This is a hard book to criticize. For starters, it literally opens with a chapter telling the reader that if they criticize the Church or its leaders they are in danger of being killed by God.
Let me be clear: I love Francis Chan. His conviction and passion for Jesus are absolutely infectious. The BASIC video series and book Crazy Love were extremely formative in my faith journey. I believe his We Are Church network of house churches may be the most Biblical and compelling portrait of Church in America right now.
However, I have absolutely no idea what a reader is supposed to take away from Letters to the Church.
After telling the reader that God may kill you for criticizing the Church, Chan proceeds to explain why he left his megachurch at the height of its (and his) popularity to explore church movements in India and China. The rest of the book is a series of "letters" that document areas where the American Church doesn't line up with the first-century church described in the New Testament.
It's no secret the American Church is fraught with consumerism, individualism, and laziness. And much of Chan's observations are spot-on. However, instead of tackling the systems that create passive churchgoers, Chan appears to level a bulk of his criticisms at church leaders and churchgoers.
In other words, if your church isn't a house church (that is consistently reproducing), you're going to feel awful about your church experience after reading this book. And then you'll feel guilty about feeling critical of your church.
Chan tells some truly inspiring stories about what is happening in persecuted churches around the world and in his house church network - stories that appear exclusive to that environment. And I think the reader is supposed to compare these stories with their personal experiences at a seeker-friendly church.
And that puts the reader in an interesting position. As critical as Chan is of people being critical of the Church, how can talking about the church in this way not sow seeds of discontent in one's own church? Or is this Chan's point?
And this dilemma forms the well-intentioned but schizophrenic heart of this book.
What is the average churchgoer suppose to do? What is a pastor's next course of action?
To be clear, I'm not defending a traditional model of church. I fully agree with Chan's grievances. But if our church doesn't look like what Chan is describing in the (fantastic, by the way) final chapter of Letters to the Church, should we leave? Start our own house church? Or seek to reform our church from the inside-out? Talk about it with like-minded individuals? And how are we suppose to do any of that without openly discussing our church's shortcomings (i.e. criticizing)? Is there a difference? If persecution is good for the church, what does that look like in a country built on freedom of religion? Do we seek out persecution by doubling down in an already polarized culture?
Letters to the Church won't answer any of those questions. Maybe it's not meant to. But any book that's sure to send its readers spiraling into frustration, guilt, and disillusionment at their own church experience should at least come with some form of recourse.
I'll probably get ripped for writing an overtly negative review. But there were nuggets of insights in Letters to the Church that were absolutely fascinating - Chan's chapters on the pitfalls of professional ministry and the final chapter on the structure of We Are Church were well worth reading.
I just can't recommend a book that's not going to leave anyone better off (unless you happen to be a member of a We Are Church community). People will praise this book as "hard" and "convicting," but comparing the American Church to the first-century church or persecuted church in Asia isn't exactly a hot take - especially if you limit your take to observation and don't delve into the 'why' or 'what next.'
For a better deconstructive/reconstructive view of modern church, I highly recommend Skye Jethani's With (and The Divine Commodity), Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution, Bruxy Cavey's The End of Religion, Kent Carlson's Renovation of the Church, Rachel Held Evan's Searching for Sunday, and Aaron Niequist's The Eternal Current.
For a great take on how capitalism and consumerism took over the American Church, check out Shopping for God by James Twitchel, One Nation Under God by Kevin Kruse, and Christianity Incorporated by Michael Budde.
But take my review with a grain of salt. Maybe I'm an arrogant "son of hell" who airs his grievances online that is better off being disfellowshipped by the Church (again, something the book actually says).
UPDATE: I really don’t want to get dragged into ‘Review Wars’ on Amazon, but no - contrary to other reviewers’ claims - I did not expect a “one-size-fits-all” manual to reform the Church from a book less than 200 pages long. For clarification, the primary issue I had with this book is that by comparing the worst of the American Church with the best of the first-Century Church, persecuted church in Asia, and his own house church movement, most readers will be at a loss of how to move forward within their own faith community.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2018
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A Message to the Church For Our Place and Time asking us to reflect and seek changes in order to better BE the church
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