The Church in the House a Return to Simplicity

By Robert Fitts (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Robert Fitts opens The Church in the House with a mission statement for a house church. Once he has readers engaged in the subject, he then builds a biblical case for house churches, including a detailed discussion of what is and isn’t a church (or the church).

Using the metaphors of a wheel and a vine, he advocates the vine as an ideal picture of church growth – living, spreading out, putting down new roots, and so forth – versus a wheel image that portends centralized control and a rigid structure.

He concludes the book with practical information about starting a house church, how that looks, and what it entails. For those so inclined, the bibliography offers a suitable list of resources for future study.

This book serves as a great primer for those seeking to learn the rational of house churches. It also functions as an apt resource for those pursuing the vision of a house church. For both groups, it is a short and easy read, packed full of useful information and insights.

[The Church in the House: a Return to Simplicity, by Robert Fitts. Published by Preparing the Way Publishers, 2001, ISBN: 978-1929451074, 120 pages.]

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The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church

By Diana Butler Bass (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

If you follow the media at all, you have likely heard of the demise of interest and attendance at mainline churches in the United States and abroad. Although there may be some truth in that assessment, it is only part of the truth. There is also occurring numerical growth and spiritual success among some mainline congregations.

The Practicing Congregation looks at those churches, encouraging and enlightening us along the way. This sentiment is succinctly summed up in the subtitle: “Imaging a New Old Church” and as such it becomes a primer for tomorrow’s church.

The contents of this book are applicable to all who follow the God revealed in the Bible, but is focused specially on mainline churches.

As a bonus there is a compelling afterword by Brian McLaren that extends Butler Bass’s mainline principles to evangelical, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox perspectives.

For the academic minded, this work is heavily and thoughtfully footnoted.

[The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church, by Diana Butler Bass. Published by The Alban Institute, 2004, ISBN: 978-1566993050, 129 pages.]

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The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why

By Phyllis Tickle (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

The subtitle to The Great Emergence provides a concise summary of this book’s content: “How Christianity is Changing and Why.” To respond to this statement, Tickle first explains what emergence is, then how we arrived at this point, and concludes with where it is going.

Along the way, Tickle provides a succinct and insightful history lesson of Christianity, complete with Protestantism and Catholicism (Western Christianity) Eastern (Greek) Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodoxy. She notes 500 year cycles at which point major changes, or “Great Transformations,” occur. We are currently at that point of great transformation.

She introduces the “The Quadrilateral,” a matrix that effectively portrays the distinctions within North American Christianity. As readers progress through the book, the diagram morphs as additional detail is added and future trends are projected. This aptly serves to provide a clear graphical summary of the text’s detailed explanations. This book offers a cogent summary the emergent and emerging church, as well as offering a clear and compelling glimpse into the future.

[The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why, by Phyllis Tickle. Published by Baker Books, 2012, ISBN: 978-0801071027, 224 pages.]

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