Growing Spiritual Redwoods (Paperback)

by William M. Easum (Author), Thomas G. Bandy (Author) "We share a vision..." (more)
Key Phrases: spiritual redwoods, worship designers, spiritual midwives, Spiritual Redwood, Body of Christ, North America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Authors William Easum and Thomas Bandy argue that there are two types of churches in existence today--those that are perishing and those that are thriving. Growing Spiritual Redwoods pinpoints methods that sustain church growth and reveals how the archaic implementation of "dogma, doctrine, and historical knowledge" robs some churches from ministering to its members. According to the authors, putting aside "decision-makers" for "disciple-makers," church work for personal fulfillment, and hierarchy for organism are a few of the facets of change that will alter the leadership, worship, and methodology of any church, lending itself to further growth, evangelism, and outreach. While the authors are leading a growing trend of unconventional ways to church God's people, it is beneficial to remember that specific methodology is not necessarily capable of producing success--God's word has the capacity to change people no matter what the human motivation or program might be. Although Growing Spiritual Redwoods can seem like a business plan for church life, Easum and Bandy give substantial documentation and practical application for what works to make a strong 21st-century church. --Jill Heatherly

Product Description
"Growing Spiritual Redwoods" is an effort to help church leaders answer the kinds of questions that confront congregations and Christians in this era of rapid and uncertain change. William M. Easum and Thomas Bandy argue that the congregations to whom the term "spiritual redwoods" can be applied are grown slowly, becoming vigorous centers of witness and mission.

Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687336007
• ISBN-13: 978-0687336005
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #339,315 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #72 in

  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Congregations & Orders > Specific Congregations & Orders

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Are You Experienced?, January 12, 2007

By	Dan Lawler (Flossmoor, IL) - See all my reviews

North Americans do not understand Christian doctrine and they do not want to understand it. So say authors Easum and Bandy who then continue: "but most important - and this is the key discovery at the end of the 20th Century - they do not need to understand it!" (p. 41). What they need, instead of doctrine, is a life-transforming "experience with Jesus" and "relationship with Jesus". (pp. 49, 52, 53, 55, et seq.).

Who is this Relationship Jesus? The authors are not sure who he is, but they know who he is not. He is not Lord, or Messiah, or King, or Son of God, or even Savior because such titles "have become so laden with underlying nuances that seekers are too nervous to consider them." (p. 39.) And what of "Christ"? Easum and Bandy say that term "carries an enormous weight of complex dogma, and invites seekers into an arena of religious disagreement ... that is (to them) frightening in its irrelevance." (p. 39.) Under no circumstances must doctrine be allowed to frighten or unnerve the seekers as they experience Relationship Jesus. Seekers must be free to imagine this Jesus in any way they wish. The authors tell us that no less an authority than the Council of Chalcedon "resolved conflict about the person and work of Jesus by declaring that every perspective was both right and wrong." (p. 52.) Relationship Jesus is everything you want him to be and, apparently, he is also not everything you want him to be. Go figure.

There is one point of doctrine the authors tolerate and that is the Incarnation. But dogma-fearing North Americans need not fret, as the authors quickly assure them that: "Only the mysterious paradox of the incarnation is essential to Christian faith. All else is metaphor." (p.54.) That "all else" of non-essential metaphor would include, by the way, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.

This book thrives on the false dichotomy of "either doctrine or experience." Time and again the authors dismiss doctrine as an impediment to experience as shown in such statements as "Are you committed to Jesus Christ ... or to a particular doctrine" and "Do you speak of faith as an experience with Christ or as a heritage to protect" and "Understanding the saving grace of God in a rationally consistent, historically grounded way is not important to most Americans; Experiencing that saving grace ... is everything." (pp. 14, 41.)

