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Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit

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This book is filled with fresh, insightful comments on the relationship between the Christian faith and our American culture. Kenneson's eyes see dangers to the faith that most of the Church misses; he also offers some helpful theological understandings of the Church. My only fear about this book is that not enough people will read it; whether everyone should agree with Kenneson's conclusions is beside the point: The Church would do well to devote energy to the type of discernment Kenneson undertakes in Life on the Vine. The question Kenneson poses is not often asked, but is essential to Christians of every sort: What does it mean to be Christian where and when I live? If you are a North American Christian, please read this book.

I used this book as the text for a lesson plan I developed on the fruit of the Spirit. While I had preconceived notions about the nature of each fruit, I was unsure of what they 'looked like' in everyday life. Although Kenneson has been castigated by some Evangelicals for his pragmatic tendencies, I found his insights and practical applications to be VERY insightful and well within the pale of orthodoxy (although Reformed Christians will take issue with his synergistic view of sanctification). This book helped me to realize that cultivation of Spiritual fruit is not merely a Pauline concept to be deciphered by exegetes, but is meant to be a lifestyle fleshed out in everyday life. Kenneson's applications of each fruit serve to give cues for further application and cultivation of each fruit for our time. As with every book, it's best to eat the meat and spit out the bones. Here, the meat is so tasty, you won't mind feeling around for a few minor bones. This book would be an ideal text for any retreat, Sunday school class, or small group that wants to study the application and cultivation of the fruit of the Spirit in contemporary life.

Life On The Vine is a deeply layered and thought-provoking book which gives significant insights into how Christian fruit would be distinguished from the norms of the dominant culture in North America. The book systematically "unpacks" each of the nine examples of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, then details how each fruit will draw one out of oneself, to live a life that is centred both in God and in others. Kenneson refers to this as the "displacement of the self". Each chapter further provides examples of how the dominant culture in North America creates obstacles to the cultivation of the fruit, and how each fruit may be developed in this context.

The purpose of the book, however, seems unclear. On the surface of it, Kenneson has the concern that the Church has become too far assimilated into North American culture. On closer analysis, however, he writes that "God is in the process of restoring the created order to a state of harmony and order", and that He has a "plan to restore harmony and order to all of creation". This raises the question: what "process" is he referring to, and how does this relate to the fruit of the Spirit? Kenneson would appear to be suggesting that fruit-bearing is significant to historical progress. Further, he by and large does not refer the fruit of the Spirit back to Jesus Christ or to the Holy Spirit - in particular when it comes to his treatment of an ABSENCE of fruit in people's lives. As an example, he surmises that Christians who "abuse their spouses" do so because of the way they are "schooled to think", and because of their "view of justice". Thus he routinely refers people's behaviour back to culture and worldview, rather than the standing of their relationship with Christ.

This having been said, all told, the emphasis of the book is a welcome one, since the subject of the fruit of the Spirit is often marginalised in favour of other aspects of the Christian faith. Also, Kenneson's analysis of the Spirit's fruit is deep and rewarding. If one can overlook the insufficiencies of the book, it does provide a very valuable resource concerning the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Life on the Vine, by Philip Kenneson is a powerful reminder to the follower of Christ of what living a life full of the fruit of the Spirit fully entails. So often, such a life is in stark contrast to the dominant culture in which he or she exists. In each chapter of his book, Kenneson presents a different fruit of the Spirit, following Paul's list in Galatians 5:22-25. With each fruit, he explains its characteristics and presents the obstacles found in the dominant American culture which stand in the way of a person truly displaying the fruit. Kenneson concludes each chapter by providing reflections which are designed to help the reader begin to live each fruit in a real and meaningful way.
By way of critical reflection, it should be noted that Kenneson's worldview is decidedly "Christ Against Culture," to borrow a term from H. Richard Niebuhr. He leaves no room to discuss the possibly redeeming aspects of American culture. In his worldview, the new law of Christ and current American culture share no common ground, but are more often than not in direct opposition. Because of this, Kenneson's conclusions may seem bleak to the reader who is able to find American culture somewhat redeemable.
Still, Kenneson's appeal to living a life full of the fruit of the Spirit is an appeal that is able to transcend worldview. His analysis of each fruit and his reflection questions still serve as powerful reminders that those who claim to follow Christ are called to be counterculture in some way. As Christian's strive to be more Christ-like in a culture that values consumerism and individualism, the call to live a life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is all the more needed.

This book takes upon itself to critically reflect American society and its relationship to the difficulty of cultivating the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. In each of the fruits of the Spirit -love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control- Kenneson shows how bearing each fruit will not be without difficulty, as each fruit has something that is trying to choke it out in American culture.

