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Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality

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This is one of the best and most challenging books on Christian discipleship I have read. If you have (or have nearly) burned out on "church," or if you have suffered emotional or spiritual abuse at the hands of those who put church before Jesus, this is for you. If you have walked out on the church, but still look for some connection to Jesus, this is for you. Michael Spencer gives no pretense, no bull, and no judging people as second class citizens to a perceived spiritual in-crowd. He simply offers Jesus and his invitation to life and fellowship.

While some time is spent calling out the problems with institutional Christianity, especially his own American Evangelicalism, that is far from the focus of the book. Nor does Michael hold himself out as some kind of guru making empty promises. Instead, he calls all to stop looking to the circuses and power plays used to guide or coerce people into loyalty to man-made institutions, and points them to Jesus. Mere Churchianity expands what Michael Spencer meant when he said, "If you are going to think about God, go to Jesus and start there, stay there and end there."

Though Michael died in April 2010, his first and only book serves to share the message he was getting at through ten years of writing at [...]. I recommend it without reservation to anyone who has even a passing interest in Jesus or Christianity.

I had read Michael Spencer's "Internet Monk" blog for about a year and a half when word came that he had cancer. Still grieving this loss, reading Mere Churchianity loosed a variety of emotions.

What a wonderful gift to us, this book, such a pleasure to read more of his writings.

How very well he understood the conflicted emotions of millions of present-day Christians. He gets it! He understands why so many of us find it difficult to remain in churches where Jesus is treated as little more than a commodity to buy and sell.

How honest, how open, how refreshing the words as I turned each page.

How much I miss Michael, even though we never met.

How well he speaks to my own struggles. It was as though he wrote this book just for me. (I suspect many readers will feel the same way.)

With his honest, easygoing style, it was as though we were just talking, sharing a glass of tea on the porch or sitting at a ballgame. Him, telling his stories, understanding my struggles. And then there were lines that made me laugh aloud!

Through all his writings, on his blog and in this book, Michael always encouraged a life shaped by Jesus, as opposed to shaped by the church. The phrase he often used was "Jesus Shaped Spirituality." This is about discipleship to Jesus, as apposed to discipleship to a church. This is about living honestly as Christians.

Who should read this book?

This book needs to be read by all who have felt conflicted, rejected, neglected, abused, misused, confused by the church. Those who have felt isolated and alone in a congregation full of smiles. Those who have left or are leaving, or who are unsure why they are staying. Those who need Jesus, not church, at the center of their lives.

This book needs to be read by anyone who thinks the present-day church in America is on the right track. Please, I beg you to read it, so that you may gain a better understanding of why so many of us are frustrated.

Look, I know very well that the church, every church, consists of imperfect human beings. If you are seeking the perfect church, the church with all the answers, you are wasting your time. When we permit church to become just another form of idolatry. we are turning our backs on the teachings of Jesus.

I have been reading Michael Spencer's blog for the last couple of years. Prior to reading this book, I wondered if there would be anything in it that I had not already seen written by Michael in one form or another. Well, the overall message is the same, but the writing was fresh, well-organized, and I did learn some new things about Michael's walk on this earth prior to his death in April 2010.

Michael has such a passion for Jesus-shaped spirituality and I hope he inspires millions with his wonderful writing. There are so many great quotations I would want to share, but I will just use this one from page 203: "If you read the Bible, you know that Jesus-shaped spirituality lives in both worlds--the spiritual and the physical. Or to look at it a different way, the world is spiritual, even the physical realm. God is everywhere. When Jesus lived on earth, he blessed ordinary places with his presence. It's holy to help people with their very real, ordinary, tangible needs."

I must have been living behind a virtual rock, because up until the point I received Mere Churchianity, I'd never heard of the Internet Monk, Michael Spencer. From the back cover, I learned that he was a mentor and pastor to "hundreds of thousands of `church-leavers.'" This had me both a bit intrigued and yet mildly concerned. While I am in no way a fan of the stereotypical American church (something perhaps a bit shocking for one training for the ministry), my call is more of one to reform the church and not leave it. Nonetheless, I was curious as to what Spencer would have to say.

The book is broken into four parts: The Jesus Disconnect, the Jesus Briefing, The Jesus Life, and The Jesus Community. The first part discusses how the church has left Jesus, and so as a result people have left the church. Spencer takes to task the mega-churches and celebrity pastors who - even if they don't preach a health and wealth prosperity gospel - live out the principles of American consumerism even over the principles of Christ. Spencer also satirizes the traditions of denominationalism, asking how we can be a united body of Christ if we can't even identify ourselves uniformly (and that's just in the first chapter of this part).