Could it be that one can hold fast to that doctrine first delivered by the Apostles and still experience the Lord Jesus Christ? And by the "Lord Jesus Christ" I do not mean the amorphous, metaphorical, mystical Jesus of Easum and Bandy who is all things to all men, be they right or wrong. I mean the man who was born of a virgin, crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered, died and was buried, rose again in accordance with the Scriptures and ascended into heaven. That Jesus! The same Apostles who delivered the doctrine also experienced that Jesus. Paul, who warned the Galatians to not receive any other gospel than the one he preached, also prayed that the Ephesians would be inwardly enlightened so as to comprehend "what is the breadth and width and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up with all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:18-19.) Now that is an experience!

So doctrine and experience are not mutually exclusive. The real question is whether they are mutually dependent. That is, can someone experience Jesus, the real and true Jesus, without embracing sound Christian doctrine. Just as there is true doctrine and a true Jesus who can be experienced, there is also false doctrine and, the Lord warned, a false Jesus that can be experienced. Because Easum and Bandy reject sound doctrine and even reason itself, they have no ability to discern the true from the false.

Now, I know the postmoderns out there will shake their heads and say, "The poor boy just doesn't get it. Hasn't he heard? There are no absolutes, there are no meta-narratives, there are no universal truths. There is no true Jesus, there is no false Jesus. There is just 'Jesus', and those Chalcedons had it right, all perceptions of Jesus (and of everything else) are both right and wrong." Well, if the postmoderns are right, then their "Jesus" is nothing more than a contentless banner, to use Francis Schaeffer's phrase. It is just a label used to generate interest in an undefinable "experience." They could call it anything: Jesus or Buddha or Krishna or Mithra or Mothra or whatever. It doesn't matter. And they may actually have an experience, but ultimately their experience will not matter either because it is just as contentless as the label they put on it. The secular philosophers came to this dead-end conclusion long ago. The church philosophers like Easum and Bandy are lagging behind. But they will get there eventually. Its just a matter of time.

There is no meaning and there is no hope in Relationship Jesus, or in the experiences he might bestow. But there is meaning and hope in the true Jesus, a "living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Pet. 1:3.) May you experience this Jesus soon.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most innovative ministry model books written, July 16, 1998

By	Ron Martoia "westwinds1" (Jackson, MI) - See all my reviews

Easum does an outstanding job of stretching even contemporary churches to think outside the box yet one more time. Chapter 4 holds particular value for imagineering what future church service design might look like. For those in traditional settings this may be a bit discouraging, for the church on the edge this is grist for the creative design team. I read 120-150 books a year and this is one of the best on church ministry models I have read in the last 3 years. I bought 15 copies for staff, and key leaders. Thanks Bill Easum

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Redwoods" is a little scary but very thought provoking!, December 15, 2000

By	Bruce K. Day "sojourner" (Falls Church, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked up "Growing Spiritual Redwoods" not long after reading Bill Easum's "...Gourmet Burgers". Bandy and Easum continue his analysis of the problems dragging down "traditional" churches as they encounter the new century. Bandy adds a "nuts and bolts" element that was missing in "Burgers". Traditional churches have let spirituality slip while they pursue better ways of doing church work on a corporate model. The authors want us to return the focus of the church to worship and specifically "indigenous worship"... matching worship style to the community-especially the unchurched community. Many churches are surrounded by spiritual searchers who feel alienated by the "old-fashioned" music and liturgies of traditional worship. Some of their suggestions for styles and environments are hard for me to swallow, but they do encourage thoughtful consideration of how our worship styles have become as dated as knickers. I am not sure that the overwhelming sensual assault of much of modern culture is absolutely necessary to relate to the Under-30 crowd, but I can see where it could provide a way to communicate the transformative power of Jesus to the MTV generation. Beyond worship, they advocate building strong, spiritual individuals to replace the ineffective and energy wasting committee structures of the past. Church leaders become coachs, inspiring rather than directing each individual's ministry. Teams of desciples coalescing around natural leaders who share their vision will do the work of Jesus, rather than the work of the church. This is not a book of instructions, but it does point out the elements necessary to make the kind of transformation they feel is required for the survival of the larger church in the post-Christendom, pre-Christian era. Even if you disagree with the methods that Bandy and Easum suggest, this book will stimulate serious thought and conversation with others in your church community about how we do the work of our Lord.