The book as great as it is, has some short comings. Kenneson doesn't really like the term "self-control," and akwardly struggles to define it and look for a better word in the English language. He prefers to call the last of Paul's fruits of the Spirit "continence" instead of "self-control." Kenneson's find's the word "self" a little too bitter for his tasting, thinking it takes away from the work of Christ in some fashion.

However, I think the word "self-control" works just fine if the Christian realizes that "you are not your own." So, if we say "self-control" as a Christian, we simply must understand that it's not that we control ourselves, but rather, we yield control of ourselves over to Christ. Kenneson's alternative translation of "continence" in place of "self-control" I don't believe is warranted, and is too close of a synonym to hardly be considred better replacement.

Also, a somewhat minor beef I have with this book is that while it tries to refrain from being overly academic, it is still academic enough to be "over the heads" of many readers. I admit that as a Jr in Bible college, I had some difficulty reading the book at times because of Kenneson's superior command of the english language (even though I did read the book in about half a week). I had to use the dictionary enough to be minorly annoyed (maybe I should go read again the chapter on patience!). I fear that this book will not have the impact that it could because many people will not be able to read it.

However, this book could still be a useful tool for any church bible study on the fruit of the Spirit, and I would highly recommend it. This is the second book I've read by Kenneson (previously read the must-read "Selling out the Church"), and am amazingly refreshed to see that there are still good Christian reads out there. I look forward to reading this book again.

Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community by Philip D. Kenneson defines and expounds upon the nine fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He begins with questions that challenge the church and its leadership to examine the kind of fruit it is bearing and displaying. Change must happen in the church before it will flow into the culture. Because the church is made up of individuals, each person must be following the voice of the Spirit in their own life, but that is modeled by the church. Are we bearing the fruit of the Spirit or fruit of our own agendas, desire for power, or need to be "right"?

In order to shine light on areas where the church is stifled in bearing fruit, we must observe and study our own culture, paying attention to the narrative that emerges and the influence of those "stories" on the church. For example, advertisers in our society play into the desire for "new and different." (Kenneson, p. 67) Subtlely, our values change and we begin to believe our worth is determined by what we have. In order to form strong fruit-bearing followers of Christ, we need wisdom, discernment, and space for theological reflection to expose lies of the culture.

In the chapter on Love, Kenneson states that the "defining feature of God's love is its `other-directedness.'" He speaks about love being the basis of all fruit bearing, and that each fruit is manifested in a life as "others centered." When discussing love, he asks us to reflect on relationships that we evaluate based on "cost-benefit" analysis and challenges us to a higher way to love others. This question was one of the many where I felt a nudge toward a deeper, more loving way of seeing others and a greater desire to focus on fruit-bearing in my own life. In the church, we must love others with the compassion of Christ. If the church loves those who walk through its doors with condition, the world cannot be transformed.

In the vein of "other-directedness," the Self-Control chapter talks about reigning in passions and desires. This reigning in is not intended solely for its own sake but for a larger purpose. Through self-control, we are free to live for Christ and others. A unique point made by Kenneson was the attention given to the motto "moderation in all things." This attitude is often a response to our cultural habit of excessiveness.

As in the book Wisdom Distilled From the Daily, where Joan Chittister emphasizes a life of balance, moderation is appropriate. Though Kenneson would agree with the idea of a life of balance, he goes one step further. He emphasizes that in Christendom, moderation is often valued too highly - that we are "too much" if we are passionate (or even fanatical) about Christ and His kingdom. He wants the church to be passionate about Christ and believes it is necessary to change the world.

Life on the Vine opens up a realm of thinking and reflection needed in the church and in our lives today. As Kenneson delves deeply into what bearing spiritual fruit means and looks like, the church is inspired to cultivate a life of the Spirit in order to be salt and light in the world.

Kenneson in Life on the Vine, does more than simply define the fruit of the Spirit, he engages in the art of bilingual theological reflection; enabling us to learn how to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in a culture that wants to squeeze us into its mold. Kenneson helps us to recognize the grammar of the dominant culture and the grammar of God so that we can better embody the good news in the context of the United States. He wisely uses Raymond Williams working definition of culture - that of shared practices, convictions, institutions and narratives that order and give shape to the lives of a particular group of people - to help us understand the ways in which the dominate culture inhibits the church in bearing the fruit of the Spirit. But he doesn't stop there. He also becomes a capable guide in helping the community of faith to cultivate love, so that the church might embody the fruit of the spirit and thus be a faithful sign and foretaste of God's kingdom.

When I first picked up this book I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I loved this book. Here are a few reasons why...

