Book Review: Becoming A Disciple-Making Church by Neil T Anderson

Neil T Anderson has been in ministry for years. I remember reading Stomping Out The Darkness which was recommended by a Christian Counselor and was a big help during my early days as a Christian. I heard he wrote a book on the church, which is called Becoming a Disciple-Making Church, that I had to check out.

When I got the book, I saw that every chapter, with the exception of one, was material he covered in other books, which there is nothing wrong with that but I was expecting more original material. He does talk about the victory we have in Christ through His finished work on the cross. The gospel is the most important thing that every church should grasp and I think Anderson tried to communicate that. He also shares that new believers must be rooted in Christ in order to grow and live freely in Christ, which every Christian would agree with that.

The rest of book turns more into a counseling book, even though, he said his ministry is not a counseling ministry. I find that ironic because most of his books are recommended by Christian Counselors. He writes about overcoming addictions, depression, anger, and even sexual addictions. Don't get me wrong, all of these are very important and need to be talked about within the church. I felt this book may not have been the place to do.

When I think of becoming a church that makes disciples, I think about getting the gospel right, how we should disciple new believers, why evangelism is important, why a new believer should join a church, etc. This book makes the church look more like a mental hospital than a gathered group of people growing in Christ. As I said, the things Anderson writes about are important and should be addressed but that should be in another book.

Thanks Bethany House for allowing me to review this book.