assessing and strengthening the health of your church. Whether you're a pastor, a leader, or an involved member of your congregation, studying the nine marks of a healthy church will help you cultivate new life and well-being within your own church for God's glory. This revised edition includes two new chapters; updated material on prayer, missions, evangelism, and the gospel; and a foreword by H. B. Charles Jr.
Dever and Alexander propose a model of complete reliance and submission to the Gospel when building a healthy church. Great resource for pastors, elders, and others interested in the vitality of their church.
Evangelism is not only misunderstood, it is often unpracticed. Many Christians want to share the gospel with others, but because those Christians don't grasp the fundamentals of witnessing, they feel intimidated and incapable of sharing the truth of the gospel. Yet those believers fail to recognize that God has already established who and how we are to evangelize. In The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Dr. Mark Dever seeks to answer the four basic questions about evangelism that many Christians ask: Who should we evangelize? How should we evangelize? What is evangelism? Why should we evangelize? In his answers Dever draws on New Testament truths and helps believers apply those truths in practical ways. As readers understand the fundamentals of evangelism, they will begin to develop a culture of evangelism in their lives and their local churches.
The local church is meant to embody the vibrant diversity of the global church, transcending racial, cultural, and economic boundaries. Yet local churches too often simply reflect the same societal divisions prevalent in our world today—making them more akin to social clubs filled with like-minded people than the supernatural community the New Testament prescribes. Pastors Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop argue that authentic fellowship is made up of two crucial ingredients: commitment (depth) and diversity (breadth). Theologically rooted yet extremely practical, this book sets forth basic principles that will help pastors guide their churches toward the compelling community that we all long for.
Now in its third edition and featuring a new foreword by New York Times best-selling author David Platt, pastor Mark Dever’s classic book is not an instruction manual for church growth. Rather, it is a wise pastor’s recommendation for how to assess the health of a church using nine crucial qualities often neglected by many of today’s congregations. Church leaders and church members alike will resonate with the principles outlined here, breathing new life and health into the church at large. In this newly revised edition, fresh arguments have been added (for example on expositional preaching, about the nature of the gospel, on complementarianism), illustrations have been updated, appendices have been changed, and cover has been improved.
The revised edition of A Theology for the Church retains its original structure, organized under these traditional theological categories: revelation, God, humanity, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church, and last things. Each chapter within these sections contains answers to the following four questions: What does the Bible say? What has the church believed? How does it all fit together? How does this doctrine impact the church today? Contributions from leading Baptist thinkers R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Paige Patterson, and Mark Dever among others will also appeal to the broader evangelical community. Included in this revision are new chapters on theological method from a missional perspective (Bruce Ashford and Keith Whitfield) and theology of creation, providence, and Sabbath that engages current research in science and philosophy (Chad Owen Brand). Chapters on special revelation (David Dockery) and human nature (John Hammett) have also been updated.
Before ascending to heaven, Jesus instructed his followers to "make disciples of all nations." But what does this command actually entail? What does it look like for Christians to care for one another's spiritual well-being and growth? In this introduction to the basics of discipling, veteran pastor and author Mark Dever uses biblical definitions and practical examples to show how Christians can help one another become more like Christ every day. The eighth volume in the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series, this short book explains how discipling should function in the context of the local church, teaching pastors and church leaders how to cultivate a culture of edification and growth in their congregations.
Division. Disobedience. Legalism. These are just a few of the many problems that plague churches today, just as they plagued the Corinthian church in the first century. That's why, out of his great love and concern for this young church, Paul addressed these issues boldly, offering the Christians at Corinth much-needed admonition, instruction, and encouragement. If you have ever witnessed a church split or a denominational dispute, you know firsthand that the same sort of struggles impact our churches today. In Twelve Challenges Churches Face, pastor Mark Dever-a leading authority on the subject of church health-tackles this and eleven other major challenges we must fight to overcome. These twelve challenges, if left unchecked, can cripple a church and stifle its ministry to a needy world. But if individuals and churches immerse themselves in God's Word and heed Paul's instruction, God will heal even the sickest church and transform it into a powerful vehicle for proclaiming the gospel of Christ.
