GOSPEL-DRIVEN CHANGE:
Navigating Reform in a Local Church
By Paul Watts
Grace Publications Trust. 220 pages. £9.00
ISBN 978 1 912 154 425
This book tells the remarkable story of Paul Watts, who was pastor of Rehoboth Strict Baptist Chapel in Coventry from 1985-2022. It is an extended case study of change in the church (now called Hillfields Church).
The church had been part of the Gospel Standard Strict and Particular Baptists, with its hyper-Calvinist doctrine (no free offer of the gospel, leading to lack of assurance) and ultra-conservative practices (exclusive use of Gadsby’s Hymns and the KJV, compulsory hat wearing for women, and only men allowed to pray).
The transformation of the church flowed out of Watts’ understanding of the gospel. The author remembers several key sermons that gradually helped to shape the understanding and practice of the church. This involved changing the Bible version and hymn book used, and a stand for the right of all genuine Christians to take communion, that led to expulsion from the Gospel Standard churches in 1992.
Watts emphasises the importance of moving gradually to keep the whole church on board, avoiding the bitter arguments and splits that plagued the church before he became pastor. This approach stood the church in good stead when God called it to undertake a major building project and to merge with another local evangelical church. Watts helpfully outlines the Biblical principles involved: self-denial, intelligibility, the ‘one another’ passages, and Jesus-centredness. The church appointed an evangelist to develop its testimony locally. This evangelist is now the pastor of the church.
More than a memoir
This book is more than a fascinating pastor’s memoir. It could act as a guide for any pastor seeking to navigate a church through the process of Biblical transformation, whatever its background. It will also help church members in understanding the unique pressures of being a pastor and how to respond well to change, even when it comes slowly.