The second part continues Spencer's honest and frank insights. He urges us to remove Jesus from our modern culture and get to Jesus without the gaudy baggage of western Christianity. Part 3 lambasts Christians who talk the talk but don't walk the walk when it comes to living a "victorious life" in Christ. The chapter When I Am Weak is sure to be as controversial as it is powerful, as Spencer reminds us that - quoting Hermann Sasse, who was in turn paraphrasing Martin Luther - "Christ dwells only in sinners."

Through it all, while I found myself indescribably excited that someone else was not only thinking the same things regarding the modern western church as I - but actually having the platform to write about it, I did wonder what he was going to do with Christian community. After all, telling folks it's time to leave the church doesn't sit well with Christ's admonition to be united. In the last part, Spencer clarifies that by leaving the church he means leaving behind all the fakery that churches build up as community and begin experiencing true community with those following Christ.

I approached this book with reservations and questions. Was Spencer an Emergent Church thinker? No. (in fact he calls them "preaching-from-a-couch neohippies). Did he advocate doing away with the local church? No, but he calls for reformation in the most extreme. Mere Churchianity is a tour-de-force that should be mandatory for every church leader in the land, and on the recommended reading list of all others. Spencer's tone is honest and occasionally brutal. He pulls no punches and holds nothing back. This is a book that' sure to be criticized, but only because modern American Christianity can't see Jesus because their religion gets in their way.

Fretting is a worldly habit, not a Christian virtue. Nevertheless, I have been fretting about how to review the recently released book by Michael Spencer (the Internet Monk). Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality (WaterBrook, 2010) is Michael's long-overdue, first and only book. Its release is filled with pathos, since the Lord took him home just a couple months before he could have held a copy in his hands.

Michael's book is much like his blog. Parts of it made me want to shout for joy, open my Bible, and remember all the reasons why I love Jesus. Parts of it made me want to tear my hair out and say, Are you serious? The Internet Monk always succeeded in eliciting some kind of reaction from his readers.

Because Michael was a friend to me and a source of encouragement in the blogosphere, I am grateful for his life and work. Because the Lord saw fit to take him home so early (at least according to human understanding), I am torn by how best to review this book.

I've come to the conclusion that Michael wanted to start a discussion. He would have been more offended at the thought that I avoided serious critical interaction with his book than he would have been offended by my critique. And though I grieve the fact that he isn't here to respond to my pushback, I am confident that serious conversation would be his desire. So that's what I hope this review will provide.

Summary

Michael's main point is to call us back to Jesus and away from "churchianity", the kind of spirituality that is church-centered, but looks nothing like Jesus Christ. When the church becomes a place for like-minded people to rally the troops and put on smiles that mask the hidden reality of sin and brokenness, the church becomes an obstacle to true spiritual growth for people who love Jesus and want to be formed into his image.

What's the solution? Get back to Jesus. Be challenged by his life, his teaching, and the meaning of his death and resurrection.

Positives:

I want to add an "Amen" to large portions of this book. It's true that Christians often don't look like Jesus. I'm always befuddled to find people who claim to follow Jesus yet know next to nothing about his life. Our marginalization of Jesus opens the door for groups to co-opt him for their pet causes.

So Michael's main solution is right. Go back to the Gospels. You'll find the real Jesus within the pages of the Scriptures. Listen to what he said. Watch what he did. Trust in the Jesus-centered gospel. Don't settle for anything less than a Jesus-shaped life. Michael's illustrations brilliantly buttress his point. (Example: Sometimes, our churches are like pecan pies without pecans. We advertise Jesus, but he's not there.)

Likewise, Michael rightly critiques the prosperity gospel and the "health-and-wealth" teaching that seeps into even the most conservative evangelical churches. Other authors (such as Michael Horton) have provided critique from a theological perspective. Spencer's critique comes from a pastoral point of view, wherein he shows how hurtful the prosperity teaching is.

By far, the best chapter in the book is "It's a Bad Idea to Be A Good Christian." Michael's embrace of the Lutheran emphasis on justification is recounted in a poignant and pastorally sensitive manner.

Before I get to my critique, let me also mention the great number of pithy quotes in this book. The Internet Monk's work is eminently tweetable:

The life of faith is a battle fought in weakness and brokenness. The only soldiers are wounded ones.
God is the Sun too bright for us to see. Jesus is the Prism who makes the colors beautiful and comprehensible.
What speaks more loudly of grace: your theological definition of the word "grace" or the tip you leave at dinner?
Some Christians claim biblical authority, while only telling you what they have decided in advance what the Bible has to say.
Ask yourself this question: If I were to spend three years with Jesus, what kind of person would I be?
Jesus-shaped spirituality is cross-centered and Christ-centered. The good news of the kingdom is that the King died to save us.
Jesus isn't looking for admirers. He's enlisting followers.
Evangelicals have invented a spirituality that has Jesus on the cover but not in the book.
Critique:

Now that I've praised the best parts of this book, it's time to turn to my main problem with Mere Churchianity. I can sum it up in one phrase: pitting a Jesus-shaped spirituality against a church-shaped spirituality.