Pastors Dever and Lawrence expound key biblical texts on the atonement to show its centrality throughout Scripture, strengthen the church's commitment to this doctrine, and demonstrate its application to the Christian life.
Dever suggests nine marks have grown rare in today's churches and that distinguish a healthy, biblical church from its less-healthy sisters. A must-read for members of churches of all sizes. (Revised and expanded edition).
A Newly Updated and Rebranded Edition of The Deliberate Church If churches are the dwelling place of God's Spirit, why are so many built around the strategies of man? Eager for church growth, leaders can be lured by entertaining new schemes, forgetting to keep doctrinal truth as their driving force. Churches must find a way out of the maze of programs and methods and humbly lean on the sufficiency of God's Word. How to Build a Healthy Church, a revised and expanded edition of The Deliberate Church, challenges leaders to evaluate their motivations for ministry and provides practical examples of healthy, deliberate leadership. Written as a companion handbook for Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, it covers important topics including membership, worship, responsible evangelism, and church roles. This is more than a step-by-step plan to mimic; it's a biblical blueprint for pastors, elders, and anyone committed to the church's vitality.
Even today, Jesus is still a figure of intense interest and admiration for millions. But then theres His church. Church is a boring topic for most, and a reluctantly fulfilled duty for many.
Responding to the perennial temptation to “tame” the message about Jesus, leaders such as John MacArthur, John Piper, Thabiti Anyabwile, and R. C. Sproul challenge Christians to hold fast to the faith by emphasizing the importance of maintaining a pure and unadulterated view of the gospel. Whether it’s looking back at the New Testament and the church fathers or forward to the church’s continued mission of faithful biblical preaching and thoughtful cultural engagement, the contributors draw on their extensive ministry experience to offer readers a thoughtful plea for safeguarding the message of the gospel in the midst of our pluralistic world.
A non-academic overview of expositional preaching that provides theological and practical insight on why and how sermons clearly rooted in biblical text must be at the center of church life.
Many new believers have questions about what it means to live as a Christian in the context of a local church, and pastors are looking for resources to pass along to their congregations to help them think biblically about the Christian life. 9Marks Church Questions is a new series that seeks to provide ordinary Christians with sound and accessible biblical teaching by answering common questions Christians have about church life. Each volume offers biblical answers and practical applications with the goal of nurturing healthy church practice and commitment. This booklet unpacks Scripture's teaching on the importance of church membership and the Bible's beautiful picture of life in a local church.
God means to fulfill the Great Commission through local churches. How did the apostles and the churches of the New Testament obey the Great Commission? By gathering Christians together in churches. The church is God’s plan for evangelism, discipleship, and the Great Commission. This connection between the Great Commission and the church dramatically impacts how both leaders and members should think about their work of making disciples. We do it together.
Originally delivered as sermons by pastor Mark Dever at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC, these three studies are now available in one hardcover volume. Dever guides readers to take a step back and look at the Bible from a broader perspective. As we notice new features of an object when viewed from a distance, so too the major themes of Scripture become more apparent when we take in the Bible as a whole. Part of the IXMarks series, this book considers the central messages of the Bible as seen in the promises of God. Dever examines the general narrative of God's Word to answer the question, "What does God wants of us anyway?" Readers looking for a panoramic view of Scripture will be reminded of the faithful, persistent love of God and find themselves drawn into a broader, but deeper, understanding of the maker and keeper of promises.
What is an ideal church, and how can you tell? How does it look different from other churches? More importantly, how does it act differently, especially in society? Many of us aren't sure how to answer those questions, even though we probably have some preconceived idea. But with this book, you don't have to wonder any more. Author Mark Dever seeks to help believers recognize the key characteristics of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, and a right understanding of the gospel. Dever then calls us to develop those characteristics in our own churches. By following the example of New Testament authors and addressing church members from pastors to pew sitters, Dever challenges all believers to do their part in maintaining the local church. What Is a Healthy Church? offers timeless truths and practical principles to help each of us fulfill our God-given roles in the body of Christ.
