Joseph D. SMALL, Flawed Church, Faithful God: A Reformed Ecclesiology for the Real World. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018, pp. 242. $35.00 pb. ISBN 978-0-8028-7612-6. Reviewed by Wilburn T. STANCIL, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO 64110.

            Joseph Smart is the former director of the Presbyterian Church, USA’s Office of Theology and Worship.  He currently is an adjunct professor of ministry at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and a church-relations consultant to the Presbyterian Foundation. With this rich background in service to the church, Smart sets out to describe both the failures of and the possibilities for the church today. While the subtitle correctly describes this book as a Reformed ecclesiology, Smart’s vision for the church is clearly ecumenical.

            For Smart, the starting point is to arrive at some consensus about what the church actually is.  More often than not, what is typically referenced is the “ideal” church, an abstract church that bears no resemblance to any actual church. The fragmentation of the church into myriads of denominations has become an accepted reality, often justified with the reassurance that the “invisible church is the true church, the body of Christ, while the visible churches are flawed human constructions.” As a result, we settle for an “unseen, intangible unity” (p. 15). By accepting this religious pluralism as simply the way things are, the credibility of the gospel is compromised and the churches become consumer-oriented, competing with each other for a dwindling market share. Rather than proclaiming the gospel, churches market their religious services and goods.

            Smart sees possibilities for the church’s renewal in a number of areas. Unlike John Shelby Spong, who recently argued that the ecumenical creeds cannot produce a living faith today (Unbelievable, HarperOne, 2018), Smart argues that the creeds do provide a shared faith that is rooted in the regula fidei of the ancient church. Additionally, for the church to be its true self, its life must be shaped by the faithful proclamation of the Word and its sacramental life. It’s at this point that Smart most clearly reflects his Reformed tradition, citing Calvin’s understanding of what constitutes the church: “Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists” (p. 44, citing Calvin, Institutes, 4.1.9.).

            Additional chapters on the Christological basis for ecclesiology, the meaning of Paul’s metaphors “body of Christ” and “people of God,” and communion in the Holy Spirit round out the central section of this book.  The final sections of the book treat two important themes for today.  Smart devotes an entire chapter on the significance of the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate.  Smart rightly argues that both Jews and Christians together make up the people of God, and failure to include Jews in the covenant relationship has debilitated the church and led to supersessionism.

Smart also considers the challenges of professing the faith today in a secular age. Now that Christianity can no longer depend on cultural props as in the past, how does it move forward?  For Smart, the answer is not to market and brand the church more effectively.  Rather, he looks to the ways in which the early church prospered without any underpinning from the culture.  The early Christians, Smart argues, became a “body knit together” (Ephesians 4:16) because of a common religious profession, unity of discipline with mutual responsibility and accountability, and a common hope. These factors reflect a vibrant communal life, often lacking in today’s church.

Flawed Church, Faithful God accomplishes what it sets out to do.  Smart provides us not only with a catalog of failures in the church but a hopeful look ahead. I highly recommend this book for those interested in ecclesiology and for denominational and church leaders who are responsible for shaping the future direction of the church. Its insights are timely.