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Rediscover Early Church Practice: The New Testament Pattern
144 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2017
About the author
Stephen E. Atkerson
7 books3 followersAlso known as Steve Atkerson, specially in older editions.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 30, 2026
In this book the author outlines five key characteristics he has identified from the New Testament that he finds to be important for today's church to emulate. These include participatory meetings (also known as an open format), dialogical teaching (discussion-based teaching rather than monologue preaching), the Lord's dinner (making a communion part of a meal), shared leadership (also known as plurality), and small fellowships. He has another chapter called "Inspired Practices" that is basically a recap of what he already said in the previous chapters but with the argument of why the church should feel compelled to follow these practices.
Overall, I agree with the author's main points. My church has both participatory and led meetings, dialogical and monological teaching, and observes the Lord's supper weekly (though not as a meal). I do see the advantages that he observes from each of these characteristics. Having recently read There's a Sheep in My Bathtub: Birth of a Mongolian Church Planting Movement which incidentally describes a philosophy of house churches that resonated with me, this book seemed to add some additional meat to the ideas.
The style of the book was not my favorite - each chapter has sections titled "Professors", "Proof", "Perspective", "Proposition", and "Practicum" that I never quite understood. It seemed like ideas could show up in any section. The overall tone also has the vibe of this is the best way to do things while trying not to sound that way by sprinkling in some caveats. There's a point at which the idea of trying to decide what is prescriptive and descriptive breaks down and we end up just doing what seems best to us and ignore some things that don't feel necessary. My sense is that the book has some good practical considerations for people who are interested in trying a smaller church borne out of several years of experience. What I'm trying to decide is whether this really accounts for a complete philosophy of church ministry and growth.
I appreciated his thoughts on church leadership being based on a service mindset with a push toward congregational consensus. It sounds good, but I think there are a lot of practical gaps to fill when putting it into practice. I also found his reasoning for dialogical teaching interesting as he pointed out some passages in scripture where it seems this style of teaching was used. I have tended to feel like the Lord's Supper should be more of a meal, and this book gave me more of a basis for that.
Overall, I agree with the author's main points. My church has both participatory and led meetings, dialogical and monological teaching, and observes the Lord's supper weekly (though not as a meal). I do see the advantages that he observes from each of these characteristics. Having recently read There's a Sheep in My Bathtub: Birth of a Mongolian Church Planting Movement which incidentally describes a philosophy of house churches that resonated with me, this book seemed to add some additional meat to the ideas.
The style of the book was not my favorite - each chapter has sections titled "Professors", "Proof", "Perspective", "Proposition", and "Practicum" that I never quite understood. It seemed like ideas could show up in any section. The overall tone also has the vibe of this is the best way to do things while trying not to sound that way by sprinkling in some caveats. There's a point at which the idea of trying to decide what is prescriptive and descriptive breaks down and we end up just doing what seems best to us and ignore some things that don't feel necessary. My sense is that the book has some good practical considerations for people who are interested in trying a smaller church borne out of several years of experience. What I'm trying to decide is whether this really accounts for a complete philosophy of church ministry and growth.
I appreciated his thoughts on church leadership being based on a service mindset with a push toward congregational consensus. It sounds good, but I think there are a lot of practical gaps to fill when putting it into practice. I also found his reasoning for dialogical teaching interesting as he pointed out some passages in scripture where it seems this style of teaching was used. I have tended to feel like the Lord's Supper should be more of a meal, and this book gave me more of a basis for that.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review