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 PrintableVersion Struggling to belongWhat is the church for anyway?STRUGGLING TO BELONG Church leaders are always looking for good books to give to certain types of people. Here's one ideally suited to a wide range of Christians who, for one reason or another, find belonging to a church a real struggle. Simon Jones writes as a minister with a lot of experience of local church life. He seems to have met numerous people who are happy with God but unhappy with God's people. The real-life stories which litter this short book are one of its compelling features. You might just find yourself described in its pages! In a very readable, forthright and captivating style, Jones helps us take a realistic look at the church with all its great potential - and with its nightmarish ability to hurt, offend and put off some of the most needy people in our society! He asks some straightforward questions which every church leader ought to be able to answer: why do people fall out with their local congregation? What is the church for anyway? What actually is the church? You might be surprised at some of the answers! He cuts through some popular misconceptions, such as 'the church exists for worship' or 'for prayer' or 'for singing'. No! It's there 'to help people live as Christians in the world'! It is a family, a household, a united body made up of very different bits and pieces. It is 'a feeding station to nourish the followers of Jesus Christ'. It is 'somewhere to call home'. There is a helpful and moving chapter for those thinking of leaving a church. The right questions may not have been asked. There are some good ideas for developing strategies to cope with difficult situations. The problem of singles in the church is included. And for those who really can't see how church helps them spiritually, well, this book identifies crucial ways in which it can! The last chapter calls for commitment, critical belonging and creative participation! You'll be in no doubt what you need to do! Not everyone will appreciate Jones's style. At times he is far too colloquial ('ripped off his clients and shafted his colleagues'!); at times theologically loose ('first we belong, then we believe'); and at other times rather sentimental and mystical ('I find God speaks to me through all sorts of music'!). But he writes with great passion and concern. He is helpfully provocative and injects a healthy dose of realism into stifling church situations. He cuts through much of the 'formalism' of certain types of reformed evangelicalism and faces head on the unreality and superficiality of charismatic triumphalism. You may not be immediately comfortable with the type of church he describes. But I know where I'd rather be! This is one book I want to give to loads of people - both inside and outside the church! Tim Gunn,
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