I enjoyed reading this book. It gives information that can be used by pastors and church leaders, but also for Christians not in leadership positions.

If you're at all familiar with Tony Evan's writings then you'll enjoy this book. I'm not sure I can say there's much new here (perhaps I'm expecting too much) but it's certainly a resource which you can benefit from.

Thanks to NetGalley and Moody Publishers for ARC.

I thought this book was good but in comparison to other books written by Dr. Evans, I did not enjoy this one as much. There was still much to learn from and ideas that provoked deep thoughts, which I enjoyed. However, I didn’t find this read to be one that I couldn’t wait to finish.

I am grateful to Netgalley and Moody publishers for an advance review copy of this book. I found this book helpful, challenging and infuriating in equal measure. I am as pastor of a small church in Scotland so one of the people whom this book was perhaps aimed at.

To start with the good I thought chapters three and four of the book on unity and discipleship where really good and really encouraged me. The chapter on discipleship especially with the challenge to be disciples who make disciples and how that ensures an adequate supply of disciples. However one of the challenges of this is that it doesn't depend on me to be making disciples, I am to shape and encourage discipleship amongst my people yet without a movement of the Holy Spirit we remain dead in sin, we remain cut off from God.

Which brings me on to one of my criticisms of the book that i think in some senses Tony Evans has an over realised ecclesiology. He makes the statement that "God designed the church to be the epicentre of culture." I dont think this really represents the church in scripture as constantly under the foot of the Roman authorities, it doesn't represent the view of the church down through the ages when the church has been persecuted mercilessly by culture. To be a Christian is to follow Jesus Christ and to follow Jesus Christ means taking up your cross and following Him. To me the church is fundamentally a counter cultural movement.

To counter this I think that Evans did make a fine point that we need Christians to be Christians wherever they are, in whatever sphere God has called them to serve in.

I would recommend that you read this book for yourself there was much in it that was good and challenging but perhaps read it aware that you may not agree with everything you read in it. To be fair to Evans this book is also part of a wider series that he is producing so without reading the wider series in which other theological nuances can be brought out my criticisms may be unfair.