So, on occasion I get a chance to review books for free (thanks, Speakeasy and Mike Morrell!) and recently I just finished one called Steeple Envy by Vic Cuccia.
For me, this book came at a pretty timely moment. One of the things we are talking about quite a bit as a staff at Suncrest is what it looks like to truly live “on mission” in our world. To approach (what I think is) the same issue from a different angle, how do we really accomplish discipleship? How do we truly mold people into the image of Jesus? After all, that’s the job that Jesus gave his followers right before he left the earth (see Matthew 28:19).
I’m sure it’s because of my heavy background/career in worship programming, but I have a tendency to think of church sometimes as just worship services. I get addicted to the “show” of Sunday morning; making a cool video, teaching a really compelling message, getting caught up in really awesome music (normally accented by lights, colorful backgrounds, and cool presentation). All that stuff’s fine. But the problem is that oftentimes I get caught up in that and I miss Jesus in the midst of it. And he’s kind of important.
I don’t agree with everything Vic says here. Working for a multi-site church, I think he’s being somewhat generalized in some of the things he asserts about the culture and desire of multi-site (for one, it could be argued multi-site is more economical. Instead of building new multi-million dollar buildings to expand, you are meeting in smaller, more modest facilities that already exist or you rent. But I digress). There’s some other stuff in here that made me cringe and think, “I don’t know if I agree with you there, buddy.” But overall, I love Vic’s heart here. I love how he made me think about church way beyond a group of people gathered for an event, but an army of men and women who are living to make a difference in the world as they follow the leading and teaching of Jesus. As a pastor, that’s a needed reminder for me to take my attention, time, and focus off of the “show” and instead to spend it investing in people and investing in things outside of Sunday that are going to make an eternal difference and impact.
(Interested in learning more? Check out the booksite for Steeple Envy here, and the link to Amazon here. You can also follow Vic on Twitter and Facebook.)
Thought. 