Customer Reviews

The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit

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Van Gelder has written an extremely important and profoundly insightful book about the church. He has an excellent understanding of North American Christianity and the cultural temptations which have shaped the current models for church. He lays out a foundation for the church as a christ-centered missional community. This book is rich in theology and philosophy and leads the reader to very practical conclusions about how we might "do church" differently. This is not a step-by-step method for the average church to apply to its existing programs. In fact it raises paradigm-shifting questions that speak to very foundational issues regarding the nature and purpose of the Body of Christ. It is a must read.

This book was a great read. I really enjoyed what was said and I think it is going to prove helpful in my ministry. The only complaint that I would have is that the author seems to skip around alot but that is only because the book covers alot of broad ground in 175 pages. However, the chapters on the Nature of the Church and the Ministry of the Church are worth the price of the book alone. All in all, this is a great book that everyone who wants to fulfill the Great Commission should read.

A strong start and a few good ideas along the way, but overall way too theoretical and not helpful to any pastor or church leader.