IMAGINE CHURCH
Releasing whole life disciples
By Neil Hudson. IVP. 180 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 844 745 661
‘The enemy cares little about what happens in churches as long as it remains private’.
Imagine Church is a plea and roadmap to help ordinary churches ‘become communities of people who help one another live out their whole life — at home, at work, in church, in the neighbourhood — as followers of Jesus, engaged in his mission to the world’. It is written to enthuse and enable church leaders (and members) to change their church ‘cultures’, so that the focus is not exclusively on ‘gathered church activities’, but rather the weekday lives of the congregation, as the place where God shapes his people, and impacts the world. One frequent suggestion is to make space for people to talk about the details, opportunities and challenges of their everyday lives (rather than simply having missionary / humanitarian reports). This leads to prayer and reflection on how to live as Christians in these situations.
Great commission church
The book rightly challenges us to intentionally and explicitly shape church life around Jesus’s mandate in Matthew 28.19-20, and to remember that ‘Jesus is Lord’ must impact all of life (Matthew 5-7, Ephesians 4-6, Titus 2, etc.). People living ‘radically Christian’ everyday lives are a far more biblical and effective evangelistic strategy than simply looking to church sponsored activities. Leaders are not the ones ‘doing Christian work’, cheered on (or not!) by the saints — rather they are to equip Christians to live for Christ (Ephesians 4.11-16).
The book is written for a wide spectrum of churches (Baptist, Anglican, Pentecostal, New Frontiers) and is based on a pilot scheme in a number of such churches. This provides helpful case studies and anecdotes. It also gives the grating impression that doctrinal differences are irrelevant, female leadership is biblical, etc. To write off the book as a result would be a mistake, and to ignore its central contention a disaster.
Weakness identified
The author has undoubtedly identified a great weakness in church life in general, with some practical suggestions for addressing this. My nagging concern is whether the structural changes suggested will really deliver the ‘whole life disciples’ that the book rightly yearns to see. There is a vital need for what is done ‘in church’ to relate to and shape the everyday lives of Christians. But perhaps the worship and proclamation and intervention of a transcendent God and a risen Saviour are bigger factors than the book implies for actually shaping Christian lives. Definitely a worthwhile read.
Phil Heaps,
Westerleigh (elder, Reformed Baptist)
