"Slow Church" by C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison. A Short Review
Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus by C. Christopher Smith My rating: 3 of 5 stars Let's be up front. On one hand this book was disappointing to me, especially the left-of-center positions politically and (sometimes) theologically. On the other hand "Slow Church" scored big points and made great observations! Patterned after the "International Slow Food Movement" model, "Slow Church" takes on the MacDonaldization of "Fast Church" and the homogenization principle of the Church Growth Movement. "Many churches, particularly those driven by church growth models, come dangerously close to reducing Christianity to a commodity that can be packaged, marketed and sold" (14). It's a book meant to challenge assumptions and encourage new/old aspirations. The authors are not advocating moving to the inner city, or to a two-thirds world nation, or voluntary poverty, but rather "we're advocating...tha...