Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 224 Pages

Publisher: Zondervan
Publication Date: April 1, 2010
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031032114X
ISBN-13: 978-0310321149
List Price: $19.99
Rating: 4 Stars! 

So a protestant minister, an orthodox priest, and a catholic bishop walk into a room....  Sound
familiar?  You're probably wondering where the punch line is.  Sorry if I got your hopes up. 
This is not a joke, rather it's my way of drawing you into considering some of the important
topics John H. Armstrong discusses in his new book, Your Church is too Small.  The gist of what
Armstrong hopes to get across in this work is succinctly defined by the subtitle, "Why Unity in
Christ's Mission is Vital to the Future of the Church."  I bet some of you are starting to get
nervous right now, because I just used the word unity.  If you are the type of person who has
either a fight or flight response when you hear words like unity and ecumenism, I encourage you
to stop and take a few deep breaths.  Next, I'd like you to finish reading my review.  Lastly, I
encourage you to consider picking up a copy of Your Church is too Small, so you can get a fuller
understanding of the vision Armstrong is recasting in its entirety.
 
At just over two hundred pages, this book is a quick read. As far as the layout of the text goes, it
is organized into three main sections:

 Past:  The Biblical and Historical Basis for Christian Unity (Chapter 1 through 7)
 Present:  Restoring Unity in the Church Today (Chapter 8 through 13)
 Future:  The Missional-Ecumenical Movement (Chapter 14 through 19)
I’m always a bit skeptical of books offering a different or better way of doing church. In light of
that, this was a book I entered into cautiously. As I read on, I was excited to find out that this
work is actually a culmination of the insights, research, and experiences John Armstrong has
been working through for the past two decades and not some fly-by-night book capitalizing on
the latest trends.  I especially took to heart one of the important experiences he recounts from his
journey towards catholicity. This event took place on what seemed like just another Sunday
morning.  As John was reciting the Apostles' Creed, something happened as he spoke the words,
"I believe in the holy catholic church."  While these are words he had recited many times before,
this time he felt the Holy Spirit speaking to his heart, asking whether or not he really believes
these words and if so, why doesn't he act like it.  John was deeply convicted by this apparent
contradiction and the direction of his life has been on a new course ever since. Now this is an
1

experience I can relate to. There are so many creeds and prayers I know by rote memory. While
I mentally affirm the inherent truths, it is an exposing question to deeply consider whether or not
I truly believe them. Standing on that fence that separates mere knowledge from belief and faith

1 John H. Armstrong, Your Church is too Small: Why Unity in Christ's Mission is Vital to the
Future of the Church (Grand Rapids:  Zondervan, 2010), 26-27.
is a difficult place to be. If like John Armstrong we consider how these beliefs affect our actions,
I think we may be surprised which side of the fence we sometimes find ourselves on.

Throughout the book, John shares many of the stories that make up his journey, helping us to
understand how he has arrived at the vision he is sharing in this book. These personal stories are
more than anecdotal, they serve the following two purposes:

 "I want you to understand your own spiritual identity in an entirely new way."
 "I want you to understand the mission of Christ in a manner that will grip your
imagination and move you to pray and work for the renewal of the entire Christian
church" 2

The whole point of the book is to call the reader to missional-ecumenism, which he defines as
follows:

"In formulating this term, I have taken two words and put them together as a hyphenated
word.  I wish to stress these two truths:  (1) God is both a unity in himself and as such is a
sending God, and (2) God's revealed desire is that we would be (relationally) one with
him in this sending and sent (mission) process--thus the term missional-ecumenism." 3

Armstrong is looking for us to strive to move past the barriers (i.e. social, cultural, relational,
denominational) that tend to keep us divided. He encourages his readers to find their unity in
Christ and the core orthodoxy that we share. This may very well be the hard part for many of us
as we try to graciously consider what Armstrong is proposing. On the one hand we find
ourselves at a time when many Christians define church as the building where they attend
worship services. The concept of a global church working in unison on a shared mission may
not even be on their radar. Many of us could easily fire off a list of differences between our
churches and denominations, but would be hard pressed to define the things that we have in
common. If you know your church history, you are keenly aware of the many reasons and
circumstances that have contributed to these church and denominational variations. In light of
this, I would say that there are core beliefs that are nonnegotiable. We should be very cautious in
putting our lot in with churches and denominations that have pushed beyond the bounds of
orthodoxy. However, we may want to consider stretching out more of an open hand to those
churches and denominations, that while they may be different from us, they are well within the
bounds of core orthodoxy.

An important question I must ask myself is, Now what? Am I still very cautious about
ecumenicity and unity? Yes. Do I feel like my view of church may have been too small?
Definitely. John Armstrong is asking some difficult questions that must be answered. If the
church is going to emerge stronger from the midst of the splintering and fragmentation it finds
itself in today, something will have to change. Will this book make you uncomfortable? Most

2 Ibid. 13.

3 Ibid. 202-203.
likely. Is that a good thing? I believe so. Personally, I know it will be beneficial to make a
second pass at this book and give it an even more thorough and prayerful examination.

In closing, I wanted to point out several helpful resources that are found towards the back of the
book.  There is a glossary to help define some of the special terms used in the text.  I especially
appreciated that these important terms were bolded the first time they appeared in the text,
alerting the reader that they should consider checking its meaning in the glossary in order to
better understand Armstrong's use of the concept.  There is also a section for recommended
resources that directs the reader to the web.  These lists of resources are available at
act3online.com.  One final important feature to mention is the questions for discussion and
reflection that can be found at the end of each chapter. I found these helpful for my own
personal study to ensure I understood what I just read. These will also be helpful if you are
going to use Your Church is too Small in a group study or classroom setting.

 Author Information:

John H. Armstrong is the president of ACT 3 in Carol Stream, Illinois and served as a pastor for
more than twenty years.  He is an adjunct professor of evangelism at Wheaton College Graduate
School.  His online commentaries regularly appear at www.act3online.com.  He holds degrees
form Wheaton College, Wheaton Graduate School, and Luther Rice Seminary.  He is the author
or editor of a number of books including The Catholic Mystery, Five Great Evangelists,
Understanding Four Views on the Lord's Supper, and Understanding Four Views on Baptism.
 
Disclaimer: 

This book was provided by Zondervan for review.