So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore: An Unexpected Journey

This is one of the greatest books I have ever read. Many of the negative reviews reflects the very religious attitudes he speaks against. His book focuses on Love and many of the negative reviews talk about "theology", that's more then enough show where their hearts and minds are. As I am an avid bible researcher, an advanced student not only the bible, but the Talmud, and i have taken many Christian Theology courses and this book i back 100%. many are threatened by the book because it messes with the foundation of the very thing they get their power and spiritual stability from, "church", when we should get all we need from the cornerstone of faith, Yeshua/Jesus the messiah. I have been a victim of church abuse and in fact one ministry attempted to deny me of salvation because i dated a man they didn't approve of. this book has bought about a much need healing and closure to the many horrific abuses i have endured in numerous churches. the author is not insinuating that all church is bad and we shouldn't go, he is rather examining the characteristics that define the modern church that exist today against the guidelines laid out in the bible and when we look at what we have built against the divine instructions, we have failed greatly. we need to learn that its okay to not understand everything. Its so easy in our everyday life's and trials to say oh just "let go and let God" but when it comes to the bigger things, like ministry, purpose, church, and building a relationship with God, we resort to developing rituals and setting standards, essentially we resort to becoming religious instead of just living and letting God. It just goes to show that we are all still babies in Yeshua, we rather do it ourselves and in our own way and time rather then letting God have his way. I hope this book, despite the negative seeds attempting to be sown against it, grows . I Hope this book ignites a fire in Gods people to truly and sincerely walk with him, love him, and live without religious condemnation-Its not what you do but how you love ! that is the key to figuring out this struggle we call a relationship with God. Read the book it will change your life.

One of the BEST books I've ever read!

Seldom in my life have I read a book that managed to hold me captive on almost every page; where I simply had to read another chapter before I went to sleep and that shook my little boat in a dangerously good way. "SO YOU DON'T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE?" is such a book. It's a must read for anybody who has wondered if the life and freedom that Jesus had died for, was for more than just religious duty and Sunday routine. Jake, an associate pastor at a local church in Kingston, overhears a man called John (whom he believes may be the actual apostle John) interrupt a crowd of people on the street who had been arguing about church related issues and about Jesus, slinging insults each other's way. John's words to the crowd shook Jake to the core of his belief system, for he'd never hear anybody talk about Jesus like John, as if they'd actually met Him. Months later he runs into John again in a park during his lunch break, and so begins Jake's journey of realising just how screwed up the "church system" had become. He realised how his own love for Jesus had slowly faded over the years and had sought to bury himself in his ministry to avoid having to deal with his emotions. He thought that going into full time ministry would help him realise his dreams, but after 4 years they simply kept eluding him. The same thing happened to his parents years earlier in their lives when they were expelled from their old church (which they saw as persecution) and started a new one. Jake was telling their story to John: "Since they were no longer welcome at their church, they decided to start a new one together. The first gathering brought more than 80 people crammed into a small house. The atmosphere was electric. They decided to get organized, rent a building and hire a pastor." Then for the first time I saw it so clearly. "And it slowly died." I muttered, astonished at the realization. To which John replied: "They were so distracted by all the work that they soon lost that joy of simply loving Jesus. Strange isn't it, that forming something into what they thought was a church could do what persecution couldn't?" (p. 20). The modern church has replaced the Old Testament laws (for example circumcision) with modern manmade rules, such as cooperating with the church program, subtly using guilt, conformity and manipulation to control its attendees. As John rightly states: "Anything will lead people away from God's life, as long as it preoccupies them enough to serve as an adequate substitute for the real thing. It's easier to see the problem when the standard is circumcision in Ephesus than when it is Sunday morning attendance in Kingston" (p. 21). John never gave out his contact details, always insisting that they would run into each other again if they were meant to. Several months later John paid Jake a surprise visit during the Sunday morning sermon at their church. Jake was supposed to oversee the sound system, but snuck out during the sermon, wanting to desperately chat with John, whose words had lately actually brought him more frustration than anything else. As they walked past the bulletin boards displaying all the church's programs and activities, it became clear to Jake that the "church system" thrived on the efforts of its members. John shed truth on the matter: "One of the most significant lessons Jesus taught his disciples was to stop looking for God's life in the regimen of rituals and rules. He came not to refurbish their religion, but to offer them a relationship. Were all those healings on the Sabbath, and the recording of them, just a coincidence that he found more sick people then? Of course not! He wanted his disciples to know that the rules and traditions of men get in the way of the power and life of his Father. And it can be pretty captivating too, because we all do what we do thinking it pleases God. No prison is as strong as religious obligation. It takes us captive even while we're patting ourselves on the back" (p. 33). Lots of church leaders see themselves as moral policemen who are there to make their members "better Christians". John pointed out the problem with this approach: "Who is going to draw near to God if he's always trying to catch people at their worst moments, or always punishing them for their failures? We're too weak for a God like that. We use guilt to conform people's behavior, never realizing the same guilt will keep them far from God." "That's why Jesus' death is so threatening to those bred in religious obligation. If you were sick of it, and realized that it alone couldn't open the doors to the relationship your heart cried out for, the cross was the greatest news of all. If, however, you made your living or earned your status in the system, the cross was a scandal. Now we can be loved without doing one thing to earn it." Jake then posed the number one objection to the gospel of Grace: "But won't people misuse that as an excuse to serve themselves?" To which John replied: "Of course, but just because people abuse something doesn't make it wrong. If they want to live to themselves, it doesn't matter that they claim some kind of false grace. But to people who really want to know God, he's the only one who can open the door" (p. 35). Each of Jake and John's subsequent meetings happened months apart, running into each other in the most unexpected places. During these meetings Jake's religious mindset repeatedly got offended by John's unexpected answers to his piercing questions and statements. Lots of manmade traditions get exposed in the subsequent chapters, such as John's opinion on people being involved in so called "accountability groups": "All the accountability in Scripture is linked to God, not to other brothers and sisters. When we hold each other accountable we are really usurping God's place. It's why we end up hurting each other so deeply" (p. 40). Since their last conversation, Jake had been trying to implement the things he'd heard from John at his own church, with disastrous results. John told him why it hadn't been working: "Jake, if you listen to anything else I say, listen to this: Don't use our conversations to try to change others. I'm only trying to help you learn to live in God's freedom. Until they are looking for the same things you are, people will not understand and you'll be accused of far worse. You're trying to live what I said without letting God make it real in you. It won't work that way. You'll just end up hurting a lot of people and hurting yourself in the process" (p. 44). In another meeting John pointed out the problem with churches having turned into institutions: "...institutions can only reflect God's love as long as those in it agree on what they're doing. Every difference of opinion becomes a contest for power" (p. 49). Standing up for the truth eventually brought Jake to several crossroads, put him in very precarious positions and left him having to make some tough decisions. The plot thickens with every chapter and it gets harder and harder to put the book down. Eventually Jake has to make up his mind to leave the church and possibly start a home church, but even with that comes the danger of simply substituting one system for another, as John points out: "If this is another place for you to find your identity and to bury your shame by thinking you've got a better way to do it than anyone else, then you're sating the same thirst, just from a different fountain" (p. 71). I'm not going to give away the entire plot - the book ends way too well to do that! You can order this book or download the free 1.9MB electronic copy in PDF format here: [...] In Grace Andre van der Merwe PS: Leave comments about this review at our website: [...]