First, Kenneson puts the concept of character development, or sanctification, squarely within a cultural setting. In other words, he recognizes that character development does not happen in a vacuum. It can't just happen apart from all the cultural emphasis that are a part of how we live our lives. The foundation of his entire book is the question, "How do we cultivate the fruit of the Spirit within a culture like ours?" (21st century United States). Kenneson was writing the book around the turn of the 21st century, yet the cultural trends he identified are still in full force today, and I believe are accelerating. This emphasis is so rare in these kinds of books - to have this kind of focus on spiritual formation within the cultural context.

Secondly Kenneson emphasizes our cooperating work with the Spirit in fruit-bearing. He speaks to both the Spirit's work and our work. To do this he utilizes the horticultural analogy that Paul uses when he lists the fruit of the Spirit. A number of other books on character development or fruit of the Spirit may put too much an emphasis on what we are to do to cultivate those traits. Other books might essentially say, "Hey, sanctification is the Spirit's work." I thought Kenneson struck a healthy balance on this issue.

I also loved the author's emphasis on community throughout. Most every other book I've read on sanctification or developing the fruit of the Spirit or character development were all largely personal or individually based. This book, however, is all about how the fruit of the Spirit is cultivated within a Christian community. This is a huge difference, and you see it throughout the entire book. Kenneson is very focused and intent on this community aspect, and I believe it pays dividends. It is not only refreshing, and makes the book stand out from others, but I believe also makes it more biblically grounded - particularly ground in light of the New Testament church.

There are a few other things that I really appreciated about this book. The entire structure of the book is based on the nine fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. There is an opening chapter of introduction and then one chapter for each of the fruits. The first part of each chapter presents a biblical exposition for the fruit itself, where Kenneson traces the concept not only biblically, but also theologically. The second part is an explanation of some of the ways the dominant culture inhibits the development of this fruit. The third part includes some resources the church has for cooperating with the Spirit's cultivation of this fruit in community. The final part presents some questions for reflection along with practical suggestions. Each chapter contained this four-part structure, which the book easy to follow, and I appreciated that element of the book.

I also like the way that Kenneson describes each of the nine fruits in ways that are much deeper than most of the typical definitions and explanations that you normally hear about these character traits. By doing so he taps into the theological depth of these concepts. For example, when he's talking about love he appropriately points you to the relevant Biblical passages, but then he looks at it in a grander theological scale by contrasting love with "market-style exchanges." This takes the whole idea of love to another level and helps you get a fuller and more theologically grounded perspective of love. Another good example is his discussion about joy. He mentions the fact that joy cannot be pursued for its own sake; it is always a by-product of discovering something you weren't looking for.

As a pastor who is keenly interested in the spiritual formation of those in my sphere of influence, I can hardly recommend this book highly enough.

Philip D. Kenneson's Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit stands as a powerful message to the Church, especially the North American church. In addition to preaching the word, Kenneson emphasizes the importance of the church living out the word by bearing the fruit of the Spirit. After all, there needs to be a greater harvest of the Spirit's fruit in order to continue to advance God's mission in the world, not because it will make God love us more or because our salvation is at stake (Chapter 1, Location 130). Every fruit of the Spirit finds its origins in the character of God. As a result, Christians become more human and are shaped more into the image of God as the fruit of the Spirit is developed in their lives. As much as cultivating the fruit of the Spirit is something that needs to be done individually in every Christian's life, the single most important venue for this to take place in is one's local church where one can practice living out the fruit of the Spirit in relation to God and others.

As the culture in North America becomes increasingly post-Christian and post-modern, Christians should not expect to continue to develop their faith in a privatized and individualistic manner. If the church is to truly be the salt and light of the world, namely, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, then the church needs to begin corporately living out and embodying the fruit of the Spirit (Matt 5:13-16). How else will Christian's "light shine before men, [so] that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt 5:16)? For the Christian witness to be powerful, the Gospel needs to be preached through word and deed (the deed being the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit).
Life on the Vine is the best book that I have read which has explained the fruit of the Spirit. It is such a practical guide that I am going to make it a regular part of my ministry and approach to discipleship

I give this book five stars out of five.

Best book I've ever read on the fruit of the Spirit!!!

I bought this book to use as a guide for a Bible study on the Fruit of the Spirit. It was the best material I've ever read on this subject. My Bible study group was very blessed with what we discovered about God's blessings and what he can do through us. This book has the general information you've learned already about the fruit of the Spirit; but even better, the author really delves into what it is in our lives and in our culture today that hinders us from really cultivating these fruit in our lives to be effective servants of Christ. He also emphasizes that the fruit that God produces in us is not for our own personal benefit or enjoyment, but rather to serve our fellow Christians in church (as well and share the gospel with Gentiles).

It was evident that the author did lots of research and prayerful consideration to create the book. I highly recommend this to any Christian, although, since it's a little advanced, it may be a little high-level for beginning believers? Anyway, this book is fantastic and I'm buying my 3 siblings and my mom each a copy for Christmas!!