DEVELOPING HEALTHY CHURCHES

A Case-Study in Revelation

In an age obsessed with physical and psychological health the author emphasizes the importance of spiritual well-being as an essential element of holistic health for the individual Christian and for Christian communities. This work constitutes a template for a spiritual audit of the local church. It offers an appointment with the Great Physician that no Christian can afford to ignore. Developing Healthy Churches: A Case-Study in Revelation begins with a well-researched outline of the origins and development of the church health movement. With that background in mind the author, aware that throughout the history of the church there have been a number of diverse views about how Revelation ought to be interpreted, presents the reader with four distinct interpretive models. These are the idealist, preterist, historicist, and futurist. Beville explains these interpretive approaches simply and critiques them fairly.

Revelation is a complex but intriguing book which presents seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor. However, this easy-to-read work will take readers to the heart of the matter by taking them to the heart of Jesus. The historical and cultural background provides fascinating insights to the meaning of Christ’s words to those churches then and to all churches now. The author elicits essential application for the church today. He presents timeless and timely truths in a fresh and forthright manner. The reader is informed about issues of particular historical significance in a way that has contemporary resonance. Here is a work that cautions about complacency, confronts compromise and challenges the carnality of Christians in contemporary culture. Beville tells us not only what Jesus desires from his disciples but also what He demands. Thus, this work presents uncomfortable truth for comfortable churches because it allows the voice of Jesus to be heard with clarity amongst the clamor of church activity. Christians who want to restore their vision and vigor will find this book immensely profitable.

Kieran Beville is Pastor of Lee Valley Bible Church (Baptist), Ballincollig, Co. Cork, Ireland and Visiting Professor of Intercultural Studies and Practical Ministry at Tyndale Theological Seminary, Badhoevedorp, Netherlands. He has written several books and numerous articles, and he has taught intensive courses in Theology and Biblical Studies on leadership training programs in Eastern Europe, the Middle-East, and India. He has spoken at conferences on the themes of "Mission," "Preaching" and “Postmodernism.”