I had read this book previously and appreciated the context enough to re-order it. In this time frame the Holy Spirit is calling out His chosen ones; (see Rev. 18:4 and 2 Cor. 6:14-18). Note in 2 Cor. 6:14 the word for "unbeliever is Strong's #2086, meaning those who "believe in Christ, but are unwilling to walk with Him fully as led by Hisholy Spirit. The same English wor is used again in verse 15, but here, Strong's #571, Paul was speaking of someone who knew not Christ at all! The book is excellent in pointing out some if the fallacies of the religious systems of our day but does not go far enough. Also, the concept of "home fellowships" is on target, however caution must be taken when becoming involved with them. This who are seeking a deeper walk with their Lord would be well advised to draw close enough to Him whereby He will direct the earnest seeker to the fellowship He has designed for them; (1 Cor. 12:18; Rom. 8:14; Deut. 12:13-14 applied). Always remember Mat. 24:5 where it says: "many will come in My Name saying, (rightly that), I am the Christ, and will mislead many." Sadly this can take place outside the buildings as easily as it is happening inside many if them! I have purchased many copies over the past couple of years and try to use discretion as to whom I give them! The author has done a beautiful job in capturing the essence of our Lord's love and His desire that we be set free from this factions that would quench His Holy Spirit while bring those thus captured back under the Law. The "Nicolation spirit" is running rampant in the body today! Be Encouraged!

Just finished this book. I would recommend it to anyone who is beginning to, in the process of, or has already gone through a detox of church. There are a lot of accusations made by people who left one star reviews, and I believe they are very mistaken. This book probably isn't for people who are die-hard in trying to build churches. I genuinely believe that MOST people who try to "start a church" are doing it out of a real desire to lead people to Christ. But by nature of what institutional churches are, this goal will always ultimately fail. I was part of a church plant that I thought was really on fire for God and was going to "do great things for God." I spent a lot of time and money working alongside them. It took several years, but I eventually realized that what started as one thing eventually turned into another as the burdens of the institution, of salaries, or prestige, or power came to light. My pastor at the time, I later found out, had a lot of expectations put on him to become a pastor and had a deeply seated need to be seen as a successful pastor. Many of the musicians, who I was very close with, had a very deep desire to be on stage, to be seen, to be adored. Churches are places of mutual accommodation of self-need. The CHURCH is just the body. Our Shepherd is Jesus. We are a family. But these institutions (created by men and women who are driven by their needs to prove something to God and to others) distort the body. You don't need a big building to do this, you can use a house (which is why this has nothing to do with the building). The purpose of this book is to bring us back to having a living, day to day relationship with our Dad. To trust Him with everything. Only then will the Church be truly set free to be a light. This book isn't about form. It isn't about "doing church right." It's about knowing Father. For all of the people who are ragging on this book because "well it tells us we aren't doing church right," we really need to take a step back and examine the things we say (it's not just semantics). There's no good way to "do church" except to know the Father and walk with him. But that statement purposefully excludes" doing" things. The Holy Spirit is dynamic. You can't reduce God down to a set of principles and believe you are following him because you have your little law. You can't reduce his moves into a formula that you can repeat and get the same results. That's what "churches" do. They are organizations of men and women who believe that they can build the Church (capital C) by teaching principles, managing behavior, and managing a process that will always produce results. It's a fundamentally dangerous idea. In a world that needs relationship with Father, we have instead turned to law (rules, commitment, obligation, principles) and teach people that this is the way to know God... when in fact, it is not... and if God meets someone in the course of those things, it's in spite of it, not because of it. If you are one of those people who are beginning to see that there are fundamental problems with "church," pick this book up and give it a read. You might not be agreeing with it all. I wouldn't have if I read it at the beginning, or before I saw the problems. But if your desire is to know the Father no matter what the cost... then tell Him. If you're serious about it... you'll be in for a surprise. This book is about a journey that many of us have gone through. The authors have gone through it and are living this life. I'm going through it now. Millions are going through it. They are seeing that church as an institution is foundationally a flawed and ultimately abusive system that cannot produce the life of God in us. They are seeking the truth.

