REVIEWS
41
Rewilding the Church
Steve Aisthorpe ( St Andrew Press , July 2020 )
144pp , RRP £ 16.99
In spite of its sylvan-style cover , with trees and wildlife surrounding a church , this book is not about grasshoppers in the graveyard or frogs in the font , but about ‘ rewilding ’ the Church along the same lines as rewilding the environment . It ’ s about putting some oomph into our churches and our Christian lives . It addresses any who ‘ have an intense ache … for a profound impact in their communities ’, and it seeks to provide an antidote to churches whose members ‘ cling on to an archaic , monocultural ritual ’. Yes !
The prayer in chapter one , in the name of ‘ the wild Messiah ’, fired me up to put my shoulder to the wheel . The problem I had , however , was finding the wheel . The book is slow to start , and throughout it has lengthy illustrative passages that rather take over from its main purpose . In the course of reading , I now know more than I did about climbing sheer rock-faces , re-introducing white-tailed eagles , paragliding , restoring a country estate , mudflats …. ( this author has had an exciting life ). Interesting though these were , I started to find them tiresome when I wanted to cut to the chase .
The ‘ wheel ’ is there , and my shoulder still longs to connect with it , but I remain vague about how to achieve that . The author makes some excellent and perceptive points about seeking God ’ s will , relishing change and personal growth , simplicity , multiple meetings that ‘ consume too many peoplehours ’, ‘ regulatory complexities ’, and the need for church members to doubt and question . One main piece of advice , though , that many have rewilded by disengaging from ‘ congregational life ’, and have embraced the ‘ invisible church ’ sounds risky . It might be fine if one lives in a community where one can team up with like-minded Christians to fellowship and study , but particularly at a time of pandemic , and also in small rural settlements , it is impracticable . I ’ d love to start rewilding , but I just can ’ t see how . There is some pure gold in the penultimate chapter , but one still has to wade through e-coli , blue whales , Indian balsam and Scottish mink in order to find the excellent advice it offers . Some bullet points would have made all the difference .
Anyone who is frustrated with church life and longing to see Kingdom growth – not in terms of numbers in church , but in Christian action , and God ’ s love reaching out into communities – will benefit from considering what this author has to say . The Church needs this book ; I just wish its message could have been made more succinctly .
Susan Thorne
A published author and long-established Methodist local preacher , passionate about social justice , ecumenism and the environment .
Living with the Psalms
John Bell ( SPCK , March 2020 )
176pp , RRP £ 9.99
There is a delightful page at the start of this book in which John Bell explains what it is and what it is not . It is not a book for experts , nor a commentary , nor a devotional manual . It is one for the general reader , exploring the relevance of the psalms for today and making suggestions about their use .
It is not a long book . There are 17 chapters in 147 pages and then a further few pages with superb questions for study groups to discuss . Although the suggestion is not made , these will also be helpful for individual use .
So , John Bell does not write at length . However , although his writing is uncomplicated , it is also full of deep insights and wisdom . On page after page there are sentences which open up new lines of thought about all the riches to be found in the psalms .
Each chapter explores a different aspect of the Book of Psalms . The first is their Perennial Popularity . Other chapters are about a Vocabulary for Pain and Carefully Avoided Snapshots . The latter explores the different images of God , some feminine , used by the psalmists . Difficulties are not avoided and there is a thoughtful chapter on Psalm 137 which ends with a verse about seizing babies and dashing them against a rock . John Bell begins this chapter with a humorous story from his own experience and , from time to time , he makes other references to his personal life journey .
Living with the Psalms will encourage readers to do just that . It is obvious that John Bell has been doing this for many years and that they are a vital part of his Christian worship and daily discipleship . Many who are seeking to grow in these ways will surely be blessed by this book and find that it is one to which they will want to return again and again .
Preachers who want to speak on the psalms will find rich material here . Perhaps , like this reviewer , they will find themselves asking the question : ‘ Is it because the psalms are such an important wellspring in John ’ s daily life that his reflections and teaching about them are so compelling ?’
Henry Whyte
Active retired vicar enjoying time with family , golf and writing , thankful for ongoing opportunities to preach and to minister .