I was immediately intrigued when I was approached about writing a review on this book. The title, Quit Going to Church, caught my attention right away. I read another book a couple of years ago entitled Quitting Church, and wondered if this book was along the same lines. But Bob Hostetler had something different in mind when he wrote Quit Going to Church.
His aim in writing is to shake Christians out of our lethargy. We conduct our lives and our worship without much thought because ‘this is the way we’ve always done it.’ Hostetler invites the reader to reconsider the traditional practices of Christianity and re-evaluates them in light of the teachings of Scripture. Much of what is evaluated comes up short by Hostetler’s standards, which he bases on his understanding of Scripture.
In other words, we are to not do things as we’ve always done them, but take the time to consider how we are to live out our faith in our context. In Hostetler’s words, we need to “quit going to church – and start being the church.” He examines various Christian practices or activities through the same lens: prayer, Bible reading, evangelism, tithing, worship, charity, volunteerism, fellowship, being good, and following God’s will.
Hostetler is successful in his approach, in my mind. However, I have been reading books with similar messages for a few years now, so I was already convinced of the message before reading Quit Going to Church. Some readers who might encounter this message for the first time when picking up this book may remain unconvinced. But there are few books which would be better to begin with. It is well-written, engaging, simple, yet not simplistic.
Pastors would do well to use this book as a resource to begin leading their congregations through re-evaluation of the Christian life and practices. Church members may want to give it as a gift to their pastors – but maybe not just before summer holidays!
Blessings,
David
Seeking to (Re)Understand Truth 