Zombie Church: Breathing Life Back into the Body of Christ [Paperback]

Tyler Edwards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2011

There is something missing in the church today. Stuck in a rut of routines and rituals, the church is caught up in doing what it is "supposed to do" but is lacking the true essence of what it is supposed to provide: life. Real faith--and a real relationship with Jesus--is not about playing by the rules, attending services, and praying before meals. Real faith is more than religion. Believing there is a way to breathe life back into the church, Tyler Edwards adopts a contemporary and entertaining metaphor--zombies--to highlight and challenge the problematic attitude of today's believers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tyler Edwards graduated from Ozark Christian College with bachelors degrees in both Biblical Literature and Christian Ministry. He has spoken at various campus ministry events in Missouri and served overseas in Mbale, Uganda. Now the senior pastor at Cornerstone Christian Church, Tyler is pursuing a masters in New Testament studies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Publications (September 9, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825424593
• ISBN-13: 978-0825424595
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #811,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am not a typical pastor. I love Jesus and I love the church but I don't care for all the "churchy" things churches do. I want to be ever, only, always about Jesus and I often find that many of the "religious" rules and traditions get in the way of that. I am the lead pastor of Cornerstone Christian Church in Joplin Missouri and I graduated from Ozark Christian College in 2006. I am married to a wonderful lady named Erica. She is way out of my league but graciously agreed to be my wife, which is pretty awesome.

My love for writing came from my mother who has helped me immensely with my writing. I have been writing since I was in the sixth grade. My first book was a fiction story that had 118 major characters. Then I realized why no one has that many characters: I had 20 pages of notes just keeping track of who was where and doing what. I got totally frustrated so I gathered killed off all but three or four of the characters in a few pages. Then I realized that the book was either going to be terrible or terribly depressing, so I moved on to the next one.

Zombie Church is my first published book and the first book I completed. I have several more I am currently working on. A few of the working titles are:
Unforgiven (it's not a western), The Watered Down Gospel, and Terminal Religion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Premise--Very well done, October 17, 2011

By 

C. Miley (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zombie Church: Breathing Life Back into the Body of Christ (Paperback)

I chose to review Zombie Church mainly out of curiosity. I wasn't familiar with the author, Tyler Edwards (the lead minister of Cornerstone Christian Church in Joplin, Missouri). I was somewhat skeptical about the premise of the book. This could either be done very well, or just be lame.

It was not lame.

I try not to mark or write in books anymore, in case someone else wants to read it. I don't want my marks to be a distraction. However, from the very first page, I found myself wanting to write. And mark. And highlight. Just about everything. I eventually did mark some, but realized I was basically just highlighting everything, so I stopped again. Practically everything Edwards wrote was like a zinger popping off of the page, For example:

Following God does not mean we live without consequences or that those consequences will always be good. When you take a stand for Jesus, you might lose your job, you might lose friends, you might alienate your family, and one day you might even be beaten or thrown in prison. You even might die. The faith hall of fame in Hebrews 11 tells the stories of men and women who were miraculously rescued from death. This is to set the standard for our faith, however, not the standard for God's response. (page 37)

I think that God is bored with the petty faith of our American churches. When is the last time we did something that would require God to act? When is the last time our churches stepped out in faith to do something so big, we would need God to be a part of it? I'm not saying we haven't done anything. We have accomplished some great things, but for a nation of "Christian" people and two hundred years of working at it, you would think we would have accomplished a lot more (page 151).

Zombie Church is convicting, and relevant, and good. It was also very interesting. The whole zombie angle was done well, and I can think of several friends that would be interested in this book for that fact alone. Edwards took truths and concepts that are widely known in some religious circles, and expanded them to include and engage a whole new subculture.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of this book from Kregel Publications as part of a Litfuse blog tour. No other compensation was received.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: Zombie Church by Tyler Edwards, January 2, 2012

By 

Jeff Randleman (Southwest Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zombie Church: Breathing Life Back into the Body of Christ (Paperback)

Over the holidays I completed Zombie Church: Breathing Life Back into the Body of Christ, by Tyler Edwards.

