UNITED WE STAND
By Thomas Brooks
Banner of Truth. 60 pages. £3.25
ISBN 978-1-84871-028-3
The Puritans are still misrepresented in many circles as cold, doctrinaire kill-joys of church history. Nothing, actually, could be further from the truth, as this little pocket-book shows. In neglecting Puritan writings, the upcoming generation of Christians robs itself of untold spiritual treasure.
This booklet boils down to its essence the work of Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) on the incredibly important subject of how to bring about unity in a divided church. (Divided church? Us?) It is brief, racy and accessible even to those with a short span of attention. Brooks recommends 12 remedies, including such unifying attitudes as dwelling on one another’s graces rather than weaknesses, and walking together by making the Word of God our only touchstone with which we test all things.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …