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Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens By Neil Cole ( Jossey-Bass )
Release Date: 2005-09-08
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List Price: $23.95
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Product Description
Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members - revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren't being reached, who don't want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God's presence in our hearts is what changes us. Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God's Word. According to international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed - restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms,and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.
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Yes!!!! No!!!!! ( benjans )
Few books have messed with my emotions more than this one. At times I found myself so much in agreement with what Cole had to say that I thought my name was on the cover of the book. But then I'd turn a page or two and find myself shouting, "No! No! No! Now you've gone too far!" A few pages later and Cole was my best friend again.
We can begin with this statement, said to be the "profound goal" of Cole's Church Multiplication Associates (CMA): "We want to lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple" (p. 26). I love that statement. And I hate that statement. I agree wholeheartedly that we need to "raise the bar" when it comes to discipleship. Nominalism is the great disease of the Western Church, I'd say, so let's start proclaiming a "take-up-your-cross-and-follow-me" kind of discipleship. But let's not think that bar of "how church is done" has been set too high. I would argue that our low-cost discipleship attitude has stemmed from our lowering of the bar of what the church is.
Like any house-church type, Cole's biggest beef seems to be with the institutional church. And as long as his problem is with stuck-in-the-mud methods for "doing" church, then I would agree. But when he argues that "the church is a living organism, not a static institution," (p. 34), I think he has thrown the baby out with the bath water. I agree that the church is a "living organism," but, like the family, it is an institution as well.
Later, Cole takes aim at the church worship gathering. "When you imagine the amount of resources, energy, and time invested in a service held only one day a week, it is remarkable. With all the importance placed on this event, you would expect there to be a lot of scriptural directives to make sure people get it right. But if you search all of the New Testament looking for the commands or injunctions having to do with this important weekly event, you will find them sadly missing" (p. 39). At best this is a classic argument from silence. At worst it simply is ignorant of the fact that God does give us in his word plenty of directives concerning how he is to be worshipped. And what about the importance of the sacraments, the prayers, and the preaching of the Word? What about 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus and 1 Corinthians? Cole is right that "the church is much more than a one-hour service held one day a week," but that does not mean it is less than that.
Cole seems to assume that spiritual growth is automatic and does not need the effort of community. He says, "When we see people come to Christ and then slip away, we assume a responsibility that is not ours" (p. 69). Later he says,
"There are two closely related sins we need to repent of in the Western church. We need to repent of underestimating what God can do through a new believer. Second, we need to repent of overestimating our own value in helping new converts grow and become strong believers. The real sting in these assumptions is that we think we are better able to help people than the Holy Spirit Himself is" (p. 154).
Trying to defend himself he then says,
"You might assume that the implication of this thinking is that we leave new babes in Christ alone without any human assistance. That is misinterpreting my words and my intent. We should be a part of "teaching them to observe all that [Jesus] commanded" (Matt 28:20), but the key term is "to observe." We need to get them involved in obeying immediately.
Nevertheless, we must also realize that Jesus' pattern was to send people out early rather than keep them back in a safe place." (p. 155).
I just don't think Cole is clear here. What exactly is our role, if we have one at all? I think we have underestimated, not overestimated, our role in helping people with their sanctification.
Positively, I like what Cole has to say about organic church planting: "Too many of us experts think we know all about how the work of our ministry is supposed to grow. The consequence is that the mysterious and miraculous element of the Kingdom is replaced with strategic plans, demographic studies, and brightly colored flow charts" (p. 86). He also gives a very good analysis of the consumer-driven church (p. 95). Here are a couple of nice quotes in that regard:
"Because we position people to be consumers, they respond like consumers." (p. 96)
"A church is only as good as her disciples. Healthy disciples make up a healthy church. Reproducing disciples makes a reproducing church." (p. 96)
The real strength of this book, as exemplified by the above quotes, is the author's perception of how unhealthy many of our churches have become. And many of his suggestions for improving the health of the church are both simple and helpful. There is much to digest in Cole's conclusion that a healthy church possesses the following DNA: Divine truth, Nurturing relationships, Apostolic mission (pp. 116-117). This DNA, says Cole, should never be unraveled, but "every meeting, every ministry, every disciple must have all three components at the same time" (p. 120, emphasis original). Many thanks to Neil Cole for helping us think about the health of our churches at the molecular level.
