I did it! I finally read this book from cover to cover. I had started it many times since it was sent to me to review, but I never finished it and finishing is what counts. It is easy to start things, but finishing is the real deal.

John Stackhouse is the real deal too. He is the Songwoo Yulong Chee Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. Stackhouse presents a three point progression to demonstrate and strengthen the believer’s need to be humble and prepared in doing apologetics with our neighbor.

Stackhouse points out that apologetics is an old subject, one that has been around since God banished Adam and Eve from the garden along with the consequences of their sin and the God given hope that they would somehow survive.

The book begins with a discussion of the contemporary culture in which we live, a culture that includes pluralism, post modern thought and consumerism. With this in place the author moves into a theological presentation of conversion and then concludes with suggestions of how to communicate our faith in a natural and appealing way.

The suggestions strongly urge us to think about defending and presenting our faith to our neighbors so that we are welcome and welcoming.

Reviewed by H. Murray Hohns

Ian Stackhouse, The Gospel-Driven Church: Retrieving Classical Ministry for Contemporary Revivalism (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster Press, 2004), 291 pages.

This, in the words of the Foreword, “is the first in a series of books that reflect the work of an ecumenical conversation,” where Stackhouse reflects from his own, earlier Restorationist roots, on his own experience of the synthesis of evangelical, charismatic and classical spiritual traditions within the English context. What results is a brilliantly provocative work, with an honest and sympathetic yet penetrating critical analysis.

Stackhouse is not acerbic or destructive. He just asks hard questions, which often illumine the failure to weave together a Biblical foundation and coherent theological system with the pragmatism that characterizes much contemporary churchmanship in the British context. He begins with what he calls “the pathology of revivalism.” Stackhouse challenges the axiom that numerical increase has, of itself, spiritual significance, arguing that discipleship has been lost sight of and that the quest for relevance to contemporary social modes has led to a “dumbing down” of the Gospel.

In this work, we are faced with a call to have fresh confidence in the old basics of church. In preaching. In the Lord’s Supper and baptism. And, interestingly, in the Pentecostal emphasis on a definitive baptism in the Holy Spirit. Stackhouse argues for less stress on the “imperatives” of evangelistic method and pleads for more reliance of the “indicatives” of the Gospel: fresh confidence in the sheer grace and love of God and the power of Jesus, present in our midst, to effect the advance of the Kingdom of God.

Arguing for a fresh confidence in church as the vehicle of the presence of the God who saves within His creation, this work invites us to examine so much that is taken as normative churchmanship today and ask the question, “so why isn’t the Emperor wearing any clothes?” This work is guaranteed to disturb and challenge the reader into thinking afresh about what really does stand at the center of truly Christian churchmanship. And it is written by a churchman who, in terms of what he questions and challenges, would be considered a “success.”

For pastors and leaders who have been part of the Renewal scene for a long time, this book is a must. It engages in the questions that we all ponder over and challenges us to go forward in a Gospel centered way.

Reviewed by James Purves

John G. Stackhouse, Jr., “The Seven Deadly Signs” Christianity Today (June 12, 2000), Pages 54-57.

What is the mark of success? What is the sign of failure? In this article by John Stackhouse, we are given seven specific statements to measure if our business, ministry, or family is in danger of financial indiscretion.

Stackhouse challenges us to take sin seriously when it comes to financial matters. “None of us plans to deceive and cheat and steal. We intend to do the right thing all the time. It’s only when the truth becomes uncomfortable, inconvenient, or even dangerous that we are tempted to lie, and manipulate, and cover up” (p. 55). Life has a way of messing with our theology and principles, though. Temptations are little things that are before us everyday. If we think we are immune, we deceive ourselves.

The seven warning signs that Stackhouse gives us are: 1) You’d rather not have to talk about a financial matter. Disclosure and openness with supporters is the only path of truth for an organization. At home, financial privacy can lead to secrecy, and “secrecy shuts our the light of another’s loving counsel” (p. 56). 2) It’s been a while since someone has said no to you or told you that your idea is bad. Stackhouse says that unless you are surrounded by yes-men or are always right, this is a sign that you have enclosed yourself in darkness such that even those closest to you cannot breach it with light. Unquestioned authority without checks and balances is a setup for abuse. If dissent cannot be heard without reprisal, whether at home or in a corporation, the organization is sick and needs graceful intervention. 3) You find yourself paying unhealthy attention to “competition.” Envy is a serious thing. Stackhouse says, “We all have needy egos, and we are prone to sin in order to satisfy the demands of those egos. We each need someone in our lives who will help us admit to the evil strategies we follow in order to advance our own interests at the expense of others” (p. 56). Certainly in our day and age there is a need for mentors and accountability. 4) There’s no one on your leadership team who can provide expert advice on thorny issues. Street savvy entrepreneurs and financiers may make great board members, but only if balanced out with the resident theologian or ethicist. If there is no one to point you back to Jesus and his call on your organization, you may be tempted to make decisions for the wrong reasons. Doing things right costs something. 5) You have an uneasy feeling about a recent financial matter or decision. Perhaps our bodies are signaling us that there is something wrong spiritually. 6) Your organization is under financial stress and you are finding it hard to pay your bills. One thing institutions tend to never consider is that their usefulness to the body of Christ may be over and that need to disband. “Financial struggles are often tests of faith and shapers of character. … But unless we believe our organizations should go on forever, there must come a terminus sooner or later. The decline of financial support may be one way in which the body of Christ is communicating God’s will for our ministry: scale down, or even stop work. Are you transparent to this possibility and seeking more light on the matter?” (p. 57). 7) You have apprehensions about someone else’s financial decision, but you cannot obtain reliable information to evaluate this decision. Stackhouse says that the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals has recently completed a major investigation of American evangelical use and abuse of money. One of the findings of this study is that many institutions have been governed by people (elders, trustees, presidents, etc.) who were kept in the dark by defensive or even deliberately deceptive executives or pastors. There may also be a misleading of contributors. “In short, some evangelical homes are run as if Mom and Dad are never wrong and can never properly be challenged by the children. Even worse, some are run as if only one parent is infallible and cannot be corrected even by the spouse. Some churches are run as if the senior pastor or board chair alone should have all the facts and therefore make all the final decisions. Some Christian businesses and nonprofit ministries are run as if the leaders are omnicompetent and could never make a mistake—innocent or otherwise—and they are entirely sanctified and thus would never sin against anyone. So structurally there is little accountability for those leaders, even less protection of employees, and no real openness to dissent” (p. 57).