Thursday, December 15, 2011

"Church in the Making" by Ben Arment


Snack of Choice:
Cranberry Sauce. Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce. No chunks, please. Right out of the cold refrigerated can and all by itself. No better way to end the night. You think I'm joking... ask the wife, I'm dead serious. Not just because of the holiday's (Thanksgiving and Christmas), but just because it's just plain good. Although it would go nicely with a Pillsbury crecent roll. Ah...


Story behind the Story:
I signed up to read the galleys on NetGalley.com. If you don't know what a galley is, google it... then tell me. This is the first e-book I was approved to read and review from B&H Publishers. Only problem is I don't read ebooks. This experience kinda settled it for a little while at least. But I really was interested in reading this book, so I bought it! 


Story Line:
So how do you start a church from scratch? How do you reach a community with the greatest news known to man? For those whose success is evident, "God is just blessing" is an easy fall back. But what factors does God use to prepare the way before you? Does an "unsuccessful" church planter mean that God has not blessed his ministry? Ben Arment digs deeper into the socio-economic framework of church planting mixed with the work of the Holy Spirit in a community.


The Real Story:
Here it is -- one of the best books I've read in a while. Ben Arment's writing style is so incredibly readible but with alot of depth. It reveals the work of the Holy Spirit through preparation of the ground, through momentum, and through deep roots. He deals with the hardships of church planting without yielding to "church talk." This book would fit into the curriculum of a Church Planting class as well in the hands of the church member. 


Check out:
Pastoral Epistles like 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus


"Church Planting is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches that Do Extraordinary Things" by  Mike McKinley (Cause I like the title -- full discloser: never read it)


Rating:
5 out of 5 deeply rooted church planted trees

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