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Rating: 
Summary: Good, But Disappointing.
Review: Normally, anything related to Reformed Theology in a popular format grabs my attention and gets me excited. This booklet was no different. Being a part of the "Basics of Reformed Theology" Series, I had hoped for a solid, readable resource that I could put into the hands of the people in my church. In reality, this little booklet fell far short of my expectations, and ultimately proved unusable for my intended purposes. This booklet does have some redeeming qualities. There is a brief, yet good, account of the historical roots of the reformed faith (pp. 6-9). His section on the authority of Scripture (pp. 9-11) and the sovereignty of God (pp. 11-17) are also great considering the amount of information and instruction he packs into such a small space. Smallman also has helpful sections on the issues of Covenant (pp. 17-18), the Law (pp. 18-21), and the Kingdom of God (pp. 27-28). More than the positive aspects are the disappointing parts of this short work. In his "Historical Roots" section, Smallman only draws out the lines of history to Presbyterian churches. What about the majority of the other Christian churches that can trace their roots to the reformation? Would this have not been a wonderful opportunity to call them back to their historic faith? The most disappointing section is that on Church (pp. 21-27). Here, Smallman moves a little too easily between modern church vernacular (such as 'synod') and the accounts of the church's actions in Acts. Many laypeople in the church could very easily be misled into believing that the modern Presbyterian church derives its organizational structure directly from the pages of Scripture. There is also no mention of the lack of apostles today, which would surely draw a distinction between the current situation of the church and that of Acts 15. Smallman also indicates that the Presbyterian model is the only valid model because "Reformed churches reject the idea of independent congregations" (pg. 23). The author further muddies the waters on the necessary beliefs of Reformed church by insisting they practice infant baptism as a sign of the covenant community. While, this is not the venue to launch into a detailed debate about this issue, I do want to raise the question of the issues validity in a work like this, which is designed to be a starting point for defining a Reformed church. (Let me also say that Smallman contradicts himself in the very next section on communion - why must "Baptized children need to make [a] confession of faith to the elders before they can take communion" when "the Lord's Supper is celebrated by the church family, and those who have been baptized and have publicly confessed Christ"[pg. 26]?) At the end of the day it appears that, in no uncertain terms, Smallman believes that the only church capable of calling itself a "Reformed Church" is a conservative Presbyterian Church. As one of a number of ministers in the SBC who holds to Reformed theology, I find this rather interesting! Suppose my entire congregation embraced the doctrines of grace, revising our church's doctrinal statement and proclaiming them in every venue of teaching - would we still not be a "reformed" church? What about those in the Evangelical Free Churches, Reformed Baptists Church, and other non-denominational churches that clearly hold to the reformed faith? Perhaps Smallman is trying to draw a distinction between those churches that are "Reformed" (capital 'R') and those others who simply hold to the Reformed faith? It seems odd to me that he would want to draw a distinction between churches who agree on virtually every point of doctrine, except ecclesiology. The stated purpose of this little booklet was to answer the question 'what is a Reformed church?' And while, Smallman admits this is not a definitive answer to the question, he does believe that his work is a good starting point (pg. 6). I deeply regret the conclusions of the author in this regard. I think the booklet would have been a better starting point in answering the question, "what is a Presbyterian church?" Then I would have given it four stars!
Rating: 
Summary: A good short overview of the Reformed tradition
Review: Steve Smallman packs a surprisingly large amount of content into this little booklet. He gives a very short history of the Reformed tradition, then moves on to state some of the key Reformed doctrinal positions. A book of this size is not designed to prove these doctrinal positions, merely to state them and he does a good job. Smallman discusses the Reformed views of Scripture, God's Sovereignty, the church, the covenants, the law of God, and the sacraments. I was impressed that he even gave a quick and dirty explanation of the three uses of the law. This is a good booklet to give to new members in a Reformed church. This will let them know what the church believes. Of course, they will need to go to other books to find the proof of these points (may I suggest Michael Scott Horton's "Putting Amazing Back Into Grace"), but this booklet does a great job of stating the Reformed views in a quick format.
Rating:
Summary: A good short overview of the Reformed tradition
Review: Steve Smallman packs a surprisingly large amount of content into this little booklet. He gives a very short history of the Reformed tradition, then moves on to state some of the key Reformed doctrinal positions. A book of this size is not designed to prove these doctrinal positions, merely to state them and he does a good job. Smallman discusses the Reformed views of Scripture, God's Sovereignty, the church, the covenants, the law of God, and the sacraments. I was impressed that he even gave a quick and dirty explanation of the three uses of the law. This is a good booklet to give to new members in a Reformed church. This will let them know what the church believes. Of course, they will need to go to other books to find the proof of these points (may I suggest Michael Scott Horton's "Putting Amazing Back Into Grace"), but this booklet does a great job of stating the Reformed views in a quick format.
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