Zombie Church
by Tyler Edwards
211 pages
Kregel Publications
ABOUT THE BOOK: There is something missing in the church today. Stuck in a rut of routines and rituals, the church is caught up in doing what it is “supposed to do” but is lacking the true essence of what it is supposed to provide: life. Real faith--and a real relationship with Jesus--is not about playing by the rules, attending services, and praying before meals. Real faith is more than religion.
Believing there is a way to breathe life back into the church, Tyler Edwards adopts a contemporary and entertaining metaphor--zombies--to highlight and challenge the problematic attitude of today’s believers.
Written for the discouraged, disenfranchised, and anyone unsatisfied with their same-old church routine, Zombie Church challenges readers to turn away from hollow religious practices, which characterize “zombie Christianity,” and turn toward a radical relationship with Jesus.
While other books have addressed legalism in the church, this is the only book that effectively capitalizes on a popular entertainment genre in order to diagnose and correct the problem. Realizing that even his own church is part of that problem, Edwards has written an accessible and often humorous book that will help believers change the Spirit-draining (or life-draining) habits that stop them from achieving a full, fulfilling life in Christ.
MY REVIEW: I’ll be the first to admit that the title is what made me look into this book. As the mother of two 20-somethings and a family of zombie fans, this caught my eye. When I read the back of the book and saw what it really was about I was thrilled.
Instead of being a book content to throw stones at churches that “do it wrong”, Tyler Edwards gives us both the diagnosis and the cure. I found myself actually taking notes while reading this book and pondering his thoughts late into the night or while driving to work. The church is definitely ailing and maybe if we’d all take a hard look at ourselves and begin within it would be our first step.
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I can say wholeheartedly that this book should be read by all. The smaller thickness of the book might fool you into thinking it will be a fast read, but the reality is that there is so much content in those pages that you will want to ponder and reread quite often.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tyler Edwards is the lead pastor at Cornerstone Christian Church in Joplin, Missouri, where he works to help people learn how to live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and look like Jesus—so they carry out the mission of Jesus to the world. He graduated from Ozark Christian College with bachelor’s degrees in both Biblical Literature and Christian Ministry. He has written articles for Lookout Magazine, spoken at various campus ministry events in Missouri, and served overseas in Mbale, Uganda.
Tyler loves cheesy horror films. He is particularly fond of movies like Dawn of the Dead, The Signal, and 28 Days Later, where zombies run wild and threaten to infect an entire town. Connect with Tyler on Facebook.
The publisher is sponsoring a $50 Amazon.com giveaway!
About the Giveaway! To enter all you have to do is send a tweet (using @litfuse) about Zombie Church or share about it on Facebook!
If you tweet we'll capture your entry when you use @litfuse. If you share it on Facebook or your blog, just email us and let us know (info@litfusegroup.com).
Not sure what to tweet/post? Here's an idea:
TWEET THIS: Zombie Church by Tyler Edwards - a fair-minded & tenderhearted critique of the church http://ow.ly/6Nv05 @litfuse RT for $50 to @amazon
FACEBOOK THIS: Don’t miss Edwards - a fair-minded and tenderhearted critique of the church. http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13424384 Written for the discouraged, disenfranchised, and anyone unsatisfied with their same-old church routine, Zombie Church challenges readers to turn away from hollow religious practices, which characterize “zombie Christianity,” and turn toward a radical relationship with Jesus. Share this for a chance at $50 to Amazon.com
** Thank you to Litfuse for providing me with a copy of this book for my honest review. Click here to see what other reviewers have to say about the book.
1 comment:
One of the things that has shocked me in my reading is the number of Christian leaders who are saying: the church is a sinking ship, run save yourselves. When the NT refers to the church as the bride of Christ this attitude seems to me much like the popular trend in our culture of getting divorced because your marriage is not perfect. The church has its issues. That has been true in every generation. Those issues need to be addressed and dealt with not ignored and abandoned. The way I see it, the church is a beautiful thing and no matter how bad she gets, she is still worth fighting for. All we need are a few men and women with conviction and passion to stand up and transform the church back to who she was meant to be.
Post a Comment