Several months ago I saw this book entitled Who Stole My Church? I looked at the title and assumed that it was written by a grumpy old-timer who couldn’t put up with changes in his church. Well, now I’m going to have to get that book and read it. The reason? I just finished reading Going Deep, written by Gordon MacDonald, the same one who wrote Who Stole My Church? Going Deep is a sequel to Who Stole My Church? And if the first one is as good as the sequel, it is a must read!
I must admit, it took me a little while to get into the book. But once I read through the first 40 pages, I was hooked. MacDonald has written a fictional account of a pastor’s ministry in a church, with himself as the pastor. He bases his writing on 50 years of pastoral and teaching ministry.
In Going Deep, MacDonald fleshes out the idea of training a group of followers to “go deep” in their walk with God. There’s enough drama and realism to keep you from saying “yeah, right, as if that’s really going to happen!” in response to the fictional events of the book.
In his writing, MacDonald outlines many great ideas that would be beneficial to any pastor or leader. In fact, I will be looking to apply many of them in some way or another in my ministry context. It’s not so much about the ideas; some ideas won’t work in different contexts. However, the key, it seems to me, is the intentionality. MacDonald, the fictional pastor, was intentional about investing in the lives of a selected few of his congregants. If every pastor and church leader did that, it would have a huge impact in churches all over the world.
Is Going Deep the right book for you to read? Yes, but only if you’re serious about deepening in your faith and deepening the faith of those who are following you.
I received this book for free through the Booksneeze program. I was not required to give a positive review. The views presented here are entirely my own.
Blessings,
David
Seeking to (Re)Understand Truth 