The Trellis and the Vine is a repackaging of a long history of books aimed at restoring a proper focus to the church.  However, the fact that the book duplicates the thesis of many other books does not minimize the important contribution it makes to church ministry.  Maintaining proper focus in the church is a topic that cannot be belabored, especially in the church culture of today.  The hymn writer put it this way, “Tell me the old, old story; write on my heart every word.”  Marshall and Payne keep their message focused on the old, old words of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20, “…going, make disciples of all nations.”  Although they are seeking simply to keep ministry in line with the teaching of the Bible, their sub-title, “The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything,” will hold true to those who have not thought through the authors’ clear biblical teaching.  So be prepared for change.

The book’s purpose is clearly captured in its title, keeping it simple and to the point.  The local church is thought of as both a trellis and a vine.  The trellis provides an image of structural support, with each local church having varied structures which support the actual ministry of the people.  As a local church grows, this supporting structure has a tendency to grow.  The vine offers a biblical image emphasizing the true biblical focus of the universal church on people growth and the fruit produced as a result of that growth (John 15).  Whether a local church grows or not, the simple purpose of disciple-making remains unchanged.  The authors’ intent is to demonstrate how easily local churches can stray from the unchanging purpose of disciple-making (growth of the vine) because their energies become overly focused on maintaining and growing structures (building of the trellis).  Stating their purpose up front, the authors put it this way, “We will be arguing that structures don’t grow ministry any more than trellises grow vines, and that most churches need to make a conscious shift---away from erecting and maintaining structures, and towards growing people who are disciple-making disciples of Christ” (17).  Summarizing their book, they later state, “We did this because Christian ministry is really not very complicated.  It is simply the making and nurturing of genuine followers of the Lord Jesus Christ through prayerful, Spirit-backed proclamation of the word of God.  It’s disciple-making” (151).  This focus is maintained throughout the book.

To achieve its purpose, the book focuses on 10 propositions, summarized in chapter twelve and found in the following list:

1) Our goal is to make disciples.

2)  Churches tend towards institutionalism as sparks fly upward.

3) The heart of disciple-making is prayerful teaching.

4) The goal of all ministry—not just one-to-one work—is to nurture disciples.

5) To be a disciple is to be a disciple-maker.

6) Disciple-makers need to be trained and equipped in conviction, character, and competence.

7) There is only one class of disciples, regardless of different roles or responsibilities.

8) The Great Commission, and its disciple-making imperative, needs to drive fresh thinking about our Sunday meetings and the place of training in congregational life.

9) Training almost always starts small and grows by multiplying workers.

10)  We need to challenge and recruit the next generation of pastors, teachers and evangelists.

The book’s value is in advocating for a rigorous discipleship in light of two important biblical concepts, the plurality of leadership and the priesthood of all believers.  If you are a church leader who already values these two concepts, you will be enriched and further challenged by this book.   Additionally, this will be an excellent tool to help you pass this vision onto other leaders.   If you are a church leader who has not thought through these vital concepts and the necessary role they have in the life of a church, this book will cause you properly to rethink your ministry.  For you it might just be a “ministry mind-shift.”

The book’s goal is to encourage churches toward a more advanced discipleship model especially as it relates to the development of leaders into becoming disciple-makers.  The authors are not interested in creating the next new fad or hot technique for church growth.  They long for church ministries to be biblically-based in light of our increasingly pragmatic and faddish church culture.

Finally, the book comes with a DVD which points the reader to further resources from Matthias Media, a ministry focused clearly on gospel growth. A six-part discussion guide has also been made available on their website.  This is an excellent resource, which any leader will find valuable.  It is structured in a manner that makes leading a group discussion on various chapters both easy and extremely productive.