Excellent material on a very important topic! This is a book not to be missed! Joe Thorn has a lot of great points and thought provoking material included in this book. Make sure you read it carefully and linger over his words.

Joe Thorn is a Chicago pastor and although I like Bart Ehrman (on his lectures from the Great Course/The Teaching Company about the Bible and Jesus is pretty good) this book wasn't really for me.

Here is what I love about this book. It is right to the point and still very crystal clear about the heart of the church. Joe is so centered on the Gospel and I am truly blessed by his amazing ability to write and connect with the reader around different topics. He simply wants to get us to Jesus in our thinking, in our striving, in our living. Joe is a great writer and lover of Jesus and he will push you to Jesus if you take up this book and read it.

Original, published article (portuguese)

O CORAÇÃO DA IGREJA (THE HEART OF THE CHURCH) – JOE THORN
A História do Evangelho, a sua Mensagem e Significado

A igreja enferma e está “ligada à máquina”. Não se cuidou e está doente. Doutores religiosos atuais prescrevem o tratamento para esta letargia, tristeza, esta falta de frutificar, este enfraquecimento da fé, mas só identificam os sintomas, nunca chegando à raiz do problema.

Muitas igrejas seguem um objetivo particular – sejam conservadoras, liberais, ou de qualquer denominação - os números, a relevância e distinção cultural, ou a pureza doutrinária. Quando estes assuntos se tornam prioritários na vida da igreja, o Evangelho perde influência.
O Evangelho, explica Joe Thorn, não é mais do que a vida, morte e ressurreição de Jesus. Centrar-se no Evangelho, é o que nos define como Cristãos, nos une como irmãos, nos transforma de pecadores a santos, e nos envia como povo de Deus em missão pelo mundo.
Quando assim é, o Evangelho é exaltado sobre tudo e triunfa sobre todas aquelas coisas que atuam contra nós. Quando o Evangelho é o objetivo numa igreja, esta sai pelo mundo preservando o seu caráter “contra-cultura” como povo de Deus.
The Heart of the Church é o primeiro de três livros sobre o coração, o caráter e a vida da igreja local. Descreve a história da igreja, desde o início bíblico, passando pela Salvação, a vida de Cristo e a sua importância na nossa vida, a sua morte e ressurreição.
Joe Thorn escalpeliza a Doutrina dos Evangelhos, ou seja, a justificação, o perdão, a fé e o arrependimento, a reconciliação, santificação, as boas obras. Aborda ainda o tema Deus dos Evangelhos – a condenação justa, salvação soberana, a chamada irresistível, o Deus que sustenta em fé.
Thorn deixa o aviso. Se o Evangelho não for o foco da igreja, algo será!

English translation:

The Heart of the Church: The Gospel's History, Message, and Meaning, by Joe Thorn

The church is sick and "machine-bound." Did not take care of itself and is sick. Current religious doctors prescribe treatment for this lethargy, sadness, this lack of fruition, this weakening of faith, but only identify the symptoms, never getting to the root of the problem.

Many churches follow a particular goal - whether conservative, liberal, or of any denomination - numbers, cultural relevance and distinction, or doctrinal purity. When these matters become a priority in the life of the church, the Gospel loses influence.
The Gospel, explains Joe Thorn, is nothing more than the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Focusing on the Gospel is what defines us as Christians, unites us as brothers, transforms us from sinners to saints, and sends us as God's people on a mission throughout the world.
When this is so, the Gospel is exalted above all and triumphs over all those things that work against us. When the Gospel is the goal in a church, it goes out into the world preserving its "counter-culture" character as God's people.
The Heart of the Church is the first of three books on the heart, character and life of the local church. It describes the history of the church, from the biblical beginning, through Salvation, to the life of Christ and its importance in our lives, to his death and resurrection.
Joe Thorn scourges the Doctrine of the Gospels, that is, justification, forgiveness, faith and repentance, reconciliation, sanctification, good works. It also addresses the theme God of the Gospels - just condemnation, sovereign salvation, the irresistible call, the God who sustains in faith.
Thorn leaves the warning. If the Gospel is not the focus of the church, something will be!

The root problem for many local churches is that the gospel no longer fills their hearts. We have been captivated by issues of secondary importance and have slowly drifted from our first love (Rev. 2:4). Many churches have let one particular issue, rather than the whole gospel, characterize the whole of their ministry. These issue driven churches can either be either conservative or liberal and can be found in every denomination. They may get the gospel right on paper but are animated and directed by other principles.

The heart of the church is what drives it. How it makes decisions on budget and how they do ministry. What makes this text unique that it starts with the history of the Gospel. The text is done in three parts.

The History of the Gospel-The theme of scripture, the life of Christ and the death and resurrection of Christ.

The doctrine of the gospel- Justification, forgiveness, faith and repentance, reconciliation, sanctification and Good works.

The God of the Gospel- God condemns justly-, God Saves Sovereignly, God atones effectively, God calls irresistibly and God sustains faithfully.

A church that values the historical church is good for all and helps the believer to understand the gospel and not let the culture take the gospel hostage. It also helps the leaders of the church stay focused on what the priority of the church should be and not let the church be taken hostage. Does your church value the historical of the church?

The message of the church is how the gospel is understood. God's responsibility and our response. You can take a survey, and you would have all sorts of answers to the message of the gospel and what Justification, Sanctification, repentance, forgiveness mean. It is how we worship God and how we worship God is important. It all comes down to who gets the glory.

The meaning for the church is how God is working thru us for community and body. What does the implications of our salvation look like. In our marriages, our work, our community.

