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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Go. Be. Christ's. Church., May 19, 2010
This review is from: An Army of Ordinary People: Stories of Real-Life Men and Women Simply Being the Church (Paperback)
Go.
Be.
Christ's.
Church.
Those four words sum up Felicity Dale's An Army Of Ordinary People: Stories Of Real-Life Men And Women Simply Being The Church (Tyndale/Barna, 2010). Dale and her husband have been involved in the simple church/house church movement for many years, planting organic faith gatherings in neighborhoods and workplaces in the U.S. and U.K., then coaching people hungry to be the church without the institutional constrictions of "legacy churches", as Dale calls institutional, building-and-denominational congregations.
There have been a number of books in recent years dedicated to this move of the Spirit building including George Barna's Revolution and Neil Cole's Organic Church. But where those titles have focused on offering a Biblical, practical apologetic for this movement, Dale's book invites us into the living rooms and kitchen tables of ordinary people who live into their calling as ministers of the gospel. This 279-page book has 21 short chapters filled with stories about what being the church, 2 or 3 or many more gathered, can look like. Each chapter concludes with Dale's practical coaching about how to simply be the church.
I was involved in a house church for a couple of years, and it was both life-changing (some of the most powerful, prophetic prayer times in which I've ever participated) and difficult (there were as many as 8 kids under the age of 10 in the house and we never did solve the "What to do with the kids?" question adequately). Dale's book describes, but doesn't discuss, the sometimes brief life-cycle of these simple congregations. Some exist for a season, and then, as the Wind of the Spirit shifts direction, these gatherings dissipate, as ours did. Others go on for years, and, at least in some cases, eventually take on a more formal structure.
But Dale's main focus is on the kind of Spirit-led evangelism that comes from relationship-building. She writes:
"Church is not about buildings or meetings; it's not about church structure or charismatic leaders. Church is about relationships - first with Jesus and then with those in His body. Jesus needs to be our primary focus - pleasing Him must be our highest calling and communicating with Him the heartbeat of our existence. Above all else, if we are in love with Jesus, not only individually but corporately, then our expressions of church are likely to be healthy and vibrant."
Reading An Army Of Ordinary People will challenge you to rethink your assumptions about church. It's a reminder that the first-century church can happen in the twenty-first century - maybe in your own living room or in your favorite the coffee shop.
Note: A copy of this book was provided me by the publisher.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Army of Ordinary People by Felicity Dale, May 17, 2010
This review is from: An Army of Ordinary People: Stories of Real-Life Men and Women Simply Being the Church (Paperback)
An Army of Ordinary People is an inspiring collection of stories of God moving throughout the United States and the rest of the world through regular people. People just like me and you. Felicity Dale writes in such a way that she makes it seem like it really is possible for anyone to share the gospel, lead a Bible study, start a church, and begin a movement of God in the people around them.
Each chapter uses a story to illustrate one of the principles of planting a "simple church" (otherwise referred to as house churches, organic churches, cell groups). The stories highlight churches that "ordinary" people start in nursing homes, prisons, businesses, schools, trailer parks, neighborhoods, coffee shops, and just about anywhere else you can think of. Each chapter concludes with a more in-depth look at the principle illustrated by the story ... covering topics such as training, location, sphere of influence, finances, kids, prayer, etc.
These simple churches start with the purpose of helping jaded Christians "heal" from their experiences with legacy churches (a more traditional model of church) OR to meet the needs of people who would not otherwise darken the doors of a church. The ultimate goal is to see people come to Christ and the church grow to the point where it reproduces and births new daughter churches. Eventually an entire network of churches will be established through the start of one "simple church." (This is a model that I can agree with wholeheartedly! Rapid multiplication!)
The book was certainly inspiring. The principles seem easy and very practical ... things that any Christ-follower could (or should!) do. I was challenged in my thinking ... to evaluate why I believe some of the things I do. Is it tradition or comfort or simply what works for me? This book also challenged me to look for ways to share the gospel in my everyday life with the people I already come in contact with and to be extremely intentional in every conversation.
I do have one caution though ... the definition of "church." It was not clear from the start what Dale defines as a "church." Sometimes it seemed that "church" could simply be a social gathering, which I would not see as biblical. I'm not sure whether we have a true theological disagreement or merely a misunderstanding regarding terminology.
I enjoyed this book. It was a quick, easy read for me, yet it still challenged me.
I received a FREE copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my fair and honest review of this book.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent Read, May 10, 2010
This review is from: An Army of Ordinary People: Stories of Real-Life Men and Women Simply Being the Church (Paperback)
I've always been interested in the house church movement, and I finally got a chance to sit down and read a book about it. An Army of Ordinary People simply tells stories of different house churches and describes different struggles and victories faced by those who join, lead, or start them. The stories are all interesting and quite well told by the author. The only real qualm I had with the book was the super-loose definition of the word "church." Felicity Dale seems to define the word "church" by any group of two or more believers. The only problem with this is that she doesn't include anything about Bible study, prayer, communion, or accountability in her definition. If it's just two or more people together, in my opinion, it waters down what a church really is.
With the exception of my difference of opinion in how a church is defined I really did enjoy this book. The writing was extremely good, and Felicity did an excellent job of offering the common Christian a look into the basics of the house church movement.
I'm also supposed to let you know that I received a free reader's copy of this book from Tyndale House in exchange for reviewing the book. However, I wasn't required to give the book a positive review.
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