The Externally Focused Church by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson is an encouragement for the church to do real and relevant acts of service, something that is one of the most effective ways of reaching people with the gospel. (p 11) The two targets of these acts are those that are in the margins of society (p 18) and the city (p 20). Rusaw and Swanson spend eleven chapters drawing out what this looks like.
The book is filled with very practical stories, outlines, and diagrams for what an externally focused church looks like. At the end of each chapter are study and sermon helps that reinforce the particular progression of an externally focused church. The quotes, the references to history, the contemporary examples were excellent.
Here's a particular favorite from John Maxwell: "there is only one thing worse than equipping people and losing them; it is not equipping them and keeping them." (p 151)
If I might offer a critique, it would be in the area of Scriptural exposition. I felt that more time in dealing with the text on these issues would have been really helpful. Perhaps a companion volume? There were a few quirky issues as well - the diagram about the transformational sweet spot (p 61) was helpful but not all of the areas were described. Maybe a fuller explanation or a different sort of diagram might have been in order.
Those points aside, I really enjoyed this book. It offers very helpful advice for the Church in being externally focused.
No comments:
Post a Comment