Money and sex may grab the headlines, but abuse of power is just as damaging to the church. In A Church Called Tov, Scot McKnight and his daughter Laura Berringer attack this problem head-on by exposing the wickedness of abusive church cultures and by offering a healthy alternative. Tov, the Hebrew word often translated ‘good’, should be the goal of the church: “Very good! Very well done! Perfect! Harmony! What a masterpiece” (8–9)!

This book was occasioned by the Willow Creek scandal, but Bill Hybel’s fall is only one of many situations where abusive power dynamics have led to toxic church cultures. In these churches, the truth is suppressed and truth-tellers are brutalized in order to maintain the reputation of the organization. In these organizations, power is often maintained by fear and the propagation of false narratives (i.e. lies).

About a third of the way into the book, McKnight and Barringer shift gears from examining the problems associated with abusive of power to what a Tov-oriented church could look like. Churches with a goodness culture nurture empathy, grace, people, truth, justice, service, and ultimately Christlikeness.

This book is written for everyday people—no special knowledge required. This book will encourage and strengthen the truth-tellers out there, and inspire the laity in general to work toward a culture that God can declare Tov!

McKnight, Scot and Laura Barringer. A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture that Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing. Tyndale, 2020.