Book: So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore

I was perusing another blog earlier this week and came across an entry about an interesting book. I downloaded the book (you can purchase a regular printed book, or download it as free PDFs) at the time, but didn't get to reading it until yesterday and I finished it this evening.

This is from the book's web site:

What would you do if you met someone you thought just might be one of Jesus’ original disciples still living in the 21st Century? That’s Jake’s dilemma as he meets a man who talks of Jesus as if he had known him, and whose way of living challenges everything Jake had previously known. So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore is Jake’s compelling journal that chronicles thirteen conversations with his newfound friend over a four-year period and how those exchanges turn Jake’s world upside-down. With his help, Jake faces his darkest fears, struggles through brutal circumstances and comes out on the other side in the joy and freedom he always dreamed was possible. If you’re tired of just going through the motions of Christianity and want to mine the depths of what it really means to live deeply in Christ, you’ll find Jake’s story will give you hope for your own. This book probes the difficult questions and offers some far-reaching answers. It just might turn your world upside-down as well!

As I read the story, I couldn't help but identify with Jake, the main character. The spiritual journey, the struggles, and the faith and wisdom that he learns, is in so many ways the journey that I am presently on. I would place myself around the middle of the book -- the rest of the story is still to be written.

All who fit into the stereotypical "good Christian" mold needs to read this, because it will raise very uncomfortable questions about what it really means to be a follower of Christ, and questions about motivations behind "doing church."

All who don't fit into that mold, who at times may feel marginalized, can find a loving heavenly Father within these pages. For any who have ever wondered if they are really Christians if they don't carefully follow church-prescribed patterns of what a Christian looks like and acts like, the answer within these pages is a reassuring, "Yes."

For me, the big question that it raises is this: As a leader of a group of believers in Petersburg, am I helping those under my care to draw closer to and look more closely at Jesus, or am I just helping them fulfill what are believed to be religious obligations? Am I simply being a part of their religious To-Do list, or am I helping them to experience and know Jesus for themselves?

As I plan and run activities, as I prepare and deliver sermons, as I interact with church members, these are the questions I believe I need to ask myself. If something I'm thinking about doing or saying isn't bringing people closer to Jesus and to experience Jesus for themselves, then perhaps it really isn't that necessary.