Review: Renovation of the Church: What Happens When a Seeker Church Discovers Spiritual Formation

Renovation of the Church: What Happens When a Seeker Church Discovers Spiritual Formation by Kent Carlson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first thing that caught my attention was how nice the material of the back cover feels to the touch... Okay, onto the review proper! =D

Dallas Willard in the forward makes the observation that "we [in the dominant form of church life today] have trained Christians to be demanding consumers, not disciples... it was this issue of consumerism that brought the conflicting values of external success and authentic spiritual formation into such sharp contrast." (p9) and how they sought instead for "disciples of Jesus, not just avid consumers of religious goods and services." (p10-11).

From the get go, I appreciated the humility of the authors in admitting that they did not have their act all together and did not fall into the trap of over promising success by following an x-number point plan. With Ecclesiology being my second most favourite topic in theology (first being biblical theology), it was surreal to agree emphatically with the authors page after page after page (even though the church context I have been observing and reflecting about in far away Singapore). I too long for the day that my church would seek to grow spiritually formed Christians, rather than consumers addicted to week after week of worshiptainment. That powerful encounters at the altar would translate into lives forever changed by the Gospel, so much that believers cannot live in their old sinful ways. Their authenticity kept me constantly engaged, because their ten year or so struggle to transit from Willow's seeker friend model to one whereby the unchurched are faced with the invitation to repent rather than receive countless blessings upon blessings.

If you enjoy books by established church consultants like Gary McIntosh or Aubrey Malphurs, this book complements them so very well! The authors do not just know ecclesiological theories or doctrinal philosophies, as co-pastors they have sought to put many of these into real life application. On the topic of co-pastoring, this is the first time I have heard of such a notion, but it seems to be a really great idea (having considered their reflection of the pros and cons of it).

I heartily recommend this book, especially if you are a pastor frustrated with your congregation's distinterest in missions, evangelism, social justice, christian education etc. I would imagine how very useful it would be for the key decision makers on elder board/pastoral staff to have read and reflected upon relevance of what was discussed in the book for your church.

I received this book from InterVarsity Press for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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