I have been struggling — struggling to get back at the essence of the Bride of Christ.  Things seem amiss.  It’s becoming difficult to wade through the many cultural bangles and chachkas in order to experience true community, connection and most importantly, a True Life in Christ.  I’d like to get back at the essence of God’s Holy Church.   That’s my heart.  But how?

There has been a bunch of dialogue in recent years about the emerging church.  A new wineskin.  And it’s a dialogue worth having.  It’s worth talking about what Christ really call us to.  It’s worth contemplating more interactive and connectional forms of worship.  it’s worth finding out how to connect more deeply with our neighbors and with the downtrodden.  It’s worth looking at the New Testament church to really get at the structure that enabled the early church to thrive.  There is so much to discuss and so much to live out. 

I believe it is worth challenging ourselves to act out God’s Kingdom on earth to more effectively connect with those that are still yearning for Jesus, but have tired of or have given up on the increasingly empty culture of Christianity.  How can we once again be the succulent flavor in the world, and the light that sheds grace on its profound brokeness?  Well, I have been doing a lot of reading, so I thought I’d recommend some books that have vastly challenged my long-held views of church. 

- The Irresistable Revolution: Living As An Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne - This is a must-read for all disciples of Christ.  You may not be called to live completely as Shane does, but the underlying principles that he advocates call us all on the carpet.  Are we really living like Christ in the world?  If so, how do we?  Read this, and read it now.

- Revolution by George Barna - Do you feel like an outsider to the traditional church?  Do you attend church, but seek deeper meaning in Christ by serving outside the formal church?  Than you are a Revolutionary.  This book is for you.

- Rediscovering God’s Church by Derek Prince - This is a good look at scripture which explains the structure of the church in the NT.  From a decidedly charismatic perspective, but a good read on early church structure which attempts to be true to the Word.  You will learn a lot.

- Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in a Postmodern Culture by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger - What a great book!  It’s an academic view of the emerging chruch movement, backed by research, told from the leaders in the movement.  Lots of food for thought and a big challenge to church-as-usual, but in all the right ways.

- Megashift: Igniting Spiritual Power by James Rutz - This is a book that outlines miracles and the house church movement.  Rutz tries to gives accounts of what is verifiable through various sources.  And he outlines the power of the house church movement throughout the world.  Powerful.  Again, this is an attempt to get back the the essence of the early church.  It’s quite a challenge.  This book is part to put down.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 16th, 2006 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Living Like Jesus, Theology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.