I understand why Michael goes in this direction. I feel the same frustration. Yes, organized Christianity has major problems. Just about everything that Michael critiques needs to be critiqued. We need to ask the questions that Michael asks.

But how does leaving the church help the church? How is it spiritually healthy to leave the church? How does leaving the church make us more Jesus-shaped?

Throughout Mere Churchianity, Michael's view of the church goes back and forth like a yo-yo. He insists on the importance of community and yet also insists on the legitimate option of leaving the church as an institution. So, even though he remains within a church (and speaks well of his fellow church members), he doesn't blame church-leavers at all and practically encourages them to head out the door.

Michael wants genuine community, but he divorces that idea from the church as an institution in a way that is impractical and unhelpful. Here are some examples:

"For many of you, leaving the church may have been the most spiritually healthy thing you ever did." (57)

"Jesus-shaped spirituality has nothing to do with churchianity. Following Jesus does not require you to pledge allegiance to a religious insitution." (6)

"Am I saying the people who left the church are in the right? I'm saying I don't blame them at all." (26)

"If someone doesn't find Jesus inside an established church and chooses to leave, what is gained by labeling that person as carnal, or spiritually immature, or out of fellowship with God? I trust individual Christians - including those who have left the institutional church or are on the verge of leaving - to know where God wants them to be." (212)

"Life as a Jesus-follower grows out of Jesus and the gospel, not out of the church." (152)

I suppose the main reason I scratch my head at Michael's encouragement to leave the organized church is because he is so gloriously right on the gospel for the individual. I am at a loss to understand why he fails to extrapolate that same teaching when it comes to the church.

For example, Michael rightly teaches that the gospel is for people who recognize they are messed up, rebellious, sinful, broken and dysfunctional. Christianity is for the losers, for the people who recognize their need for salvation outside of themselves. So far so good.

But let's engage in a bit of logic. If churches are organized groups of these messed up, broken, dysfunctional people, why in the world would we expect the church to always live up to some unattainably high ideal? I'm not saying we shouldn't shoot high. I'm not saying we should be satisfied with Christless churches. But surely Michael should give groups of broken people (churches) the same patience he gives individual broken people.

So in the end, I want to say, "Michael, you're right about individual Christians. We're broken, wounded, sinful and selfish. So why can't you see that churches are going to be that way too? Please don't encourage broken people to leave churches that are broken! Just as we need Jesus in us as individuals to slowly remake us into his image, we need Jesus-filled people in churches if there is any hope for the church to reflect the glory of Christ to the world."

If Christ remains committed to us - as broken and messed up as we are - why would we not remain committed to his followers? Why would we bolt out the door when our church experience becomes a hassle? What looks more like Jesus - to hit the road? Or to stay with a congregation through thick and thin, through good and bad?

Michael thinks the church's problems are an obstacle to Jesus-shaped spirituality. I think the opposite: commitment to bear with the church's problems is the method by which we become more Jesus-shaped.

I share Michael's craving for a strong presence of Kingdom focus and missional thinking in the Church. This desire is a God-given holy discontentment. Dissatisfaction should stretch our faith and stir our imaginations. But denigrating the church because of its shortcomings ultimately undermines the cause of Christ in the world.

Though no local church is perfect, and the universal Church often looks more like a cheating spouse than a faithful bride, we are to identify myself with this bungling bunch of believers. The church is home. The church is God's beloved. The church has been bought with precious blood. Though the presence of the Kingdom is not as intensely felt in the church as I would like, it is the sign of the Kingdom in this age, faults and all. And if Jesus is content to give his life for an unruly Church, we should seek satisfaction in serving his church - warts and all.

In the end, I don't want to divorce Jesus-shaped spirituality from church-shaped spirituality. I want to see these two spiritualities become one and the same. I think Michael would agree, except that I believe leaving bypasses the cross. Committing to love fault-filled people we've identified with through baptism is the way to see Jesus-shaped spirituality become a reality.

It's very easy to criticize the church. The bulk of Christian books do this for the first couple chapters, using the word "unfortunately" several times a page. The authors then go on to provide solutions you've heard before - usually some variation of "be a better Christian" or "do it the way MY church does it".

