Book Review Part II

By Jake Colsen


These are some of the quotes I found most intriguing in the book “ So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore?”

" Who is he asking you to walk alongside right now and how can you encourage them? I love it when brothers and sisters choose to be intentional in sharing God's life together in a particular season. So, yes, experiment with community together. You'll learn a lot. Just avoid the desire to make it contrived, exclusive, or permanent."

" ...body life is not something you can create. It is a gift that the Father gives as people grow in his life. Body life isn't rocket science. It is the easiest thing in the world when people are walking with him. You get within twenty feet of someone else on that journey and you'll find fellowship easy and fruitful."

"No church model will produce God's life in you. It works the other way around. Our life in God, shared together, expresses itself as the church. It is the overflow of his life in us. "

"Not all structure is wrong. Simple structures that facilitate sharing his life together can be incredibly positive. The problem comes when the structures take on a life of their own and provide a substitute for our dependence upon Jesus."

Well it has been a few weeks since I have read this book, maybe over a month actually. Of the two books that I am reviewing, “The Shack” see Part I, and “So You Don’t Want to go to Church Anymore?” this second book has been my favorite. It is a novel that starts out with the premise that John the Beloved maybe never died. (John 21:22) What stands out most in my mind, are some of the challenges that both of these books have brought to my heart. No, the theology isn’t perfect. I would actually have a hard time sorting through all that. On the other hand, a lot of doctrine that we have swallowed hook line and sinker in some cases in our church settings; have been really challenged here by the authors. I liked how the book explores how we tend to get awfully stuck inside our four walls and have not been really out in the world being salt and light to those around us. Or even to the people inside the four walls. We unknowingly sometimes rely on structure and our boxes instead of relationship with the Father. I myself have been on this journey for several years now. Asking God, how oh how can I impact the world around me??? How can I really be salt and light? Salt that seasons and flavors the atmosphere around me, salt that draws people to God. Not the kind of salt dumping that lands in open wounds and causes people to retreat and wall off ANY mention of my King. Light that doesn’t spot light me or a particular religious following, but a light that guides and draws all people to Him.

As you can see from the quotes, the book highlights our relationships, with God and with each other.

We are simply talking about…love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. We all start off that way when we first encounter the living God, but some how over time, structure and form set in and relationship can start to dwindle.

I love that both these books have made me think... you can read this on-line at Jake Colsen