Smith, Gordon T. 2017. Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal: Why the Church Should Be All Three. InterVarsity Press. Pages: 135, ISBN: 978-0-8308-5160-7.
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The general trends show that the contemporary church is mostly post-denominational. This means that for most people denominations and traditions do not matter much. Moreover, the charismatic movement has brought the churches closer to each other since there is the ‘unity of the spirit’ felt across denominational barriers. Many free and independent traditions are getting much more disciplined and organized in their worship, thus slowly warming up towards the liturgical traditions. It is in this context that the book by Gordon Smith becomes very relevant. The title exposes the main argument: ‘Evangelical, Sacramental and Pentecostal. Why the Church Should Be all Three.’
Smith presents his arguments in six chapters. In the first chapter, he exposits John 15:4: Jesus’ command to abide in him. Then he explores how the evangelical tradition, the sacramental tradition and the pentecostal tradition understand this principle of ‘abiding in Christ.’ While the evangelical tradition experiences the abiding through the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, the sacramental tradition does the same through the sacramental actions of baptism and the Lord’s supper. The Pentecostals understand it as the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church and the indwelling of the Spirit in the life of the individual. Smith goes on to conclude that, ‘all three in tandem are the divinely appointed means by which God’s people live in union with Christ.’
In the second chapter, he establishes that all three, the Word, the Sacraments and the experience of the Spirit, are equally important for the Church to be truly Church. This leads the reader to the third chapter where he explains the three distinct understandings of the ‘grace of God.’ The three traditions have different understandings of the concept of the grace of God and the appropriation of it. However, he suggests, ‘that whether one comes to this question from a sacramental, evangelical, or pentecostal heritage and perspective, the bottom line remains: ‘… the biblical witness and the historic witness of the church consistently call the church to be a fully orbed embracing of the vital means by which the grace of the risen and ascended Christ is made present in the life of the church.’
In the next three chapters, he goes on to explain what is characteristic of each tradition. Then in the last chapter, he concludes with some observations and suggestions. First of all, he observes that ‘the Spirit, the Word and the sacramental life of the church’ are housed within the Christian community. Secondly, he suggests that the three festivals of the church namely, Advent-Christmas-Epiphany offers us three distinctive perspectives of grace. He suggests that these festivals must be used to give ‘focussed attention to the three expressions of grace of the ascended Christ in the life of the church.’ Thirdly, he critiques the modern trend of downplaying the importance of the worship space. This happens by replacing the pulpit with a lectern or a barstool, communion being very casual, etc. He suggests that ‘the visual dimensions of worship complement the words spoken and the prayers offered.’
His last observation and suggestion have to do with Christian initiation. In his opinion, Christian initiation has three aspects. First, a focus on the preaching and study of the Word. Secondly, the invitation to baptism. Thirdly, chrismation, the anointing with oil which represents the ‘intentional appropriation of the gift of the Spirit.’ He suggests that a baptism service should have all these three elements.
He concludes as his title suggests that, ‘… the Christian would be evangelical, sacramental, and pentecostal. And the evidence of such would be that they live with a deep and resilient joy, the fruit of a life lived in dynamic union with the ascended Christ.’
Smith’s analysis of the three traditions is quite innovative. He does convince the reader that though these emphases are distinct they are not disuniting, but have tremendous potential for unity. I think this work is a great contribution towards ecumenical discussions in our generation.
Voelz, James W., and Christopher Wright Mitchell. Mark 8:27-16:8. Concordia Commentary?: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2019. ISBN: 9780758639554.
This book is yet another contribution to the discussion on how to read the Bible. It deals with the question if it is valid for the reader to bring their own theological framework to their reading or not?
Hilber, John W. Ezekiel: A Focused Commentary for Preaching and Teaching. 2019
By this work, Hilber has demonstrated how to write commentary for pastors and teachers who are the major consumers of Bible commentaries. Many commentaries very technical the ordinary pastors and students of the Bible. On the other extreme are commentaries who compromise exegesis for detailed suggestions for application. What is unique about this commentary is that it has a proper balance between exegesis and application; and is not too technical for the non-specialist.
What makes this a very user-friendly commentary is its structure. In the short introduction, the author gives us an overview of the Book of Ezekiel. He also offers some advice on how to divide the book into ‘teachable units.’ This is followed by suggestions on how to apply the text to the context of the preachers and their listeners.
He divides the Book into teachable units. The key themes of each unit are presented in the form of bulleted lists. He then presents the specific context of this passage in the wider context of the Book of Ezekiel. In the section that follows titled ‘Interpretive Highlights’ comments on the significant verses are given. So, we don’t have comments on all verses and words or phrases! Only what is essential for our understanding of the key themes of the passages are discussed. Besides these, all units also have a section called ‘Theological Bridge to Application’ where the key themes of each unit are seen in the light of the larger Biblical theology. In the last section, titled ‘Focus of Application’ the author makes broader suggestions as to how that particular section speaks to contemporary situations that we live in.
This indeed is a commentary where the reader gets what they need to preach and teach without having wade through mind-boggling details. Every reader would long for similar volumes from Hilber on other books of the Bible.