Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Book Review of "The American Church – A Baby Church"

In the forward of this book, Steven Ritland put it so well when he said, "Some assertions may be a little extreme, but please don’t let that lead you to reject the book’s overall message, which I believe is that Christ’s body needs a transformation; it needs to return to the Word of God and obey what God commands." So, I encourage you don't put this book down before hearing the author's heart of this vital subject, "The American Church - A Baby Church." While you may not agree with all that he says, I believe there are enough nuggets of truth that makes this book worth its reading. It is a relatively small book at 134 pages so it should be an easy and quick read. So there's not much of a risk of your time, and there are surely at least a few nuggets in there for YOU! I gave it 3 stars but I really hope you will read it, as there are some 5 star nuggets among these pages. The book title alone might offend some for calling the American church a "baby church," but I have to say we are a baby church in many of the ways he discusses in this book. He brings out a point that shows our infancy/baby traits (immaturity spiritually) one trait per chapter.
Starting with chapter 1 he deals with our over dependence on others, be it our church groups, ministers, etc. While we do receive from each other, we do need to stand up and stop weighing down others. All babies are to grow in maturity. In Chapter 2, he discusses our self-centeredness as babies! Babies are occupied with themselves. They have a “me” problem. Solution: As you grow up, you will become less and less self-centered and more and more other-centered. He then goes on to discuss 8 other areas of immaturity in the American Church (thus covering a total of 10 areas) of "baby traits." Like I said, you may not agree with all he says, I didn't, but by the time I flipped the last page of this book, I could honestly say it was worth my time and I received some good from reading it. We certainly do have a problem we all need to face...the American Church is an immature baby church. What are you going to do about it? Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review blogger's program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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