(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars)
Karen's review of 5/30/19:
When our Sr. Pastoral candidate said if he were called to be our Senior Pastor at Parma Heights Baptist Church, Who Stole My Church? by Gordon MacDonald would be required reading, I went home and ordered it from the library. In an introductory meeting with the leadership of the church, one of the questions asked of him was what book other than the Bible has had an influence on your life. His answer was Who Stole My Church?.
This is a thought-provoking fiction book about a typical congregation of a few hundred people in New England and a Pastor who wants to make changes to reach more people for Christ. An older segment of people in the church oppose spending lots of money on upgrading a sound system in the sanctuary, feel as though everything revolves around the young people, miss singing the old hymns and feel like they are in a war fighting to keep their church the way it’s always been. The pastor and his wife are based on the author’s real experiences. In the book, the Pastor creates a small group of 15 seniors who are core people in the church to meet once a week to discover their church and to understand why many things about the way they have made church work must change and reflect new realities. It is about how people face change when it threatens their comfort zone.
I thought the beginning was pretty dull when it discussed the importance of loving the church, but things picked up. I liked how easily I could relate to those in the Discovery Group and can see why our Pastoral candidate (who has accepted the call by the way to become our Sr. Pastor) recommended we read this book. It showed why changes are necessary and how both the young and older generations need to understand each other in order to work together towards a common goal—reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I found the history of music chapter very interesting and whenever it mentioned a hymn, I would start singing or humming it! This is a book that definitely challenges some introspection and made me see things a bit differently when I was done. I too would recommend it to anyone who is involved in a church that is interested in seeing their church grow and reach the younger generation with the gospel. (4 stars)
Teaser from page 113: “Does all the music we love have to be thrown out the window just because the young people want something different?” Lillian asked. “Isn’t there anyplace for the music we grew up loving?”
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