I was skeptical at first; what in the world could Zombies have to do with the church? But I was intrigued.

And after the first couple of chapters, I was hooked, I was shocked, and I was scared.

I first met Tyler when he spoke at a week of junior high camp for us. His messages were excellent, but I was really impressed with him as a person. He stayed in the dean's cabin with me and the other dean, Eric. We spent the hours after the campers went to bed playing Phase 10, laughing at Eric on no sleep, and having a great week. It was great. When he found out that week that I read and reviewed books, he asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing Zombie Church. Like I said, I was intrigued.

Not too long after that, I received a copy of the book from his publisher.

I was intrigued...

My initial questions were centered around the idea of just how the church could have anything at all in common with zombies, or even B-level, cheesy zombie movies. I couldn't see the connection at all. But, cheesy or not, I enjoy a good zombie flick as much as the next guy, most of the time. There have been a couple that I couldn't bear to watch. He even references one of them later in the book, Undead Alive.

Since I couldn't fathom how he'd connect zombies and the church, I knew I had to read on.

I was hooked...

It didn't take long, in fact. It was on page 12 that I read a quote from Brennan Manning, one of my favorite authors:

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny them with their lifestyle.

All of a sudden, I could see the similarity between the church, or at least a portion of it, and zombiism. Just a few pages later, Edwards says this:

When the church neglects the commission of Jesus -- stops ministering to the poor and the hurting and stops sharing the love of God with others -- then it stops living.

So true.

And very frightening. But more on that in a moment.

I was shocked...

As I continued to read, I was horrified more and more with each new chapter. Edwards paints a picture of the church in America that is eerily accurate. I realize that statement is a generalization, and that there are pockets of true believers to be found.

But, by and large, the church in America is facing perhaps her greatest trial: restoring life so that we can be the radiant Bride we were called to be.

In the first chapter, Edwards speaks of the warning signs of a church losing it's life, one of which is the refusal to allow the Spirit to lead. This may be especially true in the Christian Church and Church of Christ, of which I am a part. It seems as if our knee jerk reaction to more charismatic or pentecostal churches has been to totally avoid the Holy Spirit. Instead of striving for a balance, we've swung the pendulum to the complete opposite end of the spectrum, so as to not be associated with such "behavior". And as a result, I believe that we've missed out on a lot due to our lack of attention to the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit isn't the only issue at stake here, but it is a key part of how churches lose life. Other areas include how we react to the poor, orphans, the lost.

What Edwards is addressing is our complacency.

The call of God is to a fanatical mission that requires fanatic devotion.

Our complacency is killing us. But to change requires a lot of effort. Are we willing to try?

I was scared...

The further I read, the more frightened I became. How could Edwards be so accurate? How could he know this? How could he be describing my life and ministry so vividly?

All of a sudden, I realized that I was in danger of failing to live as well.

That scared me. How could this have happened? How could I be becoming a zombie?

When the Holy Spirit moves, if we don't move with Him, then the transformation begins. It's not too many steps without the Spirit before the church is [I am] totally lost.

This is me. I realized that I was doing my ministry, not his. I even call it my ministry. I'm guilty of setting my own agenda and permitting God to join me, if he desires.

How arrogant!

As Edwards states, "The church is ever, only, always about Jesus."

If I am to eliminate the infection of zombiism from my own life, things have to change. I must become less. It's not about me. It's time to examine my heart. After all, "the heart reflects what you truly believe".

What does my heart reflect? If it's not Christ, then I need to make some changes.

I was challenged...

Thanks to the grace given to us in Christ Jesus we are alive not just right now, but we have eternal life through the resurrection of our Lord. The question we must ask then is, do we live like the dead who do not have the resurrection? Or do we live like the One who died to give us life?

Tyler Edwards has challenged me. I need to examine myself. I need to identify the issues in my life that I've neglected to surrender to Christ. I need to make some changes.

And I will.

I was disappointed...

The only problem I had with Zombie Church is this: Edwards didn't reference any second rate zombie movie in chapter 12.

