CREATING A PRODIGAL FRIENDLY CHURCH
By Jeff Lucas
Zondervan. 180 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978-0-310-26724-2
Nowadays, it seems, no church can survive without at least one adjective!
Depending on which book we read or conference we attend, we must be ‘missional’, ‘seeker-friendly’, ‘provocative’, ‘mission-shaped’, ‘purpose-driven’, ‘emerging’, or (as here) ‘prodigal-friendly’. Perhaps all the books could be sub-titled, ‘Look what happened to my church!’ For the adjectives turn a testimony into a blueprint. No harm in that! - we can always learn from God’s wonderful works. But we need to remember that the church of Jesus is a great mystery, with glorious features and amazing complexities. Those adjectives are mostly stressing one aspect of the church’s Spirit-sustained life.
