I can't help but think this is something more churches need to try: just read Scripture. In another, all chapters of the book of Revelation, one person reading one chapter until all were done. One part speaks of an experiment they did just reading Scripture. How we don't trust God to rely on what God has asked us to do. How we give in to gimmicks to draw in visitors. So, while I am not done with the book yet, know that he does talk about what is very wrong with our modern way of doing church. He provides many passages of Scripture, and I stop to meditate on familiar words, to see them fresh. I keep stopping to repent, to pray, to praise, to ask God for help for me and the church, American and global. It's taking me a while, though I began 1 AM last night, when Amazon sent it to my Kindle. When I saw this book, saw Francis addressing this, I preordered the book and am reading it. I have been obsessed in my prayers and thoughts with those building blocks of the early church.and Francis expounds on them: apostles teaching, fellowship, prayer, breaking of bread/Lord's supper. Prayer, so important and essential to Christ and the apostles and the early believers.where is prayer on Sundays? Why is the time given to so little prayer? Communal prayer matters in Scripture, not just solitary prayer. I have especially been pained by the lack of prayer. And then I started hearing from more and more fellow believers how church has become a ritual, a consumption, an entertainment, a thing you do on Sunday, and not full of power and humble service, with everyone manifesting the gift(s) they have received from the Holy Spirit. It's a vision that got sidetracked (spiritual war, God testing, not sure), but we were completely dissatisfied with spectator-church.

To the point that four years ago, hubby and I thought maybe we needed to just find a home church or buy a house and have one.

I've felt the conviction over the state of the church-and my own wandering from the ideal pattern-for a while. To those who knowingly or subconsciously are harming the church, I pray God gives you the grace to repent.' Updated: see 'what to take away' counter to the review that says applicability is lacking.įrom the book: 'To the lovers of Jesus who are feeling discouraged, I pray this book gives you hope for what is possible.

Book of james francis chan locations