Book Review: The Trellis and the Vine

The controlling metaphor of this book is that of the relationship between a trellis and a vine (hence the title). The function of the trellis is secondary. That is to say that it, in and of itself, is not important. Its importance, rather, is found in its ability to support the vine. It is the vine that is ultimately important.

Colin Marshall and Tony Payne suggest that the framework, structures and committees, of the church serve as the trellis to the vine of proclaiming and applying the Gospel to the lives of people. Far too often though, we spend all our time and efforts focussing on "trellis work" while not paying enough attention to the vine.

The answer to this problem, they suggest, comes through training disciples to train disciples. While this might not be quite as easy as they sometimes make it seem, there are any number of good suggestions in this book as to how it is practically done.

I personally feel that Marshall and Payne are on the right track and I highly reccommend this book to pastors, elders, and other ministry leaders. If you'd like to hear about this book from a far more authoritative source than myself though, check out what Mark Dever has to say below.



UPDATE...Click here to download a free discussion/study guide for The Trellis and the Vine.