City on a Hill: Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church in the 21st Century
(Moody Publishers Chicago, Illinois 2003)
Reviewed By Casey Kirkman
What a refreshing read! The book entitled City on a Hill is a must-read for all who are aspiring or who are presently laboring as shepherds in the church! With a plethora of books on this topic concerning the nature of the New Testament church, the book City on a Hill: Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church in the 21st Century seeks to do what most of the recent books fail to do and that is to ask ourselves, “What does the Bible say about church?”
Phillip Ryken begins this book with a sobering look at where the church is in the 21st century. He notes,
“There was a time when America was a Christian nation, at least in several important respects. There was time when the leaders of this new world sought to establish a “city on a hill,” a community for Christ and His kingdom. It seems evident that the Bible has played a fundamental role in the shaping of our laws as a nation and even its public institutions and its leading universities.”
The author isn’t arguing that America was a Christian nation, but in some respects the God of Heaven was pleased to give light and grace at its commencement. Even though grace was given in the past, the church has experienced great blows from nominal Christianity and heresies within her walls from the beginning.
Pastor Ryken also notes that in the age we live in there is a new barbarism and it is wreaking havoc on the church! We are exhorted in this book to “look at the cold, hard statistics: the breakdown of marriage and family, the rise in crime and violence, the decline in community involvement and the callous disregard for life in the womb and at the nursing home.”
Just a brief glance into our culture in the day in which we live is a stark reminder of the darkness that covers this great land! This new barbarism he notes in the words of Charles Colson,
“Is not hairy Goths and vandals, swilling fermented brew and ravishing maidens; they are not Huns and Visigoths storming our borders or scaling our city walls. No, this time the invaders have come within. We have bred them in our families and trained them in our classrooms. They inhabit our legislatures, our courts, our film studios, and our churches. Most of them are attractive and pleasant; their ideas are pleasant and subtle. Yet these men and women threaten our most cherished institutions and our very character as a people.”
Our culture is consumed with materialism. It drives our markets, the news headlines, and has poisoned the sphere in which our young people are now living. And if those realties aren’t humbling enough, the author calls our attention face the hard reality that we are probably living in the first post-Christian era.
In seeking to explain what this new barbarianism looks like, the author seeks to drive home two thoughts which not only shape the way our culture and world think but have also infiltrated the minds and hearts of church-goers as well!
The first is relativism. Relativism is a radical skepticism which rejects the idea that there can be any absolute truth. This teaching has made monumental inroads in our culture. Pastor Ryken explains,
“The troubling result of relativism is the erosion of traditional ethical and intellectual standards for science, law, medicine, journalism, and the use of technology. And when it comes to theology, relativism means that no religion can claim to be superior to any other faith.”
The second thought is narcissism. The author defines it this way:
“Narcissism is radical individualism, or infatuation with the self. In ancient Greek mythology, Narcissus was a beautiful youth who fell in love with his own reflection. As he sat beside the pool, gazing lovingly at his own image, he wasted away and died, and was transformed into flower. There has always been a narcissistic tendency in American culture, but we are now entering an era of radical selfishness and unbridled individualism.”
The author labors these points because even in the church these concepts are not considered hideous but welcomed and are encouraged. Mega-churches have filled stadiums, building the premis of their teaching and church practice around these teachings.
In light of these truths, the author asks the readers this most important question, “Now how shall we live?” In a day when relativism and narcissism have taken the front row in our culture and in the pew, how can the church seek to stay relevant and win the never-dying souls of men? Should the church continue the approach of pragmatism? Should modern evangelicalism continue to try to market Christianity and water down the gospel message so that those who never step inside the doors of a church will run to its meetings? Do we really need to find a new way of doing church? In light of these things I believe the question of how we shall live is paramount, and I believe Phillip Ryken has hit the nail on the head. This book thrusts upon its readers that now is the time for evangelicalism to rise to the occasion and to stop embracing the world’s theology and methods.
City on Hill exhorts its readers not to stay in the past nor look only to the future with regards to how the church should be conducting itself in this present world but,
“What we should do instead is live in the present, learn from past, and anticipate the future, while always looking to the Bible.”
Phillip Ryken begins to answer this question at the same place we all need to begin, and that is with the Bible in hand. For when we look to the Bible we see very clearly that God has a plan for His church at all times and in all places. The first century church is great place to start. The first century church was founded upon the gospel and the author seeks to draw attention to the methods which they used in a sin cursed world with very similar problems. According to Acts 17:6 these methods turned the world upside down!
The methods in the first century church resulted in phenomenal results. Mr. Ryken notes four features, found in Acts 2:42-47, that flow from this first century church.
The first feature which colored the ministry of these early Christians was their devotion and commitment to the teaching of the apostles. (v-46) It is noted that they were a teaching church. Doctrine was critical to the well-being and makeup of this first century church. “The first century church was hungry for biblical and theological instruction.”
The second feature of this church, as defined in Acts 2:42, is that they were a worshiping church. They devoted themselves to “the fellowship, breaking of bread and to prayer.” They simply did not just do church but church impacted their very way of life. The author notes, “the reason worship is at the center of church life is that in worship God is placed at the center of our attention.” Therefore, the first century Christians would have it no other way.
The third feature of the first century church was that they were a caring church. The author notes , “The charter members of the first church in Jerusalem were a remarkable group of men and women. Not only did they worship together, but there was a genuine love which went beyond mere lip service. In verse 45 we read, “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
The fourth feature of the first century church was that they were a growing church. In verse 47 we read, “They were praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Real success in a sinful world demands that we not look to the wisdom of this world but to the God of the Bible who alone adds those who are being saved.
In the rest of the book, City on A Hill, pastor Ryken seeks to flush out the practical out-workings of a church which is committed to the apostles’ doctrine, to the worship of God, to caring for one another, and to the success of the gospel. God’s plan for His church cannot and will not be ultimately thwarted. Christians must be persuaded that success is not built upon pragmatism, but when God’s people humbly follow the biblical pattern that He has put forth in His word it will not return to Him void. Therefore, those who seek to follow God’s plan for His church will be a city on a hill upon which the gates of hell cannot prevail.
I can whole heartily recommend this book. This book has once again giving me a love for the unadulterated power of God to save sinners. God does not need us in his plan to save sinners and build His church, but in His infinite mercy
He has chosen to use weak, sinful men. Real biblical success for our churches is found in the Bible alone!
Made Willing In The Day of His power!
Casey kirkman
