Customer Reviews

Death by Church: Rescuing Jesus from His Followers, Recapturing God's Hope for His People (ConversantLife.comŪ)

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This is a thoroughly enjoyable, readable, and spot on critique of the church in the west. Erre does an excellent job of arguing the fact that the early church was a vibrant, counter cultural community of Jesus followers that changed the world with a radical gospel. However, in contrast, the church today has become increasingly irrelevant, in large part because of the consumerist, feed me, inwardly focused nature of the church rather than a community that bears witness to an all encompassing kingdom of God.

While I first obtained and read this book from my local library, I soon purchased a copy of my own and plan to purchase additional copies to give away. I would also recommend Erre's "The Jesus of Suburbia."

This book, like Erre's others, is thought provoking. It is uncomfortable and unsettling at times. But, hey, that's were growth starts, right?

Mike has a knack for forcing safe, comfortable, suburbanite American "Christians" to look at themselves in the mirror and ask the hard questions: If Jesus was so revolutionary, then why aren't the lives of his followers in America today? If people rioted wherever Paul went, then why are most American christians thought of as "Ned Flanders-esque?" Mike addresses these issues with his typically sharp and self depricating whit, coupled with a brilliant exegetical critique of how we do church, and how "church" should actually be done.

Mike Erre has written a great summary for cerebral non-theologians about some of the ways that the modern church has veered off track. To me, this was not done in an overly critical or negative way, but rather using scripture as a metric for what the church is called to be and do. Erre relies heavily on ideas of N.T. Wright, as well as other older spiritual authors and theologians. This book is both encouraging and a call for self-examination. Mike uses scripture throughout to make his points. As I was reading, I found myself agreeing over and over with many of the ideas discussed. While authors like Rob Bell and Shane Claiborne make some great points, I am not able to agree with everything they posit, their hearts are full of passion, but their beliefs are sometimes based on fuzzy or sloppy thinking. However, "Death by Church" is highly recommended.

I don't know what the other reviewer is thinking - he obviously didn't read this book carefully. This book is ALL ABOUT Jesus and just how big and compelling the gospel really is. It is easy to criticize the church these days, but the author only spends 2 two chapters on critique and the rest of the book explores the relationship between the church and the kingdom of God. I cannot recommend it more highly for believers and unbelievers alike! I recommend Mike Erre's other books as well!

Entertainment-oriented. Hypocritical. Idolatrous. Consumerist. A mess. These are only some of the terms author Mike Erre uses to describe the plight of the church in contemporary American culture. The author takes a very provocative look at today's church scene and brings together issues that it is facing along with solutions on how we can be a better witness. He definitely thinks outside the box.

This is another great book by Mike Erre (the other two are "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Why Guys Need God"), and I highly recommend this book, no matter where you are in your journey with Jesus. Mike points out some huge missteps the Church has made in the past (and still continues to make), but this book is ultimately filled with hope. It is never too late to discover God's true intent for His church, and Mike uses solid Biblical teaching to encourage and inspire the Body of Christ, and to discover together what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and what it means to represent him in the world.

Theologically strong, never watered down in its truth, and written with a conversational tone that should appeal to all readers, this book might challenge some of your notions about church, the call to follow Jesus, and the amazing role you can play in God's story of rescue and redemption. If you feel there is something missing in the way we do church, and you want more than just a Sunday morning experience, this is the book for you...

In the pages of Death by Church: Rescuing Jesus from His Followers, Recapturing God's Hope for His People (Harvest House, 2009), author Mike Erre (pastor of RockHarbor Church in Costa Mesa, California) acknowledges that Jesus is Lord. He also references a number of Scriptures and talks about several different Bible stories. But for the discerning Christian who knows his Bible, it doesn't take too long into Erre's book to realize something is amiss, and such a reader soon begins to have a sense that he is theologically being tossed to and fro between the pages of this book and soon feeling like he is in a battle zone for the truth. Sandwiched between the Scripture references and the mention of "Jesus" is a theology that does not at all represent the Gospel.

Death by Church has a point to make--that God is saving "all of creation" (eg. p. 100) and that the "church" is not the substance of the kingdom of God (i.e., the whole of creation and all of humanity is). In fact, Erre says, the church is not the kingdom of God at all - it only points to the kingdom of God, which incorporates all of creation and, if the church does all the right things it can have the privilege of being part of that kingdom too. Erre seeks to prove his point but not just by turning to Scripture - he turns to prominent figures in the emerging/emergent church (those such as Brian McLaren and Dan Kimball), the contemplative mystical prayer movement (those such as Dallas Willard and panentheist Richard Rohr-a favorite of Erre's), and New Age sympathizers (those such as Marcus Borg, who believes Jesus did not see himself as the Son of God and Gregory Boyd, author of the not-yet published work, The Cosmic Dance). Couple Erre's frequent use of emerging/contemplative/New Age sympathizing authors with his kingdom-now theology wrapped in universalist/panentheistic overtones, and Death by Church actually takes on a pseudo-name, Death by Deception.

My wife and I read Mike's book and we cannot recommend it - especially for new believers.

This book complicates the Gospel.

The focus of this book is neither on grace, Jesus' finished work on the cross nor the ascended Christ.

This book proposes that the renewal of our physical natural world is equal to (or better than) our redemption from hell.

This message suggests that through our efforts, we alone can bring the Kingdom of God here to earth.

This book offers a man-centric solution and focuses on people's works. This solution has the potential to exalt human effort over Christ. Isaiah 14:13-14 speaks to the dangers involved: "And you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit upon the mount of assembly in the uttermost north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

Ask yourself: "Who would benefit by complicating the simple message of salvation?"

Please pray that Mike and his flock experience the same revelation as the apostle Paul which is found in Acts 9:18: "And instantly something like scales fell from [Saul's] eyes, and he recovered his sight."

We thank the Lord Christ Jesus that He gives us the opportunity to participate in spreading His message until His speedy and imminent return, when He will establish His Kingdom.

Revelation 2:20 speaks of our anticipation: "He Who gives this warning and affirms and testifies to these things says, Yes (it is true). [Surely] I am coming quickly (swiftly, speedily). Amen (so let it be)! Yes, come, Lord Jesus!"