Body beautiful:

BODY BEAUTIFUL
Recovering the biblical view of the church
By Melvin Tinker & Nathan Buttery
Authentic Lifestyle. 138 pages
ISBN 1 85078 465 5

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. To reproduce it in this review would be the only way to do it justice, but as that is not possible, you must buy it! It is a most relevant book, which very ably sets out to recover the biblical view of the church. My only surprise was to discover how an Anglican vicar and his curate could argue so convincingly for the doctrine of the gathered church principle.

The book is thoroughly biblical. There are 11 chapters, each one an exposition of a passage of Scripture. The chapter titles and texts are well chosen and cover all aspects from what the church is, its relationship to God, its calling, marks, building up, going on to matters of care, worship, prayer, influence and the future of the church. There are some questions for discussion at the end and a list for further reading.

The book is easy to read. Its teaching is basic and very accessible. Its style is popular, stimulating and practical. Youth groups could use it as a basis for instruction. Pastors could be encouraged to develop a series of sermons from it. In fact, it reads as though it might have first been preached. The authors have succeeded throughout in being Word-centred, practising what they preach.

If your commitment to your local believing church is flagging, this book is for you. If you need to have your heart warmed and your spirit challenged to renew vigour in the life of your church, you will find much to help there. The authors are to be commended for a much-needed reminder of what Christ's body on earth should be. The book merits as wide a circulation as possible.

David J. Ellis,
pastor of Stowmarket Baptist Church, Suffolk

© Evangelicals Now - May 2004
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Main Articles

• To Affinity and beyond
  A new name for the British Evangelical Council
• European Union and a referendum?
• Watchers - or holy ones?
• God's new deal
  Jeremiah 31.27-37
• The techno sapiens are coming
• It began with prayer
  A brief history of the OICCU
• Letter from America
  A choice, not choices
• Monthly arts column
  Going from Barth to verse
• Monthly youth leaders column
  Putting off the old self
• The Third Degree
  Evangelism is not just for mission weeks
• The Music Exchange
  So much more than warm fuzzies
• The BBC floats with Noah - but not the biblical one!

Other articles

• Touching the void
• A house of praise: Collected hymns 1961 - 2001
• The life of Raymond Johnston
• A Diary of Revival - The outbreak of the 1904 Welsh Awakening
• Becoming
• Flight Path - A biography of Frank Barker Jnr.
• Reflections on Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ
• Body beautiful: Recovering the biblical view of the church
• In trouble and in joy
• Richard Hobson of Liverpool: The autobiography of a faithful pastor
• Deconstructing evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the age of Billy Graham
• C S Lewis's Cambridge: A walking tour guide
• A history of the work of redemption
• Essential 100: Your way into the heart of the Bible
• A glorious high throne: Hebrews simply explained
• Christian perspectives on the limits of the law
• The Word became Flesh: Evangelicals and the Incarnation
• Whose land? Whose promise?
• Encountering God's Word
• Life from death emerging
• I will build my church
• Does marriage matter?