The Messiah Road Map

David Alan Black in his just released book, “The Jesus Paradigm,” presents the simplicity of the early church in worship and discipleship and points out how far we have drifted from this ideal model. This early church was communal–a socialistic society where everything was shared and ministry was the responsibility of every member. He tells of the seriousness that members felt toward following Christ’s example of sacrifice for others. He seems to attribute the falling away from these ideals as the result of church structure and traditions that led to apathy and loss of a sense of responsibility in doing the Kingdom works. I agree to a point, but could not man’s instinct toward sin (greed, power, pride, etc.) have also contributed, maybe to a greater extent? We know that community living did not last very long, and the church began to become more structured as it grew.  Isn’t this structuring an attempt to do God’s work more efficiently? But it is, as David says, counterproductive to God’s plan when the structure becomes more important than the Kingdom work.

Dr. Black’s view of the influence of power politics  on Christian purity is interesting and true when we try to combine the two. He very aptly stresses the lack of interest in a large portion of our churches to being fully active members in God’s Kingdom. Dr. Black discusses the importance of every-member participation in discipleship, a trend I hope continues in our churches. But I believe we cannot completely eliminate our clergy and hierarchy to achieve this goal. All have different gifts in teaching, leading, preaching, administering, etc. As individuals working as a team, we are more efficient in doing God’s will in the world.

Although most Christians are not in a position to lead such a philanthropical life as Dr. Black, we all can do better in what we are presently doing as he urges. I admire his idealistic dedication to his calling, an Anabaptist model I believe. His book may be controversial (radical by some standards) but his views are heart-felt. I feel people will be blessed in reading his book even if some may feel their toes being stepped on.

Tags: anabaptist, church orthodoxy, church renewal, David Alan Black, discipleship, every-member ministry
Filed under: Book Reviews