Book Title: Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ is Essential
Author: Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman
Publisher: Crossway Publishers
Some time back, I received a copy of Rediscover Church from Crossway Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was anxious to read this work as I do enjoy reading what the authors put out on their respective platforms. As you would know, things got really busy to the point that I was delayed in reading this book.
That was then, and this is now. I have made time to read through this book, and I was not disappointed. Allow me to share a few of my thoughts about the content of Rediscover Church.
There is definitely a concern that is plaguing many churches today. This concern has nothing to do with persecution coming in from the outside. No, this concern is about whether or not people are going to come back to church as we roll out of the pandemic known as COVID-19.
There has been a sharp decline in church attendance since the pandemic struck. While there have been many who have wanted to place the blame for whatever may be going wrong in their lives on COVID-19 (and I have done this far too many times), the pandemic is not the sole issue here.
Hansen and Leeman acknowledge this in the introduction of Rediscover Church. They share about things such as divisive politics and racial unrest in our country helping in the cause to keep people away from the local church.
I love a statement that was made at the beginning of this book though. It states: “A Christian without a church is a Christian in trouble.” I knew when I read that statement that I was going to be in for a fun ride with Rediscover Church.
The authors of Rediscover Church seek to help the reader to see the important role that the local church plays in the life of a Christian. It is one thing if an unbeliever does not seek to be a part of a Christian church, especially in this climate. It is a completely different thing when a professing Christian does not want to be part of a local church.
Rediscover Church is laid out with nine chapters that cover a range of topics from defining what a church is to different elements that are part of a local church. One of the things that I really liked about this book is how the authors alternated who would write the chapters. Even though it was not a blending of the two minds in each chapter, the entire book fit together very nicely.
Both authors do a great job of using a good amount of Scripture to back up what they were saying. I find it very important that if an author is going to give a statement about the Christian faith or elements thereof, then they should do a good job of using Scripture (in the correct context) to show where their statements are coming from. Hansen and Leeman do a great job of this.
Recommendation
When it comes to Rediscover Church, I would definitely recommend it to others, but maybe not for the reasons that it was set out to be. I know that this book had the idea of coming back to the local church after the pandemic that has wreaked havoc in our world.
The truth is that I found this book might be more beneficial for a person who would have questions in general about what the local church is all about. Hansen and Leeman do a great job of laying out what Scripture teaches about why the local church is important. I would see this book especially helpful to someone who is new to the Christian faith or even used in a teaching environment within the local church.
Author: Jonathan Leeman