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Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: How to Survive and Thrive! In Church
Title: How to Survive and Thrive! In Church
Series:
------
Author:
Doug Batchelor & Karen Lifshay
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Non-fiction
Pages:
128
Format:
Paperback
Synopsis: |
Batchelor, a 7th Day Adventist pastor and author, writes this little book on how to survive various types of churches but also how to contribute and make your church a better place.
There are 16 chapters, each focusing either on a particular type of church [dead, big, little, divided, etc] or on a particular problem in church [scandal, gossip, doctrinal doubts, etc] and the final chapter entitled “Not Just Surviving – Succeeding!”
My Thoughts: |
This is not a
comprehensive help book. I read this in one sitting, one evening. It
is a lightly humorous book meant to highlight some of the common
problems in any and all churches and what you, as an individual, can
do.
Basically,
Batchelor boils it down to “don't give up”. Like I said, I read
this in one sitting and it was like a nice bottle of gatorade on a
hot day while working hard. It's not a meal but it refreshes you and
allows you to keep going until it IS meal time. Batchelor also
stresses personal responsibility in your spiritual life. You have to
read your Bible and pray if you want to stay connected to God. Going
to church once a week to get “fed” isn't going to cut it.
Batchelor is
unabashedly 7th Day Adventist and while this could be used
for almost any denomination, it is aimed at SDA'ers. Many of his
quotes are from the writings of Ellen White. If that would be a
problem for you, then I would not recommend this book.
Anyone who goes to
church could benefit from reading this book. Treat it like the word
of encouragement it is and not as a theological treatise and you will
be well served.
I do wish that
there had been an “Interested In More...” epilogue. Could have
pointed to some specific, deeper, more relevant books on particular
topics. That would have been a nice springboard.
★★★★☆