But be aware that not everything Cole says is an airtight argument. I'm not sure his exegesis is solid when he contends that unbelievers should not be excluded from participating in the Lord's Supper (See page 112 and the accompanying footnote on page 221. Was Judas "clearly" at the Lord's Supper as Cole says? While Luke's language suggests that he may have been, Matthew and Mark seem to indicate otherwise). And while Cole is right that a church that consists of "a system full of subordinates" (p. 127) is not healthy, he seems to ignore the role of "overseers" that the Bible does prescribe. Perhaps here he has taken the analogy of "organic" growth too far.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would encourage anyone involved in church work to read it as well. All church planters should be required to read this book. But just be sure you have your discernment primed when you turn these pages. If you do, you will surely find yourself going back and forth between full agreement and sharp disagreement.
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Great Read
This book is a great read for anyone in church ministry. It is a great reminder that we are the body of Christ and that we need to reach out to a people who do not yet know Him.
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 Organic Church answers the heart-cry of a worship-hungry soul ( kstevens33 )
Organic Church answers the heart-cry of a worship-hungry soul. Worship is not just about music. Worship is a life-lived in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ with a desire for others to find that same loving relations with HIM. Organic Church is a must read for those who are serious about finding "non-traditional" avenues of being CHURCH that desires to reach family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers with the Good News of Jesus. Don't read this book if you think that CHURCH must be four-walls, pews, and a pulpit. It will probably make you a little upset.
Cole speaks in simple terms without lofty theological language. His illustrations hit the mark. I liked that what Cole is doing is not just "ivory-tower" ideas, but practical teaching that he is living out daily. We can do this. Thanks Neil Cole for getting out-of-the-box, taking the risk of truly following what the Spirit led you to do, and giving us a grand example of what God can do with a man who not only desires to follow Jesus but steps-out and does it.
Personally, I am recommending this book to some of my close friends that go to church because they love Jesus, but seem to say, "There has got to be more to the Christian life and Church than this . . ." I am so sure this book is what true believers are seeking that I am not only recommending it, but have sent it to one friend as a present. I hope to send more in the near future. I am that convinced that this is the CHURCH that pleases Jesus.
What's so cool about this book is that you can take what Cole shares and start today! You don't have to wait on a MDIV, or a certificate from a Bible Correspondence course to start a church. Just do it! Get this book! Read it! And share your life and the Good News of Jesus with a friend.
Cole's Life Transformation Groups are a must for new believers, old believers, and any believer. Cole wrote that we need to read God's Word in bulk. I agree so that we will get the "big picture" and to have a better understanding of what the Bible says a whole. A 20 minute sermon once a week that is based on 1 to 4 verses is not enough Bible-intake. Also, Cole's accountability questions are painful, but so needed to keep our eyes on Jesus and to keep us clean and healthy in mind and body. Lastly, we are so convinced that we have the power to change things . . . this is so untrue. Cole emphasizes the need for prayer and dependency on God, Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit in the LTG's. Wow! What a refreshing read! I read it twice so far.
When you buy a copy, think about buying two and invest one in someone who is not totally satisfied with the "status quo" of just going to church. Give them this book and let them learn how to be CHURCH!
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One of the best ( mateoman )
I have been reading a lot of books about the organic church movement lately, and I have found that Neil Cole's is the most persuasive one. And here is the funny thing about it: he doesn't emphasize organic church being better, or more doctrinally correct than the institutional church although I would say he clearly lays out the points in the case for just that fact. However, he does so not by stating a lot of little known facts, logical statements, and I-told-you-so scripture references. Instead he explains his spiritual journey and that of many others which led him to an organic expression of the church, not because all others are wrong, but because that is what God would have them do. If you want a bunch of facts on the matter, I would recommend Frank Viola's Pagan Christianity? But when it comes to helping an institutional church member understand what the organic church is, this is definitely the first book I'll give them.
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 Read the first half. ( taraj@randomly.com )
I loved the first half of this book, even though my parish is running from a far more traditional model. I felt that the course this book suggested could be integrated into a more traditional church for a more balanced approach.
But the author just kept pushing the Organic idea so far that he stretched the metaphor. It got rather hard to deal with and distracting and I put the book down half way through. I'm glad for what I got out of it, but I just couldn't stomach the rest.
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Addiction
