Why Church?: A Basic Introduction

by Scott W. Sunquist, Richard J. Mouw (Foreword)

Is a church just something we create to serve our purposes or to maintain old traditions? Or is the church something more vital, more meaningful, and more powerful? This can be hard to believe when we look at what happens in any one congregation or denomination. Certainly not all churches act like Jesus in the world, and in fact many churches in the West are dying. When it's so easy to be confused, frustrated, or simply apathetic about the church, how should we understand its purpose today? In this appealing introduction to the nature of the local church, set in the context of Christian history and global diversity, historian and missionary Scott Sunquist brings us a portrait of the church in motion. Why Church? clarifies the two primary purposes of the church: worship and witness. Sunquist unpacks what the church is--and ought to be--using five movements of worship:

come together

stand to praise God

kneel to confess

sit to listen to the Word of God

go out into the world
Packed with stories and insights from experiences in churches around the world, this book explores issues such as cultural contextualization, the meaning of conversion, worship in both personal and communal aspects, and how mission should combine telling the good news with being good news as a community. This primer on "what is church?" comes from Fuller Theological Seminary's renowned church-planting program and is well suited to church leaders and their core teams to read together and share with new attenders as they catch the spirit of the dynamic gathering that is the local church.

Genres: Church, Christian

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 9, 2019

About the author

Scott W. Sunquist (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is dean of the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He previously served as professor of world Christianity at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Sunquist is the author of numerous articles and coauthor, with Dale Irvin, of the multivolume History of the World Christian Movement. He is also coeditor of A Dictionary of Asian Christianity.

Reviews

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s good to see a book championing the church. There has been a radical shift in how the world views local churches both culturally and in terms of impact. Scott Sunquist tackles this important subject both historically and biblically and with an eye to the future. He has written it in such a way that it’s not specific to a certain denomination, but looks rather at the core function of the local church.

He comes back to basics in chapter 1 and explains that the two purposes of the church are worship and mission. Chapter 2 is a fine survey of church history from the time of Jesus to the current environment of Post-Chrisendom. We may not be happy about the trends, but he lays them out for us to ponder.

The next five chapters make up his main premise by using five words to describe what a church is supposed to be doing. These words are come, stand, kneel, sit, and go. When he speaks of coming to the church, he is speaking of coming to Jesus in conversion, coming to the body of Christ for community, and finding our identity in the worship of Jesus Christ. His discussion of standing is a call to praise God. He may be less concerned about worship styles than you are, but I do think you will likely agree with his emphasis on the necessity of praise. As you probably guessed, the chapter on kneeling is about worship. He doesn’t approach worship as some touchy-feely, nebulous experience, but rather coming before God in confession and repentance. It’s a good approach I think. The chapter on sitting describes the great importance of sitting still to receive the Word of God. I found it to be quite helpful despite a few possible rabbit trails. The final chapter on going is about taking the church outside of its building and carrying out the mission of Jesus Christ.

There is a later chapter that he calls “healthy body movement”. Here he wrestles with the implementation of all he has discussed with a balancing of his five key elements. Don’t read that as if he has all the answers, but read it as taking suggestion on what you ought to consider as you work through that same dilemma. The epilogue mentions a few things that he did not write about in the book, but should be considered.

I just happened to be doing this review while churches around the world are quiet in the buildings with most services held online during the Covid-19 crisis. It strikes me that perhaps we haven’t given thought to how incredibly powerful and wonderful the local church is in our lives. Maybe this book can help us reflect and plunge forward.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoy Sunquist’s writing. Simple, clear.
He also has such a breadth of experience as a missiologist who has seen a broad swath of the movement of God we call the church. Helpful categories using bodily postures in worship services (come, kneel, sit, stand, go). A unity-driven piece of work on ecclesiology without a lot of jargon. Probably still some Protestant leaning, but intentionally seeking to be globally minded and inclusive of orthodox, Catholic, Pentecostal, independent, Protestant.

[Troy Gallerani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid overview on the common structures employed across churches in Christianity, with a reasonable stance on what should and should not remain in churches moving forward.

[Bledar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worship and Witness can be seen in five body movements. Dr Sunquist has written a good book. It did provoke my thinking in a number of ways.