About book I Am A Church Member: Discovering The Attitude That Makes The Difference (2013)
A good, simple work on church membership. This would be a great book for a new members class or perhaps a new believers class. Sadly, much of the modern church really doesn't understand who or what the church is. Rainer's book clarifies some important errors that Christians make. I confess that the pledges found at the end of each chapter did little for me, but they did not take away from the content. This is a tale of three books, and which book you read is all a member of perspective. Perspective #1: This perspective is illustrated by the 7 full pages of quotes from "professional" ministers recommending the book. These people work in the church all the time, and see the limitations and deficiencies of its membership clearly. They find this book encouraging and approachable because it is short, to the point, and adherence to it's principles by all members would make their job of leading much easier. They think this book is 5 stars.Perspective #2: This perspective is embodied by many in evangelicalism who have not had a formal membership class or training. For them, this is new information. They agree with the Biblical teaching and are motivated to attempt to follow it. I would guess the average here is 3 stars.Perspective #3: This perspective is held by the seasoned Christian, who has been around the church for a long time. Maybe a little cynical, maybe a little jaded, maybe burned by a church and/or leader before, maybe disgusted with the growing culture of celebrity in the pastorate, maybe just discouraged. This person reads the list and sees all the ways they cannot fulfill the desires of the professionals to be as faithful, as involved, as unified, as committed as the flawless church members envisioned herein. While good teaching is helpful, this person just hears a clanging gong or noisy cymbal. This is the 1 to 2 star review.If you recommend this book to others, it would be wise to consider the audience.
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Put it in the hands of your people. Incredibly down to earth an written for the layman.
—Erica
Succinct and readable. Great treatment of the oft-maligned topic.
—divateen19
