Dave Gibbons (2)

Rather than celebrating the diversity of God’s created order, the American church has become a source of cultural hegemony and – at times – bigotry. Gibbons is calling for a third-culture church – a church culture that seeks out and celebrates the diversity of cultures. This, the author argues, is at the heart of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan: loving one’s neighbor doesn’t refer to geographic proximity, but loving those who are different from one’s self. A show more third-culture church, therefore, demands liquid leadership – leadership which is characterized by its fluidity, adaptability, and willingness to learn from a variety of sources and cultures. While Gibbons’ big idea is solid, his illustrations and applications fell short of inspiring or motivating this reader. B- show less

Through the lens of third-culture (not them, not us, but a liquid both/and), this book challenges a number of our 'western' constructs and church and how we are on mission. It presents a new way of seeing and doing missions that follows more of Jesus' teaching and less of our 'American dream', which opens us up for God to work in US.

How one church recognized spiritual warfare and the means God provides for victory. People started coming to our church just be be trained in prayer. There was an atmospheric change. You could feel it. When you're more open to the reality of the spiritual realm, you're not just going to see healings and miracles.