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Why We Love The Church: In Praise Of Institutions And Organized Religion (2009)

by Kevin DeYoung(Favorite Author)

4.06 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0802458378 (ISBN13: 9780802458377)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Moody Publishers

review 1: This book is a candid, balanced, biblically thoughtful, historically informed, & pastorally sensitive corrective to the new & radical Christianity that says "NO!" to traditional church.It's trendy these days for Christians to claim to love Jesus & want community with other believers, & at the same time ridicule, insult, & abandon the church. One of the primary reasons people get so fed up with the church is that they have unrealistic & unbiblical expectations of what it should be able to accomplish.I am tired of hearing about new churches, or sometimes old churches trying to make themselves new, who say things like, "We're the church for people who don't like church," "We're a different kind of church," "This is not your grandmother's church," etc., the implication being t... morehat churches are somehow bad, full of failed traditions & dead faith. Even worse are those who "love Jesus but not the church," who are "spiritual but not religious," who "worship by enjoying nature" & consider fellowship at Starbucks to be a legitimate substitute for corporate worship.The book addresses four primary reasons given by those who have left the church (the book calls them church-leavers), responding at each point with reasons why the visible, institutional, organized church is still the appropriate place for the believer. These four reasons are "Missiological" (the church isn't accomplishing its mission), "Personal" (I've been hurt by Christians or by the church), "Historical" (real or perceived crimes committed by the church throughout history), & "Theological" (different definitions of what the church should be).Neither author denies that many of the criticisms are valid, & that there are some very real problems which must be addressed; they simply argue that running away from the church is not the solutionOne of my favorite statements in the book: "It's possible the church needs to change. Certainly in some areas it does. But it's also possible we've changed - & not for the better. It's possible we no longer find joy in so great a salvation. It's possible our boredom & restlessness has less to do with the church & its doctrines & more to do with a growing coldness toward the love of God displayed in the sacrifice of His Son for our sins."
review 2: There are plenty of "beat up on the Church" and "Lets do church different" "or religion is bad" books over the years, and yet here we have Kevin and Ted, one man a pastor the other a layman write a book handling many of the criticism of the church, and lets face it, many of them are overblown and exaggerated to the max. I have met many of the people who hold to the "lets not go to church, lets be the church" and "It's not a religion" fads (a fad I was only for a short few months in my late teens, and it is rather common in our post-modern settings. And this book was most refreshing compared to all the whining about the church and many of the incomplete gospels these fads preach.Many seem to want to just jump ship and do things their own way, no rules, no regulations, but Kevin and Ted truly help to remember the necessity of the church, the purpose of the church, the reality of the church and what defines the church. They help to paint an authentic truth about the church and why it is important to keep doing church the way it is, why the structure, leadership, doctrines, the gospel and preaching and even the history of the church are important. This book expresses why going and being apart of the church is important to your faith. I greatly enjoyed this book, I found it an easy read, in some places challenging, some places encouraging. It is funny in parts and serious in others, it is solid scripture wise. If you love Jesus, you should certainly love his Church too, and this book helps many of us remember that, the church is indeed perfect, but she is still Christ's bride!!! This book is a much needed response and I would recommend this book to any believer. less

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