Books Reviewed

Today, I finished reading two different books.  Two very different books actually.  I can't even tell you which one I read first because I read them simultaneously.  They arrived on the same day earlier this week, and I finished them within an hour of each other this evening.

I'll start with Mike McKinley's Church Planing is For: Wimps (How God Uses Messed-Up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things.  A friend who knows about my current adventure with a new church plant pointed me toward this book, and I purchased it more out of curiosity than anything else.  I promised our lead pastor, Steve, that I'd highlight profusely, make lots of notes in the margin and share as soon I was through it.  While this book is definitely geared toward pastors, I found it interesting and insightful nonetheless.  As The Commons is in it's infancy, I find myself frequently adjusting my prayers for our young church, desiring what is most pleasing to the Lord and constantly thinking about what the purposes and goals for a new church ought to be as well as evaluating my own heart and motives and aptitude for this endeavor.  So, reading someone else's account of their own journey as a church planter during this season seemed like a good idea.  And, I think it was.

The first thing I liked about McKinley is that he's funny.  I literally chuckled out loud several times in the first few pages.  Of course, a lot of his humor is seminary-nerd humor, but what can I say?  I am what I am.  The next thing I liked about this book is that it's not a formula.  McKinley is unrelenting in his call to Biblical Christianity, apart from cultural expectations.  The quote I am most eager to discuss from the entire book comes in the first chapter.  He says, "The more we import movies and drama and pop culture into the churhc, the more specific and targeted our gatherings feel," as he discusses the need for churches to reflect the diversity of the demographic around them.  In at least two different places, McKinley hones in on the need for church planters to make a special effort to get to know other pastors in their area.  This stood out to me because it reflects a humility that I've come to deeply respect and admire about The Commons' pastor, Steve Bezner.  An uncomfortable to valuable mantra in McKinley's writing is the idea that church planting is not a numbers game.  The goal of a church planter is not to be numerical growth but rather "raising up a faithful gospel witness where none exists."

Chapter 3 is titled "One Thing Is Necessary" and there were several places throughout this chapter that I paused to do a little mental fist-pump.  In fact, the word "yes!" is written in the margin of this chapter.  The summary of the chapter, "Preach the Word."  McKinley discusses all of the needs of his fledgling congregation and how tempting it was jump in and begin fixing things, but how he was committed to a faithful teaching of Scripture first and foremost.  Call me crazy (I'm sure many of you have over the years!), but I am absolutely convinced that God's Word is the answer to all of life's questions.  Steve assigned The Commons a homework question last Wednesday night.  "What are the first 5 or 8 or 10 things you'd teach a new believer?  What is it you believe they need to know first?"  Discussing this with a friend on my way home that night, I felt a little sheepish in saying, "Is it wrong if my answer is simply to develop a knowledge of, love for, and submission to God's Word?"  I didn't want to oversimplify the question, but over and over again I have found that the answers to so many of my perceived troubles in life and ministry are found in Scripture.  I genuinely believe that Biblical illiteracy is the greatest problem facing modern-day believers.  So, yes, I loved this chapter.  :-)

It's tempting to review each chapter of this book.  As I flip back through it, I see so many exciting thoughts and concepts and instructions.  Just like the commentary about meeting local pastors, McKinley also points to local school teachers and administrators as a wealth of knowledge regarding local demographics.  Love that.  He talks about the fact that the church should be adorned by love and have a reputation in the community for extraordinary love.  As my pastor-friend Randa Lyle at Meadowridge Community Church likes to say, "Should we ever go away from here, we'd want the community to miss us."

If there's anything in this book that might make church planters squirm, it's McKinley's tendency to throw out strategy (apart from teaching the Word, of course!).   McKinley, a church revitalizer, recounts leading his church in a decision to do away with mission and vision statements, as they'd had them for years but they'd never once had the intended impact on the church people, leading or inspiring them to action.  Then he says this (a statement I have highlighted with a "?" out beside it), "We don't need to make a ton of plans and strategies for how we are going to reach the world.  God is more passionate about spreading his gospel than we are."  See, if you're anything like me, you're squirming over this one.  At least he didn't say we don't need to make any plans or strategies, right?  :-)