Why would anyone go to church Kevin Makins

Sometimes it seems that we do everything right, but things don’t turn out the way they should; at other times, regardless of how many mistakes we make, things turn out just the way we had hoped. It happens, in life, it happens in business, and it happens in church.  Sometimes even the least likely person in the room is the one that succeeds. We may not understand why, but we certainly like to analyze the situation; and when we do, sometimes we have to come to the realization that things turn out the way they do because God is in control, and He’s decided how things are going to turn out.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s what happened with Eucharist Church.

Kevin Makins got the idea that he was supposed to start a church. His church-planting associates told him that he was going about things all wrong, but he decided not to listen. If he followed their advice, this dream would be set back months, or even years. His recent book ? Why Would Anyone Go To Church: A Young Community’s Quest to Reclaim Church for God, (Baker Books, 2020) is the story of how some promptings from the Spirit led Makins to plant a church, and what has happened in the life of that church over the past 10 years.

 At first glance, I was confused by the title—it seemed like this was going to be an exposé of everything that’s wrong with the church, and why people shouldn’t bother. But instead I found a delightful reminder that regardless of her faults, the church is still THE place where people should be gathering. No she’s not perfect, but the church is still better than most of what’s out there for hurting people, for people who are questioning their beliefs, their lives, and their very existences. And given even the least of a chance, the church comes through with shining colors.

Makins book is filled with stories of people being transformed because of this little church, even when things weren’t going well with the church itself. Makins describes with a refreshing honesty and humility how God continued to work, even when he himself was trying to get in the way.

It’s a book full of lessons, of honesty, of candor and confession.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of their blogger program. I was asked to provide an honest review

5/5

review of Derwin Gray's "The Good Life"

Ask 100 people what the ‘good life’ is, and there’s a good chance that you’ll get 100 different answers.  Pastor Derwin L. Gray (yes, that Derwin Gray, for those of you who recognize the name from NFL), gives us his take on it in his new book The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches about Finding True Happiness (B&H Publishing, 2020).

And it might surprise you to find that the Good Life doesn’t come from fame as a football player, or riches from a multiyear contract. In fact, as Gray points out, the Good Life comes from things that are completely opposite of fame and fortune.

Take a minute right now to turn in your Bible to Matthew 5: 1-12. Go ahead, this can wait.  Spoiler alert, this is what is commonly called the Beatitudes, or the “Blessed Be’s”. You know, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”, and several other things that often don’t seem to make sense.  And then Gray tells us that if we suffer all these things in the beatitudes, that we will be happy, and it makes less sense. But there is one little part that explains his thought process, and it’s easy to miss—mostly because it’s fairly obvious. The word used here is often translated as ‘blessed’, but it also has the senses of ‘being in a state of happiness’. (Trust me, he has done his homework on this one.)

And so he walks us through the Beatitudes, and shows us what the ‘good life’ looks like from Jesus’ viewpoint.  It’s pretty counter-intuitive, but after a bit it starts to sink in, and I learned that true happiness (the good life) doesn’t come from people or riches, or fame, but rather from the posture of being in God's will and living life in a way that brings me closer to him.

Each chapter with a prayer, some reflection questions, and a few things to remember.

He ends the book by inviting the reader to copy his “happiness manifesto”, sign it, put it somewhere where it will be seen often, and then to live it. And then to help it all sink in (some of learn more slowly than others) he asks us to participate in a 30 day ‘happiness challenge’: each day for 30 days read Matt 5:1-12, read it slowly and carefully, and bask in the life style that provided Jesus so much happiness. You might find that happiness means something totally different than what you’ve been looking for.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of their blogger program. I was asked to provide an honest review

4/5

REBORN by Clayton King

All too often I wish that there was a formula for introducing someone to Jesus. I usually don’t have much of an imagination, so it’s hard for me to make the jump from one place to the gospel. But I have to admit that reading Clayton King’s book Reborn: How Encountering Jesus Changes Everything (Baker Books, 2020) has given me some ideas.

Kings recounts some real life experiences and juxtaposes them with passages of scripture. He points out how the people in the bible were reborn, how their lives changed after an encounter with Jesus, and he does so in a way that makes it fairly obvious that a hurting and broken person today and a hurting and broken person from 2000 years ago have so much in common. 

It was also pretty comforting to see how some people needed more time than others to get to the point where they were willing and ready to change.  Not everyone jumps at the first opportunity, sometimes it takes years of someone saying no before it finally clicks.  Jesus didn’t give up, and neither should we!

Afraid of sharing the Gospel? This book may just give you the confidence that you need.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of their blogger program. I was asked to provide an honest review

5/5