I've read and enjoyed a number of Francis Chan's books over the years. Crazy Love and Forgotten God were among the first books I'd read in the "Christian Living" category, and Crystal and I both read his book on marriage, You and Me Forever a couple of years back. I actually realized that I've missed a couple others in the interim (Until Unity and Multiply), which I'm going to have to make sure I check out in short order.

Letters to the Church was a really fascinating read, where each chapter is dedicated to what he sees as a failing of the modern day (mostly American) church, which he argues has grown accustomed to creature comforts and easy theology instead of Christians' biblical calling to radically sacrifice, love, disciple, etc. It's a hard-hitting book, where he isn't afraid to call out the failings of many churches (including the ones he's started or been associated with over the years). In one chapter, for example, he talks about how members of a street gang often have a greater sense of familial obligation and community than many churches; in another chapter, he asks how many believers are actually willing to sacrifice something for someone else.

My favorite question in the book challenged readers to think of the five most important things they look for in a church (a rockin' worship band, a great children's program, clean and modern building, ample parking, etc.) and asked how many of us would be willing to give up all of those things in exchange for a greater connection to God and what he's doing in the world.

Toward the end of the book, even though he takes great pains to explain that it's not the only way to do things, he is ultimately making an argument for a small house church model rather than a "Sunday service at a big church" model. Having been a part of a house church for a couple of years, I don't necessarily think it's a church format devoid of problems, but his point is well taken. More importantly, I think the book is a great resource for any Christian who is interested in honestly evaluating their particular church experience or expression of faith and challenging themselves to be open to the idea that there's work that needs to be done to bring it more in line with what the Bible calls us to do.

This book was exactly the kind of Christian book I love to read ... it's a quick read that's thought-provoking and honest. It doesn't spend a lot of time just regurgitating theology or randomly dropping Bible verses and expecting them to be self-explanatory. It doesn't read like a lecture or an academic thesis ... it reads like a guy who's passionate about the church and distraught over all the failings he sees in so many of them, trying to make his best, no-nonsense case for why it doesn't have to be like this. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know what progressive Christianity looks like.

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Created Mar 14, 2024 at 6:52pm • Submit your own review...