A must read for all believers. Michael Spencer (the internet monk) strikes at the heart of modern churchianity and strongly pushes us to a Jesus Shaped Spirituality. ( )

Spencer has some frank and uncomfortable things to say ... but they are things that so desperately need to be said in our churches, denominations, and Christianity as a whole. He is almost solely focused on evangelical Christianity, but his words speak wisdom and inspire change across the denominational board. This book is a must-read. ( )

Although I wasn’t introduced to the writings of Michael Spencer until after his death in 2010, I have found in his writings a kindred spirit of sorts. While many other writers in evangelical Christianity are decrying the exodus of believers (often pegged as non-believers) from institutional church organizations.

It seems nearly unconceivable to such writers that believers who desire to walk with Jesus more than anything else might be sitting out the institutional experience of fellowship in search for something different. But it is happening – often. I feel like I’m ‘coming out of the closet’ a bit on this one, but yes – for a number of reasons our family is currently what is called ‘unchurched’ in today’s terminology.

Michael Spencer got that. He understood the sense of discontent that church leavers have – even when they are pursuing (as he calls it) a Jesus-shaped spirituality. He understood how this is an awkward place, but he also understood how believers can honestly and authentically feel that in order to be true to where Jesus has them in their walk that they need to be apart from the ‘churchy-church’ as I call it (in an attempt to distinguish between the universal body of believers and what takes place in buildings with the word ‘church ‘on the front of them.

Though it reads as a somewhat disconnected set of thoughts, examinations, insights, and advice, Mere Churchianity speaks to the hearts of believers who find themselves in my position, or who think they may soon find themselves there. In part one “The Jesus Disconnect” Spencer first sets out to examine what is going wrong with the churchy-church and why people are leaving. He then goes on to examine what Jesus is really about in part two – “The Jesus Briefing” in which he also presents a very reformation-friendly gospel.

Part three – “The Jesus Life” is my favorite part of the book hands-down. Spencer very honestly and very realistically looks at what being a Christian is about. Not only does he look at how being part of the church can play out outside of the typical churchy-church walls, but he also gets gritty and real about the Christian life, how Christians continue to fail and how our only, and absolute hope is found in Jesus righteousness and not our own. This was really worth the entry price alone in my opinion. I cried. It was really that good.

Part four goes on to further, and more specifically examine some ways in which following the Jesus-shaped life can work itself out. Spencer focuses on service, relationships, putting feet on the gospel, and other ways as well. He is careful to leave the option of returning to a more formal church setting open, but he certainly isn’t giving it a hard sell. He really gets people who have left the churchy-church and you can tell. There are no one-liners here or any pat answers. I love his understanding and empathetic heart, he’s really been listening and walked some of this road himself as well.

Reading Mere Churchianity is like having a one-on-one talk or a series of ongoing mentoring relationships with a friend who really listens. If you have left, or are thinking of leaving the ‘churchy-church’ for spiritual reasons (not because you are trying to avoid Christ-centered teachings or church discipline), then you’ll find a friend in Michael Spencer.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com ( )

Harsh analysis of troubling trends in the modern American church. Longer review here:

http://eyesandearsblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/book-11.html ( )

This book profoundly moved me; even jarred me. Spencer insists that it is written for those who love Jesus but have left the church or are considering leaving it. He does not argue about the merits of the evangelical church as it exists in America today (as opposed to how it should actually be according to the New Testament). In fact, he joins in the chorus of pointing out its deficiencies. However, he is not just pointing out the problems with the church but rather urges people to not leave the faith in their disgust with the failings of the church. Ultimately, he does insist that the Christian faith must be lived out in community (which, in the barest definition is the church), and even suggests other ways in which the church can appear (home churches, small groups, close networks). Some might bristle at his assessment of the church, but I doubt many can insist that he is far from the mark in describing it. The best approach is not to be mad at Spencer but to consider how we can reform the church so that it can be more like it is supposed to be. I loved this book and devoured it in just two days (I'm normally a pretty slow reader). ( )