Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community

Rating:
Summary: Back to the Basics
Review: Among the many church growth specialists who want us to rethink the purpose of the church, the many theologians who want us to rethink the purpose of the Christian life, and the many Christian activists who want us to rethink Christians' relationship with American culture, this book stands alone. It brings us back to the basics: Our purpose as Christians is to live out and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, a task which (the author is careful to tell us) only God can do, but which we can help or hinder. If you want to know why it's hard to have love, joy, peace, patience, etc.; if you want to know what things in your culture might be blocking these fruit; and if you want to know what a normal Christian church can do about it, read this book. The book, while more insightful than how-to, should give enough hints for practical Christians to start changing our Christian communities into places where the fruit of the Spirit is not just a memory verse, but a way of life.

Rating:
Summary: Application is Key
Review: I used this book as the text for a lesson plan I developed on the fruit of the Spirit. While I had preconceived notions about the nature of each fruit, I was unsure of what they 'looked like' in everyday life. Although Kenneson has been castigated by some Evangelicals for his pragmatic tendencies, I found his insights and practical applications to be VERY insightful and well within the pale of orthodoxy (although my Reformed brothers and sisters may take issue with his synergistic view of sanctification, but even Reformed Christians need a healthy dose of human responsibility now and then 8). This book helped me realize that cultivation of Spiritual fruit is not merely a Pauline concept to be deciphered by exegetes, but is meant to be a lifestyle. Kenneson's applications of each fruit serve to give cues for further application and cultivation of each fruit for our time. As with every book, it's best to eat the meat and spit out the bones. Here, the meat is so tasty, you won't mind feeling for a few minor bones. This book would be an ideal text for any retreat, Sunday school class, or small group that wants to study the application and cultivation of the fruit of the Spirit in contemporary life.

Rating:
Summary: Revealing
Review: This book takes upon itself to critically reflect American society and its relationship to the difficulty of cultivating the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. In each of the fruits of the Spirit -love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control- Kenneson shows how bearing each fruit will not be without difficulty, as each fruit has something that is trying to choke it out in American culture.

The book as great as it is, has some short comings. Kenneson doesn't really like the term "self-control," and akwardly struggles to define it and look for a better word in the English language. He prefers to call the last of Paul's fruits of the Spirit "continence" instead of "self-control." Kenneson's find's the word "self" a little too bitter for his tasting, thinking it takes away from the work of Christ in some fashion.

However, I think the word "self-control" works just fine if the Christian realizes that "you are not your own." So, if we say "self-control" as a Christian, we simply must understand that it's not that we control ourselves, but rather, we yield control of ourselves over to Christ. Kenneson's alternative translation of "continence" in place of "self-control" I don't believe is warranted, and is too close of a synonym to hardly be considred better replacement.

Also, a somewhat minor beef I have with this book is that while it tries to refrain from being overly academic, it is still academic enough to be "over the heads" of many readers. I admit that as a Jr in Bible college, I had some difficulty reading the book at times because of Kenneson's superior command of the english language (even though I did read the book in about half a week). I had to use the dictionary enough to be minorly annoyed (maybe I should go read again the chapter on patience!). I fear that this book will not have the impact that it could because many people will not be able to read it.

However, this book could still be a useful tool for any church bible study on the fruit of the Spirit, and I would highly recommend it. This is the second book I've read by Kenneson (previously read the must-read "Selling out the Church"), and am amazingly refreshed to see that there are still good Christian reads out there. I look forward to reading this book again.