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Rating: 
Summary: Uplifting and encouraging
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this clearly written, thought provoking book. It was especially meaningful to me because I know and respect Dr. Foster. Not growing up in the church of Christ, the brief history of the church's beginnings was very helpful in bring me up to speed and the authors made clear and easy to follow conclusions about why our history is vital in understanding the crises we face today. The ideas of pre-modern, modern, and post-modern (which can be difficult to grasp, at least for me) were expained in terms that made them obvious. It was not only informative, it was challanging. The authors managed to appeal to both the "traditionalists" and the "progressives" with out riding the fence themselves. As a post-modern woman in a rather conservative church, I was surprised that the authors were able to make me see the other side of the story (that of the more traditional member) and give me a larger respect for them. Their style of writing is so easy to read and their hearts seem to flow through their words. I recommend this book highly to anyone in the church of Christ who is looking to understand the problems we seem to be facing today. The book is a quick read and is not written in an "academic" style that might seem off-putting to a layperson. It is so relevant that I am hopeful we, at our church, will be able study it in a bible class in the near future.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for Church of Christ "lifers"
Review: I'm writing this review with 20 years of direct experience with the target audience of this book. That is, the Church of Christ "lifer", the person who was born and raised in the body of churches known as the non-instrumental Churches of Christ. This person's family history likely goes back several generations with the Churches of Christ. This person has a lot of his/her worth as a Christian based on being part of the "heritage" of the "restoration movement". And that means being a Christian within the non-instrumental Churches of Christ. This book is about helping these people deal with change. In particular, changes within the Churches of Christ. Apparently in decades past it was possible to walk into a Church of Christ anywhere in America and know what to expect, like ordering a hamburger at McDonalds. But things are changing now, and many in the Churches of Christ are becoming disoriented by these changes and the increasing diversity among Church of Christ congregations. To deal with this, the author focuses the reader on the core of the Gospel and what it means to be a Chirstian. He does a great job of this throughout most of this book. The idea being that diversity is not necessarily bad as long as we focus on the crux of Christianity. Then we can be different and all get along. Sounds great to me! Though a great read, I gave this book only three stars for the following reasons. 1. The author blames these changes on "post modernism". Blaming problems in Christian churches on "post modernism" is starting to get cliche. Change happens all the time, and the religious landscape in America has been volitle throughout most of its history. What did church leaders blame change on before "post modernism"? I forgot. Is it possible that some of these changes in Churches of Christ are occuring because church members, like all of us, have access to more information that ever before and through their own studies have determined that some of the Church of Christ teachings are little more than traditional dogmas with little scriptural support? (To his credit, the author does sort of lead the reader to that without actually coming out and saying it.) 2. After doing a great job of focusing the reader on the crux of Christianity, the auther then decides at the end that weekly performance of the Lord's Supper is a "non-negotiable" part of being a Christian. What does "non-negotiable" mean exactly? And, where in the New Testament is there any explicit directive concerning the frequency with which a Christian must partake of the Lord's Supper? There isn't. So after all is written and read, the author showed me that he really hadn't progessed in his thinking as far as I had thought. Still, for the target audience this is one of the best books out there.
Rating:
Summary: The Crux of the Matter
Review: The authors provide a stimulating discussion of the need for reassessment and redirection within churches of Christ. Beginning with the perceptive observation that the church most of us know came of age in the 1950's, they highlight the growing sense of disorientation felt by many in an increasingly post-modern world. Before suggesting directions and solutions, they provide helpful perspective by taking a giant step backward and tracing our modern roots from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century through the American Restoration Movement of the 19th century. In doing this they demonstrate that at least some of our perspectives and distinctive doctrines were influenced by people and historical forces much more recent than the first century. After that, the authors get to "the crux of the matter," retrace the current crisis of identity, diversity, and change in the church, and attempt to offer some directions for the future. Chief among these is a call to re-focus attention on the "core" of the gospel: "the story of our creator God's actions to save us from sin and death, culminating in the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Christ." This focus, they submit, provides the best platform for biblical interpretation, individual growth and congregational unity. On the issue of biblical interpretation, for example, the authors contend that good interpretation acknowledges the core as a "center of gravity, allowing that core to govern both the reading of the text and its application." This approach de-emphasizes a search for "rules" and "patterns" and re-focuses on broader aspects of the text: purpose, theme, genre, context, and principle. The authors acknowledge that the book is not intended as a fully-developed theology, but as a starting point for further thought and discussion. From that standpoint, I would highly recommend it as a very interesting and thought-provoking read.
Rating:
Summary: The Crem de la Crem of the Matter
Review: This book is inspiring, insightful and riviting. it describes the changes that have taken place in the Churches of Christ over that last 50 years (1950 - 2001) and does a great job in portraying its true values. This book is a real page-turner and should be read by all in the COC and some outside this fellowship as well. Perhaps it may shed some light on some misconceptions within this movement. Read it, love it and apply it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good discussion
Review: This is a good discussion of a complex problem in Churches of Christ. I mean, just where are we going? Where did we come from? Overall, the discussion was adequate and worthwhile. Sometimes, it seems that conclusions are reached simply to be consistent with our heritage - not that that is all bad - but sometimes other conclusions are just as valid. Worth the time to read.
Rating:
Summary: Good discussion
Review: This is a good discussion of a complex problem in Churches of Christ. I mean, just where are we going? Where did we come from? Overall, the discussion was adequate and worthwhile. Sometimes, it seems that conclusions are reached simply to be consistent with our heritage - not that that is all bad - but sometimes other conclusions are just as valid. Worth the time to read.
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