So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore

Authored by Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman, this narrative tells the story of Jake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, who gets transformed over time by his encounters with a mysterious man named John. This is the only narrative style book on my list and it might be a great tool to reach people who enjoy this style of writing. This book is available for purchase but it’s also available as a free download in English, Russian, Spanish, Dutch, German and French. To download your free copy go here. You can also go to Wayne Jacobsen’s website, check it out here. An excerpt from the book is below.

“The church is God’s people learning to share his life together. It’s Marvin over there and Diane back here. When I asked Ben about your life together he told me about your meetings, but nothing about your relationships. That told me something. Do you even know Roary’s greatest hope or Jake’s current struggle? Those things rarely come out in meetings. They come out in the naturalness of relationships that occur throughout the week.” 

“But we’re too busy for that,” Marvin’s wife, Jenny, added. “We try to do that when we get together.” I knew what John was going to say before he said it, “And is it working?”
“Is what working?”
“Are you accomplishing all of that in your meetings?” 

“Not very well, but we’re trying to learn to do it better.” 

“And we’re still talking about an ‘it’. We humans are notorious for taking something Scripture describes as a reality, giving a term to it and thinking we’ve replicated the reality because we use the term. Paul talked about the church that gathered in various homes, but he never called it ‘house church’. Houses were just where they ended up in their life together. Jesus was the focus, not the location. As I said, you can have all the right principles and still miss his glory in the body.”

“Now that is depressing,” Jenny said teasingly and the others laughed. “Why do you say that?” John asked. 

“Because we’ve been trying for nine months to get this right and now it all seems so futile. Maybe we should just go back to a traditional church and make the most of it.” The groans around the room indicated that wasn’t likely. 

“What I’m trying to get you to consider is that body life is not something you can create. It is a gift that Father gives as people grow in his life. Body life isn’t rocket science. It is the easiest thing in the world when people are walking with him. You get within twenty feet of someone else on that journey and you’ll find fellowship easy and fruitful.” 

“That’s what we’re looking for. We thought that when we got church right we’d all have the relationship with God we’re looking for,” Marvin broke in. 

John continued, “Just consider that you’ve gotten it backwards. No church model will produce God’s life in you. It works the other way around. Our life in God, shared together, expresses itself as the church. It is the overflow of his life in us. You can tinker with church principles forever and still miss out on what it means to live deeply in Father’s love and know how to share it with others.” 

“That’s not how I learned it,” Laurie offered. “How are we going to know how to live in God’s life if someone doesn’t show us?” 

“That’s where religion has done the most damage. By making people dependent on its leaders, it has made God’s people passive in their own spiritual growth. We wait for others to show us how, or even just follow them in hopes that they’re getting it right. Jesus wants this relationship with you and he wants you to be an active part in that process.” 

“But can we do it on our own? Don’t we need some help?” Marsha asked. 

“Who said you’re alone? Jesus is the way to the Father. As you learn to yield to his Spirit and depend on his power, you’ll discover how to live in the fullness of his life. Yes, he’ll often use other people to encourage or equip you in that process, but the people he uses won’t let you grow dependent on them. They wouldn’t dare crawl between you and the greatest joy of this family—a growing relationship with the Father himself.”

“That’s what I’d rather have talked about tonight. So many groups I’m with are continually trying to figure out the best way to do church. What if we spent all that time and energy focused on the Father’s love, what Jesus is doing in us, and how we can live more freely in his Spirit? Then we’d know how to love each other. We’d be honest and open and support each other on this journey. Our focus would be on him, not ourselves and our needs, and some amazing things would happen.”

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