Slow Church

 

Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus 

By C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison (274 pages)

Published by IVP Books

Bookish rating: 3.5

Slow Church is about . .  . wait for it . .  Slow. Church. In an era of church-going that is so, SO focused on growth, growth, growth,  and attracting people and saving them souls, Slow Church is a crucial, corrective approach that resonated with me. Really, I found it quite revolutionary, the more I thought about it.

Although aspects of this book annoyed me—the authors apply their approach to church to the entire global economy, for example, and everything big or capitalistic is BAD—the overarching message is, in my opinion, one that churches need to hear.

What IS slow church? It’s being nestled in your community, addressing needs of the community, and cultivating depth as people spiritually grow, not Growth In Membership. Cultivating community within a particular church allows greater diversity in ages, mindsets, experience, socioeconomic classes, ethnicities, and so on. Bonds are tighter, grace more easily exhibited, hospitality more sincere, growth more organic (egads, that was an awful final phrase).

In our current, small town, I feel more at home than I ever have in a place. I truly didn’t understand what COMMUNITY was until we moved here. I love our town. Then, joining a wee little church dug those roots down further. I’ve never been part of a church that was ALSO where I lived. A half mile away (if that) and we’re there. Our neighbors LITERALLY attend there, too. The church is part of the town, and the town is part of the church. Totally tangled together, but in a good way.

Growing up in a conservatively evangelical church, big programing and ATTRACTING was The Most Important Thing. Like I said, we had to save them souls. We had to drive 30 minutes to get there. Not ideal. Also? A smidge too much like-mindedness across the congregation.

Whatever. I can’t say I regret my parents’ choice, because some of my best friends in the world are from that place. And many amazing people I’m thrilled to have known. But I wanted something different as an adult, something different for my girls.

Like, treating females as something other than current or future baby producers, for starters. And, like, complete beings, not some dude’s gently “complementing” asset.

But I digress.

When I discussed this book with the good pastor of our wee church, he pointed out the danger of seeing things as too binary—that our way (small, quaint, etc.) as The Right Way and everything else = bad McDonaldization of church and icky (and you KNOW they have contemporary praise songs on Sunday mornings, amirite?). I think he’s right. It’s a pompous way of thinking and good for no one.

Slow Church, while not a perfect book and a bit on the repetitive side, gives a lot to consider. Recommended.