Disclosure of Material Connection:

I received this book free from Kregel Publications. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Wake Up Call to the Christian Church!, October 29, 2011

By 

Andrea Schultz "Ponderings by Andrea" (Detroit MI area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zombie Church: Breathing Life Back into the Body of Christ (Paperback)

It is not every day that a book is published that addresses the apathy of the Church of Jesus Christ. But the latest book on my list, `Zombie Church: Breathing Life Back Into the Body of Christ' does just that - by comparing today's Christians to zombies from horror movies. The perfect book for the Halloween season, where the contrast between good and evil is prevalent in society at large.

Here is the synopsis of this book:

There Are Zombies Among Us. Liars. Hypocrites. Men, women, and children who attend church because it's what they are supposed to do. Just going through the motions. These are the undead - people who are disconnected from the Spirit of God - who are spreading a virus of passivity, or worse. No one is completely immune.

Zombies can live. But they will have to fight. Fight for their lives.

In this challenging, culturally relevant book, Tyler Edwards spotlights the very real but often ignored lackluster attitude of today's believers. An attitude that can infect an entire church. Using examples from popular zombie movies, Edwards will help you recognize the symptoms and show what you can do to awaken the undead. Your mission is to take life to a dying world by demonstrating what it means to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30 NIV).

The bride of Christ isn't dead. But she is terribly sick. Zombie Church offers the keys to survival.

Here is the biography of the author:

Tyler Edwards is the lead minister of Cornerstone Christian Church in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from Ozark Christian College in 2006 with dual degrees in Biblical Literature and Christian Ministries, and in 2007 married Erica, a journalism and broadcasting instructor at Pitt State University.

A speaker for retreats and men's groups, Tyler taught a class on the life of Christ to local pastors in Mbale, Uganda. He works with Rapha House, a nonprofit organization that fights child slavery and works to help victims of sexual exploitation get the healing and help they need to live a free life. He was also on the board of directors for a video company that sought to create a global awareness of sex trafficking issues.

Tyler's hope is to see the church regain an exclusively Christ-centered focus and learn to rise above its differences for the sake of the progression of the kingdom of God.

I love this reasoning in the Introduction explaining the use of zombie in this book:

Zombies do not produce anything. They do not accomplish anything. All they do is wander around aimlessly, consuming everything in their path (including non-zombies). They are a corrupt and destructive force that taints all they come in contact with. Zombies act like they are alive, but they are dead. They just don't know it yet.

Yes, there are zombies in our churches. Not only that, but this seems to be a growing trend. The doors are open, the people show up faithfully, the songs are sung. But that's it. So many American churches today are filled with people whose spiritual lives consist of little more than showing up to church on Sunday morning and, for the superspiritual, maybe once in the middle of the week. We have become experts at going through the motions, but these motions are all we go through. I can't help but wonder if God didn't have something more in mind for His church. It seems that something is missing. (pp. 13-14)

In the final chapter, entitled `Searching for the Cure,' Pastor Edwards takes this important point about today's church:

The church has focused its attention on a lot of things. It has jumped from rules to doctrines to causes and each time has come up short of the dynamic life-changing entity it was created to be. The biggest problem in the church is that we focus on lots of things that are not Jesus. There is only one Jesus and He should always be the focal point, the centerpiece, the gravitational center of life, the foundation of the church - which is good news for churches struggling with lifelessness, because getting back to life is as simple as making the focus of your life and everything you do Jesus. (pp. 208-209)

I found this book to be really interesting - not to mention extremely convicting. I am not necessarily a fan of the horror movie or book genre, but I am familiar enough with the concepts, having lived in the United States my entire life. It is hard not to have some familiarity with zombies and the comparable ilk. Although I do tend to avoid that genre of entertainment (due to the fact that it accentuates the demonic and the dark side of the spiritual battle we all are enduring on this earth), I was fascinated by the way in which Pastor Edwards uses it for the Glory of God. I certainly see elements of the zombie in my actions at times. `Zombie Church' awakened me to my apathy, and for that, I am grateful!

This book was published by Kregel Publications and provided by the LitFuse Publicity Group. I am pleased to be part of the blog tour with these esteemed bloggers ().

Reviewed by Andrea Schultz - Ponderings by Andrea blog - ().