Customer Reviews

You See Bones, I See an Army: Changing the Way We Do Church

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Andrew Murray once wrote that, "What a man believes moves and rules his whole being, enters into him and becomes part of his very life." It is very clear from "You see bones - I see an Army" that Floyd McClung's life is an expression of a core belief in the eternal purposes of God for his church. McClung's passion overflows to reach out to anyone who is in search of a God-centric meaning for their life.

Building on a biblical foundation, McClung takes us for a walk "outside the gate" where God continues his work today. Never critical of what God is doing in the mega-church, McClung shows us that reaching the nations is probably not going to work if we adopt this hard to reproduce model for doing church. Rather, building upon the biblical example of a few men and women who are passionate about God's purpose, McClung shows us the way in which God is building his church - simply - and how that church can, and is, organically fulfilling its intended purpose of being a river of life.

I would recommend that you read this book if you are frustrated with "church" or find a lack of meaning in your life. It will challenge you like few other books; it may even be the thing God uses to change your life and set your feet upon a new and exciting path.

The way we do conventional church is no longer relevant to the vast majority of unchurched people in the West, according to Floyd McClung. "No-one will die for a cause that is no bigger than Sunday-oriented, building-fixated Christianity." Instead, we need to learn from believers in the rest of the world where the church is an army rather than an institution, and it consists of simple organic communities.

McClung, who leads a multi-cultural church-planting movement in South Africa called All Nations, elaborates on five core beliefs that guide his life: Simple Church, which consists of easily-reproducible small groups of Jesus-followers; Courageous Leadership, which is team-based and focuses on guarding, governing and guiding; Focused Obedience, which avoids distractions from the core mission; Apostolic Passion, involving a high level of commitment; and Making Disciples, which should be the heart of everything.

Although I found considerable resonance with many of the ideas in the book, I found it an uncomfortable experience, and it took quite a bit of effort to read all the way through. The simplicity of the simple church model he advocates seems a bit too extreme for my liking, but I think that this is an important book which offers a perceptive critique of contemporary churches, and it should be on every church leader's reading list.

I really found this book to be rewarding reading. It is stirring and gets you thinking about church... both in the spiritual sense and in the conventional sense. I believe God is always in the process of reforming His church in order to adapt to His purposes. Those of us who are passionate for His people find ourselves at times in the midst of this process of change and wonder why. This book helps explain some of the dynamics that are present in the American body of believers. Perhaps it helps us also to relax as we recognize that this movement is the hand of God and not something to curse.

Many thanks to Mr McClung for writing this.

This book is life changing. It is well writen and the content is priceless for any believer.