Book Review: When the Church Was a Family
Derrick Vincent
BIBL 472: New Testament Backgrounds
November 10, 2025
Summary
In, When the Church Was a Family, Joseph H. Hellerman describes this sense of family
and demonstrates how it profoundly shaped the culture of the early church. In the words of
Hellerman, contemporary Western Christians typically have a cultic worldview when considering
life in the church. At the same time, it would have sounded foreign to early believers. The
book's subversive thesis is that true Christian discipleship involves moving from individualism to
a strong, group- or family-oriented commitment within the local church. Hellerman
substantiates this argument through sociological investigation, Greco-Roman background
studies, and biblical interpretation.
Hellerman opens by comparing strong-group and weak-group cultures, suggesting that
within the ancient Mediterranean context of this epistle, the group replaced the individual.
Within this social context, individuals derived their identity, security, and sense of purpose
mainly through kin. Hellerman employs this cultural background to unpack New Testament
concepts, such as Jesus' revolutionary redefinition of family. For example, citing Jesus’
declaration that whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and sister and
mother1, Hellerman makes the point that Jesus intentionally placed spiritual relationships above
biological relationships.
Hellerman considers how the Pauline communities understood and enacted their new
familial identity in local communities of “brothers and sisters,” with reference to Paul. According
to Hellerman, the model for Paul's ministry is that of a "strong group" in which members share a
responsibility for one another.
Hellerman also explores the potential impact of strong-group dynamics on church
practice today, highlighting how this social context stands in stark contrast to the
hyperindividualistic culture of contemporary Christianity, which he argues is held captive by all
things small and personal preferences. Real-life pastor stories with analysis of how stability in
relationships has yielded spiritual growth, while instability results in spiritually stunted people.2
1 Joseph H. Hellerman, When the Church Was a Family (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009), 74.
2 Hellerman, When the Church Was a Family, 116.
In the end, Hellerman finds his answer in the notion that spiritual formation is largely an
endeavor integrated and realized within a stable (long-term) church family, with that of the
early church mode of family serving as a biblical prototype for Christian community in our own
time.
Critique
Hellerman’s study has several strengths, first, because of his persuasive and accessible
building on the historical-cultural with the previous book. By describing the social world of
ancient Mediterranean culture, Hellerman enables today’s readers to make sense of why the
New Testament uses family language so much. This is what Jesus means when he says against
patriarchal common sense and its testimonial devaluation of women, he insists that spiritual
family must override the biological order. His cultural anthropology lens not only gives us a way
to understand what insider-outsider tensions are perpetuated by what Butler sees as the
Thessalonians’ opposition to adoption. This background means that Hellerman can argue
effectively that the Christian community is not a concept and metaphor but instead a biblical
norm.
The second reason Hellerman’s pastoral experience strengthens the book is that his
sharing of actual church situations is a model for how strong-group commitment can be
expressed in contemporary life. His assertion that spiritual growth occurs over time through
relational investment is both powerful and extremely practical.
Even with its considerable benefits, there may be places where readers check the
material or want more explanation. One limitation is that Hellerman uses strong-group vs.
weak-group social models to make such critiques. While these models help shed light on
ancient culture, there will be some readers who sense that Hellerman generalizes a bit or over-
suggests that firstcentury strong-group dynamics are always positive. In fact, collectivist cultures
can also create unhealthy pressure to conform to individuality. Although Hellerman recognizes
these risks, a longer exposition would strengthen his thesis more.
Furthermore, some might contend that Hellerman’s use of first-century social norms to
model twenty-first-century congregations risks idealizing New Testament communities without
recognizing the full complexity of modern life. In modern culture, with the pressures of military
service, economic necessity, and educational opportunity, many Christians lead a life on wheels.
The biblical call to long-term security might sound either unrealistic or guilt-inducing to those
whose life circumstances prevent them from staying with one church family for decades.
Some may rise at Hellerman’s stress on church authority or the need for accountability;
they might fear that strong-group models inadvertently make a case for coercive forms of
leadership. Though Hellerman advocates for healthy and communal authority, others might
wonder how churches can prevent abusive power while also gently pushing people toward
greater submission and loyalty. However, Hellerman provides a positive role model of a caring
pastor as a servant-leader. Hellerman provides a strong argument, based on Scripture, that
questions the foundations of Western individualism and calls believers to a more faithful
expression of community.
Application
Reading "When the Church Was a Family" led me into deep reflection about family,
community, and dedication in relationships. Though I firmly believe in God, I am not a
churchgoer. I have never felt that church attendance is necessary to know God or be loved by
Him, nor to speak with Him. Coming from such a background, Hellerman’s assertions naturally
appeared to me differently. Though he was discussing family, particularly the concept of
creating an elect family based on loyalty, concern, and stability, his words struck me at an even
deeper level.
Hellerman emphasizes the way early Christians formed strong, unified, and caring
communities, which took the place of family. This struck me because I understand wanting a
stable and reliable family more than I understand how to build one. All I knew growing up was a
house that fostered both abuse and instability, where emotional needs were never met. For my
teenage years, my father was sent to prison, and suddenly, I had to be responsible for
supporting my family financially. Although my mother cared about us, she could only do so
much, and I had to learn how to be the man of the house at a young age. I was the oldest child,
so naturally, I had the most responsibilities. I was not taught how to have healthy relationships
or how to build a family and make it work.
This lack of basic family/relationship knowledge has stayed with me into adulthood. I
have had difficulty maintaining relationships. I often run when faced with confrontation. In
short, those very qualities which Hellerman describes as vital to a strong-group family
commitment, communication, endurance, and shared responsibility, are things I generally find
most difficult to grasp.
What surprised me in reading Hellerman's book allowed me to feel love without any
guilt at all. It helped me get why relationships can be complex for myself: I grew up without the
knowledge of what a strong family should look like. Hellerman's book helped me see that the
urge for a place among others is human, but the skills necessary for a healthy family are not so
easily learned.
Even though I am not a churchgoer, the principles of the book caught my eye. It made
me think carefully about the relationships I do have. Hellerman says the community forces us to
stay, even if we could leave more easily.3 Though it is from the direction of the church that he
writes this, it strikingly fits my personal life as well. Running away from tension is what I have
done instinctively, but healing requires something different: discovering how to remain present,
openly communicate, and work through issues instead of evading them or escaping elsewhere.
It challenged me to think about how I might slowly develop better habits in my
relationships. It also reminded me that although I often feel lost in relationships, I can learn
skills and build a family that no one ever taught me. Ultimately, the book reminded me that
God's desire for individuals is to have peaceful relationships of wholeness, whether found in a
church body or in the families and communities we build every day.
3 Hellerman, When the Church Was a Family, 143.
Bibliography
Hellerman, Joseph H. When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus’ Vision for Authentic
Christian Community. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009.
