by Gordon MacDonald
Question: Am I reading a lost novel from the Mitford series, or a theological book on Jesus' model for discipleship?
Answer: A bit of both.
"Going Deep" chronicles in detail, perhaps too much detail, the emergence of the "CDP" (Cultivating Deep People) ministry in a New England church. From the conversation which sets the "great idea" in motion, through it's implantation, on to it's first year, the story is told of a congregation seeking to raise up and train the next generation of leaders. Great attention is paid to the conversations between pastor and wife (Gordon and Gail), church Elders, and other leaders in the church, giving the reader a window into the relational dynamics throughout the process. And let me add, it is quite the process!
I had a chance one year ago (December 2010) to spend a day with Gordon MacDonald at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Il. For not entirely explainable reasons I was invited to participate in an international pastors gathering called "Partnering to Prevail." (We'll just call it a God-thing.) After spending a day with Gordon (do I get to call him Gordon because I sat in a room with him?) I like him.
It's amazing how just one interaction can win a person over. I was pre-disposed to like this book. I wanted it to hit a home-run (note the oft-used baseball references in his book.). But I'm torn. Perhaps it's very nature of the book, standing between forms. Is that trying to be postmodern? Does anyone call anything post modern anymore?
For me it was problematic. Most of the time I wanted Gordon to get on with the teaching. I was wading through the details of the story, trying to keep mental track of the dates and characters, anticipating the next important bit of insight. But still there was something comforting in this narrative as a pastor. There were moments when I did enjoy reading through the details of the process. But mostly I wanted him to get on with it!
For example, the entry dated "September 16: The First Summer," is a wonderful piece of cultural exposition on the rabbinic tradition modelled in the life of Jesus. Here the narrative nature worked as numerous elements in the ministry of Jesus were drawn together in way that open the scriptures for my own reading and study. But too often I found myself skimming the short entries, or chapters, looking for those gems of insight. They were good, but I had to do too much digging.
So, if you want read a novel that will, in the end, provide you a good theological and practical construct for a model of discipleship in the church, you should enjoy "Going Deep." But if you just want the theology and the construct, look elsewhere.
Book Description
The future of the Christian faith will not be determined by the number of people who fill the pews but by the spiritual depth of those people.
Pastor Gordon MacDonald revisits the fictional New England congregation of his critically acclaimed book Who Stole My Church to deal with a new dilemma: What's his church's story? What is it doing that justifies its existence? The importance of these questions is anything but fiction.
Through a series of e-mails and discussions with friends and parishioners, Pastor Gordon's search for their story leads him to realize that the future of the Christian faith, and thus the church, is at risk. As MacDonald says, "We seem to know how to get unchurched people to visit our buildings. We even seem to know how to draw them across the line into a declaration of personal faith in Jesus. But what we do not seem to know is how to cultivate spiritually deep people. Tomorrow's church could be headed for trouble."
Deep people. People who possess spiritual awareness and maturity, people with solid, grounded, life-altering faith. MacDonald shows that the church needs people with a passion for God's presence and a desperate hunger to seek him above all things.
Join Pastor MacDonald and his congregation on their quest to cultivate spiritual depth and grow into a community of believers whose hearts and minds are truly focused on God.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
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