City on a Hill: Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church in the 21st Century

by Philip Graham Ryken

Book Overview

We are now living in post-Christian times, when Christianity no longer is the prevailing influence on the mind and heart of our culture. But we cannot compromise. More than ever before, it is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802441998
• ISBN13: 9780802441997
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Recommended!

I wonder if it has always been true that when people write about the church they write with sadness, lamenting what the church has become or is becoming. In our day we have the church growth advocates bemoaning the fact that not enough churches engage in full-scale marketing of their churches; we have the Emergent Church leaders lamenting the church's refusal to adapt to and engage with the changing culture; and we have conservatives calling us to return to the pillars of faith the church once held dear. I, sometimes reluctantly, find myself predominantly in the third camp, though I sometimes also wonder if we really are doing so poorly. Philip Graham Ryken is also clearly in the third camp. He assumed the pastorate of Ten Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia after the death of James Boice with whom he co-authored the wonderful book The Doctrines of Grace. As if to prove his allegiance, he subtitled this book "Reclaiming the Biblical Pattern for the Church in the 21st Century." As with leaders of the other camps, Ryken examines the culture and seeks to find ways in which the church can fulfill it's God-given mandate to be a city on a hill. This book began with a ministry retreat in early 1999 in which Ryken and the leadership of his church engaged in discussion about being a church that could successfully fulfill God's mandate in the post-Christian 21st century. When he succeeded Boice as pastor of Tenth, Ryken began his ministry by preaching a series of sermons on the seven committments of his church's mission statement. These messages form the basis for the book. Because of this they do read a little bit like sermons (which is not necessarily a bad thing). City on a Hill begins with an introduction to postmodernism. Ryken identifies these post-Christian times as being characterized by relativism and narcissism. In order to combat those forces and to be a remedy to society, the church needs to return to the model of the 1st century church - a church that was modelled on teaching, worshiping and caring. These three forces, when combined, caused the church to grow. Ryken identifies seven objectives for the church: expository preaching, worthy worship, Bible study and fellowship, pastoral care, educational programs, missionary work and service to the church and community. Each of these objectives forms a chapter in the book. While these objectives are hardly unique, and could as easily be found in a book written by John MacArthur or any of the other Reformed or conservative church leaders, Ryken does something that gives this book great value. He shows how relativism and narcissism negatively impacts each of these seven objectives, and also shows how returning to the biblical model can be an antidote to the influences that pervade our culture. For example, he teaches that in a post-Christian culture, worship becomes less about Scripture, and less about honoring God, while becoming predominantly about the individual. Church becomes a place where

A Call for the Church to Again Be the Church!

Philip Graham Ryken is a worthy successor to his mentor James Boice, both as the pastor of Tenth Presbyterian, and as a voice calling out to the church in our day to turn back to her first love. In this great book, City on a Hill, Ryken sets out the Biblical priorities for a church. There are no earthshaking new ideas here, but timeless truths presented in new and fresh ways. Much of this book is based on messages given reaffirming Tenth Presbyterian's mission statement, but the focus given is applicable to any Bible-believing church. He calls the church to return to: expository preaching, corporate worship, fellowship, pastoral care, discipleship, missions and evangelism, mercy ministry and repentance and renewal. Each chapter covers one of these areas and is biblically supported and persuasively argued. The book also has an 'action guide' at the end for pastors and church leaders to evaluate how their own churches are doing, and it provides additional resources for further reading in the areas covered in this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who cares about having a God-honoring, gospel-centered & driven church that can impact a community. May He use it for His glory!