Not so with Mere Churchianity. Michael's diagnosis is keen and even-handed. His suggestions are encouraging, centered on Jesus Christ, and helpful to those of us leaving church for good or staying despite the flaws. If you really think the church you are with totally rocks, then bookmark this and check back in a few years.

If you have read his blog extensively, all of this will sound familiar. The book has been edited to make it more accessible to Christians of all backgrounds. It avoids theological jargon and is an easy read. He doesn't "name names" when criticizing, but only when mentioning who has been the most helpful to him personally.

Overall, very good.

Wow! This book left me speechless. I'm a pretty opinionated person, so that doesn't happen to often. I have to admit, then I read the description of this book, I was somewhat put off by the the nickname "The Internet Monk". But the description also definitely caught my attention. I immediately ordered this book and couldn't wait to receive it. It finally came yesterday. I ripped it open and immediately started reading. This book spoke to me on so many levels. I left the institutional church over a year ago. I recently had a dialogue over email with a close friend of mine. She has been trying to convince me that I need to go back to Church. But leaving the church wasn't a decision I made lightly. In fact, It was one I really struggled with. It took me several months before I believed that was what God was truly calling me to do. This book reaffirmed my decision to leave the church. There's no turning back. I want so much the type of relationship with Christ that Michael describes in this book. But sadly, you won't find it in the Western Christian Church of today. I was raised Roman Catholic and left that Church in the mid 90's. Since then, I've tried churches of many different denominations including Methodist, Evangelical Free, Missionary Alliance, and even non-denominational Churches. I've even attended a few services at a Charismatic Church. I know that are people who aren't going to understand my decision to leave the church. They will say I am backslidden or rebellious or worse. They will say that I have given up too easy and that there is no such thing as a perfect church. But I have to tell you. Since leaving the institutional church, I have felt two things more strongly than ever before. I feel free and I feel relieved.


If you have left the church and are wondering "Okay, what do I do now?" or if you are contemplating leaving the Church, but aren't sure that is what God is asking you to, do yourself a favor and order a copy of this book. You won't be sorry. This book will change and enlarge your view of Christianity and show that a Christ-shaped life truly is possible. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Michael Spencer wrote this book for the person who has either left the church or is considering it, although as neither, I still found the book to be an excellent reawakening about how I see and folow Christ.

Spencer's focus is to drive the reader to read the bible and see Jesus from how the bible describes him, not how you have been taught by your church or constrained by your theology - just Jesus, what he said, how he said it and what it means in a persons life.

As such, I do not see this book on the shelf at your local church bookstore, unless it also stocks authors such as Brennan Manning - it is too "in your face", to honest, to raw, to unwilling to put a happy smile and speak in the platitudes of being a "victorious christian".

If you want honesty about what it means to follow Christ, this is the book for you.

Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk, graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He taught religion at Oneida Bible Institute. All of the above indicates that he should have been closed-minded and a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to religion. This is a much-needed book.
Spencer "got it". He understood the frustrated unchurched. He understood those who are so turned off by church because of--CHRISTIANS.
Spencer found several reasons for Christians leaving the church. They include harsh judgement, hypocrisy, too many man-made rules, and a lack of spirituality.
I stayed away from church for many years in my adult life, because I did not want the drama, judgement, and hypocrisy of it all. Why did I equate all those negative traits to church? My mother was the trouble-maker in church. There is one in every church. Our nemesis just happened to have given birth to me. There is a quick way to tiring of church--let the trouble-maker "take over". Did I mention that she is now a lay minister?! Don't get me started on that fact that she was definitely not seeking God at home! Even now, I only attend extremely large churches, so I do not have to have the interpersonal relationships.
Also, the ways of the church just fail to reflect the ways of Jesus. Remember that Jesus welcomed all who were shunned by society. Now, the church has become the organization in charge of shunning!
I hope this book reaches the unchurched and gives them hope to continue seeking the spirit of God. For those who simply do not understand why people are leaving the church in great numbers, read this book. For those who judge too harshly, keep trouble started, act hypocritically, and otherwise block the spirituality of God, read this book. Maybe it will help you from being a stumbling block.

If you are like me and left Evangelical Christianity because the program didn't work this book is for you. I was introduced to Micheal Spencer when the his article The Coming Evangelical Collapse was published in the Christian Science Monitor. I became an instant fan of the InternetMonk.com. This book takes what he had been saying online and places it in one place. Michael changed my thinking in many ways. I had left a Charismatic group due to burnout deciding I was done with church but because of Michael I found a new church home among the Anglicans. I recommend this book for those looking for a foundation of what comes after the burnout and disappointment of Charismatic churches. Father does have something for us.