A Brief & Beautiful Guide
A Feature Review of
The Church: A Guide to the People of God
Brad East
Hardcover: Lexham Press, 2024
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Reviewed by Leonard J. Vander Zee
It has been my contention for some time now that the biggest failure of the church in the last few generations is the failure of catechesis. It is evident everywhere you may turn—biblical ignorance, theological cluelessness, and a general inability to think Christianly. And this becomes immediately critical in our context in which the blare of social media and the dilution of politics and faith combine to threaten the church with wholesale idolatry.
Lexham Press has dedicated itself to do something about this catechetical crisis by publishing a series of short, attractive resources for adult catechesis, addressing the basic truths of Christianity every adult should know. The series so far includes books on the Apostles Creed (Ben Myers), The Lord’s Prayer (Wesley Hill), The Ten Commandments (Peter Leithart), Baptism (Peter Leithart), and God’s Word (John Kleinig).
I have already used Ben Myers’ book on the Apostle’s Creed for some catechesis with a quite brilliant high school senior. Generally the books, like the present volume, are written on a college level, with winning, accessible prose and helpful verbal illustrations. Like the others in this series, this book has an inviting size and feel, its chapter headings illustrated by pleasing iconic woodcuts and inviting calligraphy.
Also like other books in this series, The Church is written from a broadly catholic perspective, as opposed to what might be expected in a strictly Protestant or broadly Evangelical framework. For example, East begins his explanation of the church by drawing a portrait of Mary as model of the church and the mother of all believers. And, like other books in the series, he emphasizes a more sacramental understanding of the church’s life and worship.
Another heartening aspect of East’s approach is that it is deeply biblical. By that I do not mean that he quotes passages from here and there in the Bible to make a prooftext point. Rather, he illuminates the life and calling of the church by following the entire arc of the Scriptures, from the election of Abraham to the day of Pentecost. This can be seen in the intriguing one-word chapter titles: Mystery, Mother, Chosen, Bound, Redeemed, Holy, Ruled, Beloved, Incarnate, Sent, Entrusted, Benediction. For East, the church is the people God has desired for himself from eternity, and will finally bring to perfection in Christ in the new heavens and the new earth.
With this approach, every element of the church’s life and calling becomes much more broad and robust. For example, the chapter on redemption is anchored in the story of the Exodus, which means that the salvation the church chronicles is much more expansive. “The freedom of the Lord is all-encompassing, emancipation is comprehensive, body and soul….The church is the herald of salvation. The salvation she proclaims is redemptive from every servitude, freedom from every mastering Lord” (56,57).
Important and helpful insights abound. In the chapter on law, which can so easily fall into the law vs. grace dichotomy, East makes clear that the church proclaims a gracious law-giver who not only sets people free but also calls them into a life of freedom that can become attractively distinctive to the world at large. “The Law is what puts flesh and blood on the bones of Israel….Their economics, their politics, their family life—all of it is determined by their strange God and His jealous ways” (69).
Likewise, in the chapter titled Ruled, East evokes the fruitful tradition of the threefold offices of prophet, priest, and king, so important to the Reformers. As an embodied reality, how does the church actually function in a way that is prophetic, charismatic, and orderly at the same time? “The historic answer of the Christian tradition is that some persons among the people are set aside for this work….They are designated as such by the act of ordination. Ordination is the ritual means by which a baptized believer is consecrated for the special work of the Lord on behalf of the Lord’s people.” Then East exposes the deeper reality at work in ordination which, again, is often lacking in today’s church. “The logic is sacramental. Ordination is a symbolic practice of God’s people through which the Spirit of Christ sanctifies and empowers particular believers with the graces necessary to serve the mission and worship of the community” (81).
In the chapter titled Sent where East talks about the church’s mission, he makes another unusual but theologically important move. The main focus is not just the great commission, but the event at which those words were uttered by Christ– his ascension. The ascension of Christ “inaugurates the church’s mission” (121). “The friend of sinners in Galilee reigns from heaven over human affairs. This means the poor and oppressed have an advocate on high. Jesus Reigns! Not Pilate or Caesar, Not Hitler or Stalin, not the slave-traders or war-mongers, not your enemies or friends or parents or spouse or boss. Jesus! Only Jesus.” (119). An important word on the church’s mission for the twenty-first century church.
East is always clear that the bride is not always so pure and undefiled. “It must be said at once that failure is characteristic of the Church, for never has there been a time in the Church’s life when she has wholly succeeded in following Christ. In truth, never has there been a time when the church has not failed in this fundamental task….You, Christian, are a beggar, no better or worse than your neighbor” (146,147). The church lives by grace, and is thus always offering its confession of sins while bringing its worship and praise.
As some of the above quotations may suggest, this book can be helpful far beyond any catechetical use. There are illustrative gems here for preachers to mine, and, with its insightfulness combined with brevity, I can see this book to be very helpful as a basis for a discussion or retreat by a church staff, or church council.
While I’m at it, and being something of a Brad East fan, I also want to recommend his more scholarly work, particularly his important book on the Bible, The Church’s Book: Theology of Scripture in Ecclesial Context (Eerdmans, 2022).
Leonard Vander Zee
Leonard Vander Zee is a retired pastor in the Christian Reformed Church, married to Jeanne Logan, and father of four and grandfather of 12. Besides serving as occasional Interim Pastor he loves playing tennis, pickleball, and golf, and reading the theology of the church fathers. He is author of Christ, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper (IVP, 2004).
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