A teaching that is not widely taught is the righteousness of Christ. How the sinner needs forgiveness which is good and true but how much more we need Christ righteousness. We seem to pursue the forgiveness and leave Christ righteousness behind. Christ righteousness is not just a cliché but it is an act of submission. Which may be why we don't hear much of it or have a misunderstanding of what it means.

I appreciate the teaching of Joe Thorn and the role of the church to the believer and to those that do not believe. Very easy to understand but at the same time gives a high view of the Gospel and the gift of salvation.

A Special Thank You to Moody Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Excellent book on the heart of the church.. aka: the gospel. I thought it was the perfect starting book on these 3 books about God's church.

I'm a little unsure what to make of this one. It's the first of three volumes in a series that Thorn's writing to build the church (the next two on the life and character of the church). This book, which is a very quick, is a brief introduction to what the church believe. Thorn rightly points out that churches can -- even in doing good things -- lose their proper focus, which is the gospel. He defines this focus: "the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, all of which accomplishes redemption and restoration for all who believe in Him."

The rest of the book explains what Thorn sees as the essential elements of the gospel. In doing so, it disconnects (at least on an explicit level) from the expectations the series might have set (there's little of ecclesiology here, though what's here is important). The problem is that it becomes a little too focused.

Thorn essentially presents a Reformed view, which -- for the most part -- I don't disagree with, but it goes beyond the essential elements of orthodoxy. He seems to follow Luther (and, of course, modern Calvinism), none of which I'd object to if he didn't finish his overview by describing this expanded explanation of the gospel as "the defining truth for the Christian and the church). He hits on definite atonement, an idea that many churches would not hold to (or at least not divide over); again, fine enough, but more precise than necessary. In this work, a church of 4-point Calvinists would not be part of the true church.

All of which I'd be fine with in another setting. Had he written a 300-page book "What Is Reformed Theology and Why Does It Matter?" this would have been a good starting point. As it is, he doesn't have space to defend his positions. A new Christian or someone new to these ideas might not accept them without more support; a Reformed thinker doesn't need this line so much (and someone like Oliver Crisp would certainly offer more generosity in what counts as either orthodox or Reformed, and, ostensibly, what counts as the gospel).

So I don't object to Thorn's writing per se, but I'm not sure it works as a stand-alone book attempting to serve the purpose it does. He's right and making a valuable statement in: "If the gospel is not the heart of a local church, then something else will be." It's just that he restricts that in a manner that, I suspect, only people already in line with his thinking will buy into (given the limited space of the book).

That said, Thorn's readable, smart, and clearly has a heart for his work. I'm just not sure that this book does what it's attempting. It feels like a survey of a larger work of systematic theology, and not necessarily the best way to approach 100 page on what the church should keep in mind. Even so, I'm not un-optimistic about the rest of the series.

The first installment in Joe Thorn's short series about the Gospel and the life of the church packs quite a punch. Thorn boils down the Gospel to the bedrock principles and presents it in a way that is easy to understand and challenging at the same time. This book is perfect for new believers, but mature Christians should read it as a reminder about the fundamentals of Christianity. Thorn delves into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, then he discusses justification, salvation, sanctification, good works, evangelism, and grace. This information is Biblically sound. I look forward to the next installment in this series. I recommend this book to all Christians, but I would also recommend it to non-believers looking for a concise explanation of the bedrock fundamentals of Christianity. I received this as a free ARC from Moody Publishers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Joe Thorn has written a trilogy of books about the church for the church that will be published in 2017. The first one is The Heart of the Church. (The next one, which I accidentally read first, is The Character of the Church. The third one, which I will pick up to read really soon, is The Life of The Church).

The church should not be confused about the gospel--what the gospel is, what the gospel isn't. But it is. You don't have to be a Christian confused about the gospel--confused about why the gospel matters, confused about what the gospel continues to mean to us as we live our lives.

Joe Thorn's little book, The Heart of The Church, is ALL about simplifying for readers everything about the gospel. By simplifying I do not mean subtracting the "hard" messages, the "controversial" messages, the "uncomfortable" bits that make us squirm reminding us that the Word of God is sharper than a sword and is intended to pierce through us. I mean laying out the gospel clearly, concisely, as it is--take it or leave it.

Chapter 1: The Theme of Scripture
Chapter 2: The Life of Christ
Chapter 3: The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Chapter 4: Justification
Chapter 5: Forgiveness
Chapter 6: Faith and Forgiveness
Chapter 7: Reconciliation
Chapter 8: Sanctification
Chapter 9: Good Works
Chapter 10: God Condemns Justly
Chapter 11: God Saves Sovereignly
Chapter 12: God Atones Effectively
Chapter 13: God Calls Irresistibly
Chapter 14: God Sustains Faithfully

As you can see from the table of contents, Joe Thorn covers essentially 'everything' about the gospel. (The last few chapters covers the doctrines of grace.) These basics are the foundation of the Christian faith. And these aren't trivial matters that are optional for believers these days. These are the very truths of God revealed to us in Scripture that are worth living and dying for.

Gospel truths cannot impact you on a day to day basis, cannot transform you, if there's confusion as to what's true and what's false. If you're not sure what you believe or why you believe it. If you're just deciding day by day by day what feels right for you to believe in the moment. Oh, I'm feeling good today, God is a God of LOVE after all.

Some truths need to be as essential to our well being as breathing in and out. These truths are presented and presented well in this new book. Though to be fair, this new book is full of old, old truths and based on an old, old story.