To help break through the sleepy haze I have found myself in, I set a goal to read one book each week in 2020: 52 books over 52 weeks. As a way to keep track of my goal and to stimulate thoughtful consumption of the literature I take in, I am going (hopefully) to write about each book I read. I aim to include a synopsis and critique of all 52 books I read this year.
I know what you're saying, whoever you are: Jenn, it is January 31st! You are so behind on your reading! Well, the good news is I have already completed 5 books this year! So, for the next few days, I am going to try and blast out 5 blogs to get caught up on my critiques. My first 5 posts will probably be shorter for that reason, and my reading responses will hopefully get longer when I get caught up.
One thing that will be fun to me and probably uninteresting to anyone else who may accidentally stumble across this blog is that I do not plan to stick to one genre of books. I want to read some philosophy (my area of study), theology, fiction, history...you get the idea!
Now that I have established my plan, let's get to our first book!
LETTERS TO THE CHURCH | FRANCIS CHAN
Have you read Francis Chan before? When I was a junior or senior in high school, I read Crazy Love. The thing that stood out to me about my first exposure to Chan was how well he set up his call to action. I really wanted to make changes in my life when I finished reading CL. When I picked up Letters to the Church--actually my husband picked it up on his lunch break one day to read with me--I expected it to have a similar effect.
Chan wrote about his experience leaving Cornerstone, living overseas and experiencing church in Asia, and returning home with a call to begin a church planting network. The question that rose to the surface as he discussed all of this was "What does the Bible say Church should be, and why do our churches look so different from this?"
Among his many answers, the one that was the most profound in my mind follows: The Bible teaches that unbelievers will be drawn in by the love Christians have for one another. Therefore, our churches ought to be marked by the love of Christ. How does the love we see in churches stand out from the love we see in other parts of society? Consider the following acts of love: providing a meal for a friend who just had a baby, calling a friend you know is going through a hard time, telling your friend when they have broccoli stuck in between their teeth... Okay--the last one is a joke, but you get the idea. These are acts of love that are experienced both inside and outside of Church. These acts of love, while genuine and beneficial, must not be examples of the kind of love we are being called to, as believers; instead, we are being called to show a much more sacrificial love--the kind of love that is willing to die completely to self.
I left this book feeling challenged to give more of myself in love to others. I left this book feeling inspired to find a deeper understanding of Christ's sacrifice for me, for us. I left this book with the desire to share the same love that has been shown to me.
Overall, I give this book high praise; however, I do have to critiques. First, this book was obviously written by a speaker. From small grammatical errors to the overuse of exclamation points and italics, I was thankful to be reading this book aloud with my husband, instead of just reading it to myself. Second, I felt like most of the concepts explored and advice offered, while profound and biblical, was primarily abstract. Although I left inspired toward change, I felt stumped about what those particular changes ought to be. This could have been deliberate on the part of Chan; perhaps he desires for his readers to seek God themselves to uncover where Christ's love can shine more brightly in their particularities.
Conclusion:
Would read again. Would (and already have) recommend to a friend. 8/10.
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