From time to time I would like to offer some simple thoughts about books that I have read.  I love reading! Obviously some books are better than others, but I always seem to glean something from the books I read. Typically I read books that have been recommended by others and always seem to have 7 or 8 books in waiting… Anyway, if I can pique your interest about a book or two, great! If I can save you some time on reading a book that turned out to be a dud, better still!

Last Friday while traveling to preach a stewardship banquet in Tulsa, OK for my good friend Troy Dorrell (www.pastordorrell.com), I read the book, The Church of Irresistible Influence. By many standards, Robert Lewis was a successful pastor of a large, growing church in Little Rock, Ark. Yet he realized that people–good, grounded, discipled people–were growing stale in the ministry. Although they were involved as workers, teachers, ushers, etc., they were missing out on something. Add to this the fact that, although the church had grown to a substantial size, the city reamained relatively ignorant of the church’s presence among them. Coupling these concerns and seeking the Lord’s help for solutions, Pastor Lewis decided that his church was simply not the model of the dynamic chuches of the first century. It was not effectively influential as salt and light upon his community.

Lewis coined the abbreviation i2 (the “2″ is actually supposed to look like i squared, but I can’t figure out how to do that on my keyboard!) Anyway, he radically reconsidered the way by which his church was structured and assured that his people would be ultimately steered toward what he calls “common cause”–or, the using of one’s gifts to invlove oneself in and thereby be an influence upon the community around him. The process included discipleship and a more intensive approach to gift discovery and utilization. As a result, the church is making a real difference in the lives of its people on many fronts including mentoring programs, community projects, volunteer tutoring in the public school system, and many other similar projects.

At first glance it appeared to be a warmed-over approach to a social gospel–this is wasn’t–and you’ll have to read the book to see the distinction. Although I did not agree with some of the ways by which he encourages members to be involved in the community (I thought them to be a bit too ecumenical), I certainly came away with a renewed awareness as to the need for our church to be more actively, purposefully, and visibly involved in our community in ways that perceptibly(the community’s perception) benefit them. After all, didn’t the Lord often address physical and relational needs as a bridge to segue into spiritual needs?

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