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Letters to the Church, Chapter 1: The Departure

I committed to reading more, primarily because I need some kind of accountability to make sure that happens.  I've slid into the trap of not reading enough.  So, my goal is just pick something, and comment on a chapter a day, because that will force me to do it.  

 "Letter to the Church" by Francis Chan seemed to gain the most traction, so that's what I'm doing.  If you're reading along, feel free to share your thoughts, or tell me what you think of mine.  

I’m glad that Francis starts out by acknowledging some of the core issues of the megachurch movement.  I appreciate when a leader has the self-awareness to see some of the flaws in the thing their moving.  While I don't  While I struggle to practice it myself, I do think that humility is important in leadership.  I'm glad that he wrestled with it.  I do think it's hilariously ironic that a celebrity pastor who built a megachurch and is basically is critiquing megachurches and celebrity pastors.  

When I read "the Journey home" I feel like maybe, Francis didn't have such a great church experience.  It feels like he had a big "successful" church, but struggled with actually experiencing community there. 

I think the "Big Problems" section is a bit annoying. Chan says all the right things: He thinks the church in the US is adrift, and that we do things poorly.  He wants to challenge us Biblically.  He wants to promote unity, and not be divisive.  He thinks we need to respect leadership.  I like taking people at their word unless they show otherwise, so I'm willing to say he has the right goals.  The annoying part is that this tells you absolutely nothing.  Literally, everyone says those same things.  We all say that we want that, we just all have a different version of what that is.  That's actually the problem.

The "Just open the door" section may not be entirely honest.  I get that Jesus doesn't go into a lot of depth as to the "How" to abide in him in this passage, but this feels a lot like "Let go and let God" as a solution to what's wrong with the church.  

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