Okay, seriously, I don't say this very often... especially about church-books, but this one is a good one... If you have found yourself doubting the Church and her ability to be the means by which Christ brings his kingdom on earth, read this. It might encourage you a bit. It's just a story...
[photo from here]
I know what you're thinking... if you're like me and you've done ministry (church, para-church, whatever), you might feel "over" the newest book on how to have an awesome church, but this one is different...
*first of all, how many church books feature a picture of a pomegranate (world's greatest fruit, anyone?) on the cover?!
*but, seriously, don't be fooled by the title:
so, it's a knock off of Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart,
but this book actually has a foreward by Dr. Willard
so, it's a knock off of Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart,
but this book actually has a foreward by Dr. Willard
*not a fan of Willard's stuff? That's okay, he's not always my fave either, but this book is down to earth and is really just a story
*it's kind of a messy story
(authentic, if you will, even though we aren't talking about food;)
and the people who tell the story are very raw about their mistakes and flaws...
(authentic, if you will, even though we aren't talking about food;)
and the people who tell the story are very raw about their mistakes and flaws...
I kinda wanted to be their friends after reading it
*and a disclaimer: 1) if you are drawn to lingo like "spiritual formation"
(defined here) or "missional" (defined here) or "emerging" (defined here)
or "emergent" (the difference between emergING and emergENT found in this article) or "traditional" or "contemporary" or "simple church" (website),
they understand these things and speak to them,
(defined here) or "missional" (defined here) or "emerging" (defined here)
or "emergent" (the difference between emergING and emergENT found in this article) or "traditional" or "contemporary" or "simple church" (website),
they understand these things and speak to them,
BUT
2) if the aforementioned buzz words make your roll your eyes, it's okay, these things are not listed off just to make you think the authors are "relevant." If anything, these authors raise better questions about all of these pretty words than I've heard... maybe ever.
BTW, I'm not knocking any of the concepts of the above words, just the over-use of them and seeing them used to lure people because of their recent "shiny-ness". I'm a sucker for shiny things, too -- I'm in an M.A. program for Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, for crying out loud! :) And spiritual formation is much more than a buzz word in my life, but more on that another time...
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