Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense by Dr. Larry Crabb

Review: When God’s Ways Make No Sense Dr. Larry Crabb Baker Books 2018 I chose this book because the title intrigued me.   When God’s Ways Make No Sense.    There have been plenty of times when that seemed truer than I’d like to admit.   Are we even allowed to say something like that?   Even if we think it.   So, an author willing to take on that topic had my attention. And mostly because I wanted his take on what to do about it? As it turns out Crabb pretty much gave away his case very early on in his book with a single scripture quote.   The basic idea is God is GOD and we are not.   His motives and actions are incomprehensible to mankind and He owes no explanation for them either.   Crabb admits near the end of his book that he is not a theologian which I knew going into this book, but his arguments are theology.   Or at least I think so.   I found his repeated circling the topic a bit frustrating. ...

Buntings and Books

Time to blog says the calendar. So OK let's blog. What about? Oil spills? Court nominees? Euro problems? Weather? The last one is the easiest to go with it looks like. Cold and windy again. What is this about? Not more than a week ago it looked like summer. Even needed fans to cool the place. Well, the fans are off now. Nature has provided some pre-cooled forced air for a few days now, complete with humidity adjustments ie rain. Keeps the ground cold and the urge to garden at bay. Protection for those of us who aren't in the best physical condition. The weather has the birds on the feeder more often and that included a new one in the area. We've decided to call it an indigo bunting. Matches the picture in the book so that's got to be who he is. Pretty little guy, all decked out in his breeding plumage. Haven't seen those colors since the last peacock came around. Just read that cowbirds like to use them to raise their chicks. Yet another reason t...

Review: A Hole in Our Gospel

The Hole in Our Gospel Richard Stearns Thomas Nelson 2010 Disturbing is the best word I know of for this book. There are already hundreds of reviews for this book in its hardbound version and now the soft cover release invites more. The paperback added color photos and a study guide to the text. So for my money that is a plus. Why did I decide to call the book disturbing? I could have called it challenging just as easily but challenging is easier to dismiss. Disturbing gets into your soul and is much harder to root out. If that’s what you want to do after you read this book. Mr. Stearns tells his story to the reader while motivating that person to consider what action the reader could take to join in the world wide efforts of World Vision or another similar organization. For those that believe there’s more to Christianity than staring at the back of someone’s head for an hour on Sunday morning this is a great place to start a quest for whatever that something more might be. On...