Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer

Studies show that one in four young adults claim no formal religious affiliation, and church leaders have long known that this generation is largely missing on Sunday morning. Hundreds of thousands of "church leavers" have had a mentor and pastor, however, in Michael Spencer, known to blog readers as the Internet Monk.

Spencer discovered the truth that church officials often miss, which is that many who leave the church do so in attempt to find Jesus. For years on his blog, Spencer showed de-churched readers how to practice their faith without the distractions of religious institutions. Now, in his only book, you can read new material from the Internet Monk that has never appeared on his blog.

In Mere Churchianity, Spencer's writing continues to point the disenchanted and dispossessed to a Jesus-shaped spirituality. And along the way, his teachings show how you can find others who will go with you on the journey.

Things I thought after reading this book:

1. It did not change my life.
2. It did not change the way I viewed Christianity or Jesus.

I've really been thinking about what being a Christian REALLY means these past six months. I reached points where I was ready to leave "religion" and pursue a relationship with Jesus by taking a break from the church (We could discuss this a lot considering I really wouldn't have left at all since Christians ARE the church, but I won't go into that). So I was really interested when I read about his book and read this:

Have you left the church in search of Jesus?

But the book didn't meet my standards halfway. I found myself becoming bored and skipping pages. I loved the introduction, but it didn't hook me. I felt like there was a certain depth missing from the book that I was feeling in my heart.

I'm sure this book has helped many non-Christians and Christians see the real Jesus. Spencer did an excellent job writing and has helped many people. I agreed with most of what he said and was hesitant to agree with the rest of it (I never recommend that you read a book and believe every word in there. Line it up with Scripture and see if it's truth before you swallow it hook, line, and sinker.)

Michael Spencer was the founder, the primary writer, and editor of Internet Monk, Jesus Shaped Spirituality, and the moderator of the Boar's Head Tavern. Michael's first book, Mere Churchianity, was published by Random House/Waterbrook on June 15, 2010. He died on April 5, 2010 after a battle with cancer.

Find the book on:

• Amazon
• Shelfari

Website/Blog:

• Internet Monk

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.