Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Christian Who Thinks, an Anomaly!, April 5, 1997
By A Customer
John Fischer's books always make me think. This one is no exception. In fact, it's his best. While examining the current state of contemporary Christianity, he does us a tremendous service. He prods us, disturbs us, and makes us laugh at ourselves while examining where on earth we actually are; somewhere, it seems, locked away in our own little Christian Ghetto. Here is a trumpet call to break out and think about what it means to be in the world but not of it. In light of current events, it is critical we examine our most cherished understandings. Not for those who have already decided they know and are right
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Will Shake Your Christian Walk, October 12, 2000
This is the most powerful work that I have read since Philip Yancey's What's So Amazing About Grace. It spoke volumes of truth to me. Fischer believes that the evangelical community in America has, in the past 25 years or so, developed what can only be described as a Christian sub-culture; one which has had more negative than positive effects. He states that we're raised to believe that if we only act differently from the world then the world will see us and think "man, I wanna be like you." But that hasn't really happened. Instead, in large part to the WAY we act differently, the world views us and sees hypocracy, piousness, and a lack of love. They're not seeing Jesus. Just look at the way Christians are portrayed by the media: intolerant, not full of love. Also, instead of being salt and light to the world, we are in effect no longer even in the world. We have retreated in an effort to avoid being touched by the sinfulness that we see. Fischer believes that our little sub-culture has totally failed. The church is called to love our neighbors, which requires actually engaging them. The church is not called to impose our morality upon someone who doesn't believe as we do. We are not here to spread Christian conservative principles throughout America. We're here to spread the Gospel of Jesus to people who are without it and lost. One of the problems is that we so often view others as the enemy. Conservatives look at liberals and think "enemy." Fundamentalists look at homosexuals and pro-choice activists as "the enemy." Fischer says that is dead wrong. The world (the unsaved) is not our enemy. The world is LOST. When we quit looking at the world as something we must struggle and fight against and begin looking at the world through the eyes of Christ and see them as lost, that totally changes our approach. When our attitude changes, we no longer try to set the sinner straight or fix their moral problems. Instead, we try to bring her/him home safely. We don't focus on their sinfulness, we focus on their need for a savior. Our entire approach must change. To do so, we need to reach the world where it's at. We need to examine their culture: the things that are important to them and the things they spend their time doing. By reaching out to the world with our walls of judgement breeched, and doing it in love, by realizing that none of us are perfect and that world is full of sinners, and I am the worst of them (as Paul himself readily admited), our efforts to reach these people will take on a totally new face and effectiveness. Buy this book. Search for it, if you have to (you may have to order it). It's a great read -- fast paced, due to his writing style -- and you'll finish it quickly. The message here is challenging, no-holds-barred, and urgent; it must be heard and applied. Five Stars.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Contemporary Christian subculture exposed, November 5, 1998
I have thought for years that the subculture we have created is thwarted and needs to be re-examined. Thankfully, I have found someone who wrote what I was feeling. Today we are teaching our children to be neither in the world NOR of it. Fischer gives us a close and logical explanation of why this is, and why it should not be. Our irrational, extrabiblical methods are peeled away and he shows us the bigger picture of the world--what we have not seen. Helping us to step into "their" shoes for a moment, Fischer finally answers the faddish question "what would Jesus do?" in a passionate and enlightening way.THIS BOOK IS A MUST-READ FOR ALL CLERGY, ESPECIALLY PASTORS AND YOUTH PASTORS.
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