Jesus commands his disciples to love one another and promises that “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:35). But what does genuine care for those in our church family look like?
This warm, practical book by Dwayne Bond goes beyond specific pastoral-care roles and responsibilities, and explores how all church members can love and care for one another in the rhythms of ordinary life.
In response to Jesus’ great love for us and the example he set, readers will explore how to honour one another, serve one another and bear each other’s burdens, as they seek to walk together as a family in the midst ...of a divided culture. They will see that following Jesus' command to love one another deeply and practically will bring great joy as well as commending the gospel to those around them, as people see lives changed from the inside out.
This wonderful resource is not only a useful tool for church care teams but for every church member as each is encouraged to play his or her part in making people feel cared for and connected to the church family.
There are discussion questions with action steps at the end of every chapter, making this book ideal to read as a small group or even as a whole church. Bulk deals and free downloadable worksheets are available.
This is one of the books in the new Love Your Church series, which is being written by a collection of Bible teachers from Acts29. It is designed to inspire every church member to love their church in practical ways by casting a biblical vision of what it means to be a local community of God’s family. The series will explore what it means to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve and to honour one another, and to witness and send people out to spread the gospel. Choose the resources that cover the areas most helpful to your particular church-family needs.
(Review written for 'Care')
I’ve quite been enjoying the Love Your Church series from The Good Book Company. Its newest addition, Care, convicts and encourages the reader to live like Jesus by caring for others. The 8 short chapters of this book detail why we should love the Church and how it ought to look. As the author writes on page 66, “I can choose to love people not because they are lovely, but because God chose me when I was unloveable.” The care that matters, the care that reflects Jesus, is only made possibly by the power of the Holy Spirit working through ...us. It’s not always easy to love and care for others, especially when hurt or disagreements are involved, but the author gently encourages the reader that even then, we are to choose to care.
I found this book to be a good encouragement and also a bit convicting. I don’t always love others the way I ought to. I let personal preferences, laziness, and a slew of other factors negatively impact the way I care for others. This book brought things back into focus for me of why I should care and how I can practically live that out in a way that brings glory to God.
As with the other books in this series, there are reflection points at the end of each chapters and discussion questions at the end of the book that would make this a great book study with others.
(Review written for 'Care')
In Care, Dwayne R. Bond shares a heartfelt and convicting call to Love Your Church by Walking Through Life Together. He begins with a fundamental truth: we cannot love God and idols. When idols capture our hearts, our ability to love others is deeply compromised.
Bond calls out common cultural idols—racism, politics, and especially social media. Regarding social media, he writes, “Our longing to be the most significant person in the room robs the people in the room around us ...of our love.” That line really hit home.
Christ’s Love Displayed in Community
God’s love is relentless and steadfast. Christ’s love enables us to serve, honor, and build one another up. This is not just a private spiritual reality—it’s meant to be put on display in the local church, through real-life relationships.
Bond outlines five dynamics of unconditional love in a divided culture. Two that stood out most to me were: commit to forgiving others as I have been forgiven in Christ and count the cost of unconditional love. True love is costly—it means absorbing the offense and laying it on Christ’s shoulders.
Cross-Cultural Love in the Church
In Chapter 6, Bond focuses on the multiethnic church. He challenges us to love each other by learning from each other. This means intentionally building meaningful connections with believers from different cultural backgrounds—a vital step in unity and growth.
Bond’s message is a much-needed call to live out our faith not in isolation, but together, in grace and truth. Above all, this book reminds us that love truly is the more excellent way.
I received a media copy of Care and this is my honest review.
(Review written for 'Care')
I have thoroughly enjoyed this Love Your Church series. The series currently includes the following titles:
- Honor, Belong, Gather, Welcome, Serve, Send, Witness (Preorder)
These have been such encouraging and challenging books for churches and their members. This new addition is no exception.
The book is structured with eight chapters:
- Why loving the church matters
- What gets in the way of caring for one another
- Loved by a loving Savior
- One Anothering in action
- Unconditional love in a divided culture
- When multiethnic church becomes a loving family
- Out of the church and into the world
- Our future hope
Each chapter concludes with an Action Steps section. You will find simple, yet profound actions that Bond challenges his readers to accomplish as they move towards loving their church by learning and implementing care towards others. All of us have the capacity and ability to love and care for others. Walking through life together is discipleship. Discipleship is exactly what Christ did day in and day out while on this earth.
Essian also includes a small group discussion guide. For each chapter, there are questions that will create good fellowship and conversation among small groups.
This is a critical resource for any church member to read. Walking through life with others is how we show love, care, and joy for the the glory of Christ.
I received a copy of the book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.
