AUTHENTIC MINISTRY:
Serving from the heart
By Michael Reeves
Union Publishing. 122 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 916 899 506
Authentic Ministry started life as a series of talks delivered to groups of Bible college students, pastors-in-training and church leaders. It covers various areas of Christian life and ministry including prayer, humility, friendship, and suffering.
Whilst written with new leaders in mind, most of what is written is applicable to anyone in ministry, and in fact most chapters would apply to any Christian.
The chapters are short and punchy, and aim at the heart. The focus of the book is on ‘inner fitness’ for outward service and the author does a good job of getting the reader to examine themselves in all the areas it covers. The opening chapters set the tone, looking at delighting in God and boasting in the cross. This foundation helps anchor the book firmly in the reader’s spiritual life, rather than reading like a how-to guide.
As you might expect if you’ve read any Mike Reeves books before, this one is sprinkled throughout with helpful quotes and insights from various figures from church history, such as Luther, Bunyan, and Spurgeon. That said, in the chapter ‘Esteem Friendship’ there is a helpful reminder not to idolise ‘great men’ from church history, and that none of these greats did it alone, but were surrounded by many others who helped them in their ministry.
The brevity of the chapters is surprising, given that it is more likely to be read by those in ministry, but that does give it a freshness and readability that it would perhaps lose if they were longer. That also means the book gives a lot for the short time it takes to read. Once or twice the reader may feel that they have slipped into participating in formal theological education, but if you can forgive this, it is a worthwhile read.
