Reimagining Spiritual Formation: A Week in the Life of an Experimental Church

Rating:
Summary: "I am" because "we are"
Review: An insider's glimpse into the heart of a community seeking the source of its oneness. Finding that in hearing one another's stories - to the point of seeing real difference - they can find a unity in diversity that is Spirit formation. Multiple voice are heard throughout this text and the fact that these voices find one another offers hope to any of us seeking a fellowship with God and with others that transcends "Sunday morning church."

Rating:
Summary: Asking the right questions of Spiritual Formation
Review: Doug Pagitt is a lead pastor at a church in Minnesota called Solomon's porch. His book is about his journey away from the program centered Mega-church into a more organic, decentralized community. He talks about some new ways of viewing spiritual formation that are quite different than the commonly used "talking head," educational approach. His ideas are, self-proclaimed, experimental. He admits to being at the early stages in his church journey, however his ideas are quite compelling.

If you are interested in connecting with the next generation in your church, or are involved in any high school or college ministry - I would order this today and read and discuss with your community.

There is much talk about post-modernism in churches that plain and simple is not healhty. And often times, when it is healthy dialouge, there is no real story of success - instead it is just a bunch of ideas that never become anything. Solomon's Porch and this book are the beginning of healhty dialouge and ideas turning into reality!

It is not Pagitt's desire to create a thousand churches just like his. Rather, he has asked some honest and searching questions about how God and His character are going to be formed in his people and is trying to be and do this in the way that meets the needs of his church.

As a pastor of a mega-church, Pagitt certainly has me asking some honest questions.

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing and Provocative
Review: Here is a good book to take along on a coffee journey and enjoy the refreshing experiences of Solomon Porch. As I read this book I started thinking "now way - a book on spiritual formation based on such a young "church"" - when I finished I was grateful to Mr. Paggit for being so honest and open and sharing some good thoughts.

My wife is reading it right now and she is having the same thoughts I did at the begining - I don't know if she will come to like the book at the end, but it had provoque some good discussion on our breakfast table.