Lawrence J. Crabb (1944–2021)

Not being familiar with the author I wasn't sure what to expect, but was motivated to read it by Philip Yancey's recommendation on the front cover. I am so glad I read it! This is not a book for those who still want to view God as their genie in a bottle or those looking for a "feel good" comfort read. It is heart-breakingly honest and in your face with a message of a holy God whose chief aim is not our "happiness" as we've come to define it in the USA, but rather a real and honest show more relationship with Him where He is firmly in control and we completely depend on Him alone. For those yearning for a deeper walk and experience with God, this is the book for you! I am so thankful Waterbrook Press had the courage and insight to publish a book that flies in the face of a "bless me" theology, and to encourage believers toward a richer spirituality. I will definitely be reading more of Dr. Crabb's work. show less

Most books, in one way or another, are about giving answers.

Not so with Larry Crabb’s new book Real Church. It doesn’t give answers as much as it asks questions. Good questions, important questions, about the nature of what Jesus envisions the church to be. The kinds of questions that are rarely asked nowadays in the evangelical church, mainly because we assume we’ve already got those questions answered, and the questions we concern ourselves with now are about how to do everything we show more are already doing better. We ask “One service or two? Contemporary or traditional? Sunday School or small groups?”

This book, however, is about entirely different questions, questions that go much deeper: “Why are mature people who love God drifting away from church? Why do people who have little commitment to Christ enjoying church, and why are they not growing? Why is it not enough for a church to call people to belief in Christ and to lead moral lives? What are the marks of a church that creates people & community that are truly supernatural?”

In his preface, Larry himself writes:

What church would compel me to attend? What kind of church service would I hate to miss? What church would I feel privileged to be part of? I had a hard time coming up with an answer. So I decided to think more about it. I think best with a pen in my hand. Hence this little book.

By the end of the book, he hasn’t come up with pat answers, but he has asked some penetrating questions (in fact, twelve of the chapter titles are questions, such as “So What Is It that Makes a Gathering a Church?” and “It Will Offer Salvation and Help for Righteous Living: Is that the Deep Change God Wants?”).

Larry does, however, lay out four marks of a church that he would want to be part of:

1. Understands and encourages dynamic, transformative Biblical truth
2. Understands and encourages spiritual formation
3. Understands and encourages spiritual community
4. Is energized to do the missional work of the Kingdom

So, what did I get out of this book? Besides taking a ton of notes & quotes, Real Church gave me new perspectives and categories to think through what it truly means to “do church,” as well as my own private spiritual formation. If you want to think seriously about the church and the Kingdom then read this book. show less

I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program and I wasn't that excited. I find many Christian self-help books to be formulaic and oversimplified. Might I also point out that Christian self-help is a moronic classification since Christianity is all about Christ working in people unable to save themselves. So it was with great trepidation that I cracked open the cover and read the Author's Note and Introduction. "Not bad," I thought, "but I don't hold out much hope for show more the rest."

The rest blew me away. It was the antithesis of self-help, the flip side of the prosperity gospel, the inverse of American Christianity. There are no steps to follow. There is simply an attitude shift and a different view of problems. This is not a way to become happy but a way to find God.

It reminded me of Revelations 3:17,18 - "Because you say, 'I am rich and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see."

Ten out of ten bookmarks.

http://toomanybooknotenoughtime.blogspot.com/ show less

Larry Crabb has a gift for putting words to the bottomless ache in our hearts. Few authors so eloquently draw us to the heart of the Lord and our thirst for Him. Drawing from Naomi’s story in the Old Testament book of Ruth, Crabb invites us to discover God’s lavish blessings, discovered only through suffering in “Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Pathway to Joy”. Crabb’s seasoned years as a psychologist and his unique perspective shed new light on this beloved Bible story as we show more follow Naomi through the deaths of her husband and sons, to a journey back home with a foreign daughter-in-law, and finally to the end of her life as she reflects on all God has done for her. From her story’s tragic beginning (Ruth 1:3 – 5) to its surprise ending (Ruth 4:16 and 17), Crabb paints a picture of a woman plagued by doubts, anger and grief but whose patient waiting on the Lord produced blessings she never would have imagined.

Dr. Crabb turns conventional prosperity wisdom upside down when he clearly articulates where our true hope, our greatest dream, lies―in our desire for relationship with God. While Earthly blessings are given to us by God to enjoy, Crabb argues that “when lesser dreams reliably come true, we have a hard time appreciating greater dreams.” He also adeptly describes the slippery slope into addiction, which thwarts the function of sorrow: "to carry us into the inner recesses of our being that wants God. ” By succumbing to the promise of temporary relief, “we experience lesser desires as needs and devote our energy to arranging for their satisfaction.” How we miss out on God’s joy for us on Earth when we pursue the avoidance of suffering!

While the idea of suffering on the path to joy wasn’t new to me, this author doesn’t focus on platitudes that attempt to ease our burdens as we walk this fallen planet. Crabb’s brutal honesty took my breath away at times, but I was grateful for his biblical realism and the focus on our hope to come, a day when God shall wipe all tears from [our] eyes” (Revelation 21:4).

As eloquent as this author can be, there are times when his writing is clunky and his points are unclear (i.e. “Confidence in God is not best described as a pleasant emotional experience.” Okay. What is it “best described as”?). In addition, there were some enormous editing errors in “Shattered Dreams” that frustrated the flow; at one point I re-read the exact same page and a half thinking I was have a déjà-vu experience (pages 137 – 139).

I have followed Larry Crabb’s work for years. And though he seems to have an unusually piercing way of describing our separation from God and the subsequent pursuit of empty wells, Crabb’s philosophy always seemed to have a void that I couldn’t articulate until I read this book. He boldly touts the necessity of Christian community, while seemingly ignoring the call of the Great Commission. Indeed, he writes of his dream for a “revolution that creates a community of broken people united not by their problems or diagnosis but by their hunger for God.” While I believe there is immeasurable value in relationship with other Jesus followers, Crabb seldom is able to translate his passion for God beyond the safe harbor of other believers. In this particular work, he never mentions Jesus’ call to pour our lives as a sacrifice into the poor, the weak, the hungry, the thirsty, the orphaned and widowed as an expression of our worship and love for our Heavenly Father. We are called to share in His suffering this way. Crabb doesn't seem to recognize the value of suffering as a catalyst in reaching the lost either. Such theology leaves a bad taste in my mouth…as if our purpose on Earth is only to love and be loved others who are just like us.

Despite my misgivings, this re-lease of Crabb’s 2002 work gave me a clearer picture of God’s love for me, especially in the midst of my tragedy. With ten years of additional living under his belt, he includes a touching “Author’s Note” at the beginning of the book and also an epilogue outlining his newest not-for-profit endeavor, “New Way Ministries”. With an included 100-page eight-week workbook, this book will help you “in a practical and carefully reflective way―to look through life’s disappointments and tragedies and to see, as never before, just how lavishly God is blessing you.” Be challenged to discover the joy of the Lord in your deepest struggles! show less