Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Re:Lit: Vintage Jesus) by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears comes as their second co-authored book in the “vintage” series. Their first related work was Amazon Vintage Jesus Title here, where they called believers back to the basic commands of Jesus. Carrying this throwback terminology yet once again, Vintage Church seeks to bring believers back to the central commands and tenants regarding the church.

Each author currently serves in church/teaching ministries in the Pacific Northwest. While Mark Driscoll is very controversial to some, I believe his heart, ministry, and writings depict a fellow redeemed follower of Jesus plugging away for God’s Gospel purposes in a specific cultural area. I find that most who criticize him have not actually listened to his sermons or read his books. I’m not saying that we will all agree with everything that Driscoll does or writes or that he is perfect (duh!), but I am saying that I believe you should give his writings a chance. This is just my opinion, and I write these reviews as such. I just felt I needed to briefly include this caveat about Driscoll, in response to some who would steer clear of his stuff solely because of what they’ve heard. Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Re:Lit: Vintage Jesus) in my opinion stands as a fantastic resource for those involved in church ministry today! It even can be very helpful for those not involved in full-time church ministry. It is so easy to just slip into the rhythm of doing “church” without really passionately knowing what the church is and why it exists. Probably the one thing I appreciate most about this work is it’s primacy given to Scriptures. Every aim on every page is passionately rooted in the Bible. Well, there is much I could write about what I appreciate in this book, but I will only include a few more noteworthy points.

Topping out at just over 300 pages, Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Re:Lit: Vintage Jesus) poignantly reminds us what Scripture upholds as the church’s mission throughout the history of our world’s cultures. After dealing with some basic issues involving the fundamental basics of a church, the book also addresses many practical issues like polity, the nature of preaching, baptism and communion, unity, church discipline, love in the church context, the missional nature of the church, multi-campus and video-venue options in church, and types of technology available for church use. Driscoll and Breshears close their fresh look at the church by widening our focus back from the practical outworking aspects to a broader view of the church’s mission. They close by addressing the church’s ability and function in changing culture and thereby transforming the world. The example is given of a deplorably dirty river in a heavily populated third-world country. In the last chapter they write, “Instead, the only hope was a complete transformation upstream wherever the filth originally entered the river.” (page 288) They continue by comparing the dirty river to the stream of culture and the dirty river’s headwaters to our world’s cultural gatekeepers. The majority of people find themselves downstream simply living amidst this cultural stream. They emphatically urge the church to return to a missional focus on reaching the cultural gatekeepers (what they apply as the city) and thereby affect the world’s various cultural streams among the masses. The case is made that the Bible’s storyline began in a garden and will end in a fully redeemed city. They also mention God’s Old Testament dealings with Israel revolving around the city Jerusalem. Furthermore, although the disciples came from more rural regions and backgrounds, their involvement in the birth of the church and it’s expanse through the New Testament period depicts a church planting movement with it’s epicenter in the major cities. The implication is that to reach the masses with Jesus’ redemption, the church must not primarily focus on rural regions. Driscoll and Breshears seem to infer that the church’s primary focus in mission should be on the world’s main city hubs, thereby reaching the cultural/people-mass headwaters and outflowing to the masses in the world’s rural regions. Much could be written on these thoughts contained in the last chapter. I assume some who read this summary will agree and others will disagree. I personally see Driscoll and Breshears’ point in emphasizing the church’s urban focus. I just don’t know if I completely agree with all of their philosophical reasoning and some of their conclusions. Like any book, we must always read with discerning minds and be willing for God to show us things we may not always understand at first.

I especially appreciate the way Driscoll and Breshears close the book. Amidst the great mission and challenges facing the church (as just discussed Biblically, philosophically, and practically through 300 pages), we can easily feel overwhelmed. Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Re:Lit: Vintage Jesus) closes with this encouraging declaration, “Jesus is alive. Anything can happen.” (page 305)

I would definitely recommend Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Re:Lit: Vintage Jesus) for your next bookshelf addition. Additionally for those interested, they now publish a vintage church study series targeted for small groups or pastoral staff.

Vintage Church Study Series Here:

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