Perspectives on Christian Worship presents in counterpoint form five basic common beliefs on Christian worship that have developed over the course of church history with a view toward determining which is most faithful to Scripture. Each chapter is written by a prominent person within each tradition, and each writer has the opportunity to respond to each differing view.
Pairing together Nine Marks of a Healthy Church with How to Build a Healthy Church, these two classic texts create a timeless set that is essential for every pastor's library.
Who leads a church? Why is this important to God? God cares about his glory, and he means to display his glory through the church. For this very end, God has established elders and deacons, members, and congregational authority. This primer on church structure connects the different offices of the church to one another and to the glory of God.
Everyone is looking for power. Political campaigns play to the power of fear and hope; advertising agencies rely on the power of appetite, both wielding power by the means of words. But churches have something different and better. Churches have the gospel. Though we live in the world, we must not wage war like the world, or fight with its weapons. On the contrary, we have divine power to demolish strongholds. The gospel consists merely of words, but those words have the unexpected and underestimated power to create new life, to justify, to prepare a bride, to give the foretaste of glory. Christian conversion depends upon the underestimated power of the gospel. Authors Jonathan Leeman, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Thabiti Anyabwile, David Platt, Kevin DeYoung, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, Matt Chandler, John Piper, and J. Ligon Duncan III call readers to herald a common refrain: Do not underestimate the gospel, and do not underestimate the God of this gospel.
Combining three classic articles by J. I. Packer with a recent article by Mark Dever, this penetrating anthology takes a classically biblical stance on the increasingly controversial doctrine of substitutionary atonement.
The New Testament is the story of how all the promises made by God in the Old Testament were kept-and what that means for us today. The nation of Israel had many hopes: hope for a deliverer, hope for restored fellowship with God, and hope for the world to be put right. The New Testament explains how those promises were kept and how, if we are Christians, they are kept in us as well. Mark Dever surveys the historical context, organization, and theology of each New Testament book, in light of God's Old Testament promises. His message is that of the New Testament itself, one of hope fulfilled.
Some of the leading voices in evangelical Christianity reaffirm the importance of preaching biblical theology for the health of our churches. Loving, teaching, and rightly dividing the Word of God is every pastor's privilege and responsibility. If a pastor understands what the Word says about God, man, and the curse, about Christ and his substitutionary atonement, and about the call to repentance and sacrifice, he will develop and preach a sound theology. And sound theology is, in the words of J. Ligon Duncan, essential to faithful pastoral ministry. Proclaiming a theology that is centered on Christ's atonement is especially critical, for by this atonement, Christians have been brought from death to life, and by it a church lives or dies. In this penetrating sequel to Preaching the Cross, John Piper, R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, and Thabiti Anyabwile join authors Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, and Albert Mohler in exploring the church's need for faithful proclamation and calling pastors and churches to cross-centered, scripturally saturated thinking.
The Old Testament is the story of God's promises to his people. Below its somewhat obscure surface is hidden magnificent truth about the love and power of God. Throughout its pages the reader can find promise after promise from God, all of which are fulfilled in the New Testament-in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Author Mark Dever introduces readers to the Old Testament as a glorious whole so that they are able to see the big picture of the majesty of God and the wonder of his promises.
Ninety days of open Bible devotionals with Mark Dever and Mike McKinley. Includes space for journalling. Anchor your soul in unchanging truth with these gospel-centered Explore devotions by Mark Dever and Mike McKinley. Enjoy the beautiful hardback format complete with marker ribbon and space for journaling. Carefully-crafted questions, insightful explanations and helpful prompts to apply the Scriptures to your life will take you to the heart of God's word and then push God's word deep into your heart. These 90 devotionals in Ruth, Jeremiah and 1 Corinthians, taken from the Explore Quarterly range, are a great way to start reading the Bible. If you already spend time each day in God’s word, this book will take you deeper in to the riches of Scripture, drawing you closer to the Lord and gaining fresh appreciation for His love for us in Christ.
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