This Book Adheres to the Teachings of Christ It has struck me as I peruse the reviews of this book, that the reviewers are separated into two entirely different camps. The camp that loves this book, those that rate it as a five star book, seems to reflect Christ's teaching as reflected in The Great Commandment in Mathew 22. "34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Those who see little or no redeeming virtue in the book, those who rate it as a one star book, tend to justify their position by quoting from the writings of Paul. When looking at this book, see if you prefer the loving teachings of Christ or the legalistic ones of Paul. Christ's opinion of the `organized church' is spelled out in Mathew 23: "1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Jake Colsen has written an incredible book that encourages us to live by The Great Commandment. I heartily recommend it to any and everyone.

This is likely one of the best books I have ever read and I'll tell you why. I've been all about the Church for most of my life. I've been a pastor, a denominational official, a Church Administrator, an Elder, a Chairman of the Board and while I'm not currently in a formal Church Ministry role, I'm finishing up a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership and writing a Master's Thesis on Leadership Styles and impact within the organization of the Church. On some levels, I'm sick and tired of the organization of the Church. Many of the criticisms leveled at it for being impersonal, political, manipulative, disingenuous and full of petty people are unfortunately true. There are literally millions of people who comprise the walking wounded who have brushed paths with many Churches and have sworn that they are never going back to such a place because it is full of hypocrites and toxic people. I understand that. I'm reminded of the man who said all the things above to his wife and ended up with the comment, "And I'm never going back there again." His wife responded, "But you have to go back. You're the Senior Pastor ......" For all who have felt this way, this book is for you. Through the masterful use of dialogue in the context of a fictional setting with a pastor who has been wounded, this book touches on all these themes and brings the reader through to the end with an alternative view of Church. It's not about the organizational Structure. Some imagine that if we just structured the Church right the problems would be solved. I can vouch from a level of involvement that exceeds many, that sadly this is not the case. The church will never be perfect in this age because I am not perfect. What is needed is a new view and understanding of the Church. This book does an excellent job of illustrating where hope lies. I recommend it highly! 5 Stars. Bart Breen

A very interesting read

A wonderfully challenging book that opens up new alternatives to the traditional yet ineffective way we do church. It puts the emphasis back onto our father and his son Jesus and exposed the flawed thinking we have grown up with in institutional congregations.

This is a novel and easy to read, apart from the challenging topics which keep arising. It is worth reading through, and then again but stopping to think through the issues it raises….and there will be many. It is especially encouraging for those who long for more than they are presently experiencing and demonstrates a way of living in relationship with Jesus and other believers that is so clearly expressed in Matthew 11 v28.

Wayne Jacobsen hat eine tiefe Einsicht darüber was die heutige Gemeinde in Ketten hält und welche Lösung es dafür gibt.

This book changed my life. As a Christian I've often wondered, "What wrong with me? Why am I not getting this church thing, why does it so often drain me instead of give me life? It must be me." This book helped me see what Jesus meant by the church, people doing life with Jesus and each other, period. Buildings, institutions, creeds, program, can have their place, but only if they facilitate the relationships that church is about. Instead of taking the shape of a theological book or a "how to", the authors share the simple biblical truths through a story, which appealed to me immensely. Just as Jesus used parables, so the story of Jake and John conveys powerful truth about what it means to live the life Jesus has for us. I've shared this book with others and a small group formed and we have discovered a life in Jesus that we've never known before. We still "go to church", but the reality is that church is just people following Jesus together, and it happens every day, in multiple ways. If you're burned out on church, religion, trying to be good enough, and longing for authenticity and real relationships, this book will open your eyes to the beauty and simplicity of what church really is!

Zeer verfrissend, geeft heel veel stof tot nadenken, hoe het allemaal anders kan én de essentie van geloven en Jezus volgen/vertrouwen.