Excellent material on a very important topic! This is a book not to be missed! Joe Thorn has a lot of great points and thought provoking material included in this book. Make sure you read it carefully and linger over his words.

The life of the church is experienced in three environments: the table, pulpit, and square. How we utilize these three environments help us answer the question: What does a church do? Until we see how the local church can be faithful to the Lord in these three environments, we will struggle to fulfill Christ's call. The more organized and focused a church is in these three environments, the more fruitful, steady and healthy it becomes.

These short text reflects what the heart of the church should be. I feel very fortunate that the church I attend reflects all three environments and how all three environments are not separate but easily feed off each other. One is not better than the other but the church leadership understands the importance of each one for the health of the church and the body.

The table reflects relationships within small groups and what this should look like. The table is doing life without trying to do life. It takes a commitment from all parties and really the starting point of a healthy church.

The pulpit is the liturgy and the teaching. How liturgy engages the body in scripture, confession, the sacraments and the good news of the Gospel. Words and deeds are from the same coin and it is from the pulpit that our motivation and reason grip our hearts.

The Square represents the community the church is placed in. Our square can be different depending the culture of the community and the church must be diligent in seeking the needs of their community. Whether it be for back to school, single moms, or the food pantry for the needy, we have many opportunities to meet the needs without selling the gospel. I loved this point because it can seem to some (and I am sure I am guilty of this) that we are selling something. Christians need to be set apart from doing good without expecting anything back. And to do good to those that don't deserve it. That is how we are more like Christ. Just as we did not deserve his mercy and grace, when we offer the same mercy and grace, we experience Christ and the community experiences the church.

I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

A Special Thank You to Moody Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

In this final installment, Thorn builds on the foundation principles laid out in the first two installments to show how the church should carry out the responsibilities it is entrusted with. He defines a local church as "an assembly of believers in Jesus who are united together by a common confession, are gathered in one localized body, are ruled by Scripture, and work together for the mission given to them by their Lord." There is an excellent discussion on the importance of discipleship, and then he moves into the three environments that encompass church life:

1) The Table - the smaller gatherings of the local church that bring church members together for mutual edification and fellowship. Hospitality is a key element in this section.

2) The Pulpit - the environment of corporate worship. This is the church’s central and largest gathering where God’s people meet together to receive the Word and ordinances. Important biblical principles of corporate worship are stressed.

3) The Square - the public square, the larger environment in which the church has been established. The square is the church sent into the world as salt and light. This section talks about conversation and multiplication.

A healthy church will live in all three environments intentionally, strategically, and passionately. As in the previous installments in this series, Thorn strictly adhered to biblical principles and admonishes that everything we do should be done for the glory of God!

I highly recommend this book to all Christians as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. I received this as a free ARC from Moody Publishers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The church can do many things, but there is one primary responsibility given to the church by our Lord: to make disciples (Matt. 28:18–20). Many churches seek to do the work entrusted to them by Jesus through the careful implementation of programs and teaching supported by well-developed systems for assimilation. Others opt for a more “organic” approach to disciple-making, offering less structure and cultivating a more relationship-based culture. Some churches view discipleship as primarily, if not exclusively, a matter of instruction and indoctrination, and thus neglect the need for relationships and working together. Other churches neglect doctrine while offering ministry services aimed only at practical matters.

I've now read all three of Joe Thorn's books about the church: The Heart of the Church, The Character of the Church, and the Life of the Church. All three books are great, are necessary. In the Heart of the Church, the focus was on the gospel. In The Character of the Church, the focus was on shaping the church by the Word of God. In The Life of the Church, the focus is on the church--the people, not the building--in action. The first part is "The Table," and it is about the family of believers loving and serving one another in community. The second part is "The Pulpit," and it is about worship services. The third part is "The Square," and it is in this final section that Thorn tackles the question of the church's place in the larger community, the world.