Review: Rechurch

Rechurch
Stephen Mansfield
2010
BarnaBooks, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers

If you have been burned or otherwise suffered a church hurt and if you like the pain and suffering you’ve been experiencing don’t bother with this particular book.

If on the other hand you want to be whole again and able to rejoin the people of God without looking over your shoulder all the time this book can help you immensely. The author is firm in his approach. Sometimes he comes across a bit more strongly than most of us are used to hearing. Keep going, though. He uses examples from his own experience, which could not have been easy for him, and people from history, some of whom surprised me. Even the “super saints” dealt with the church hurt issues.

Throughout the book the author provides various exercises to work through that pave the way to the following steps and eventually to healing and finally wholeness. I especially appreciated some of the discussion related to forgiveness. I thought he offered some very helpful insights in that area.

The final chapter is one I wished I read a long, long time ago; lots of just plain commonsense information that goes out the window so often when people choose a new church home, me included. Maybe it could be a set of discussion points for a new member’s class.

This isn’t a book that you can read and set aside. It is one that you can share, though. Please do when you have finished with it.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for this review.