Product Description

What would you do if you met someone you thought just might be one of Jesus’ original disciples still living in the 21st Century? That’s Jake’s dilemma as he meets a man who talks of Jesus as if he had known him personally. This is Jake’s compelling journal that chronicles thirteen conversations with his newfound friend over a four-year period and how those exchanges turn Jake’s world upside-down. With his help, Jake faces his darkest fears, struggles through brutal circumstances and comes out on the other side in the joy and freedom he always dreamed was possible.

Compelling and intensely personal, SO YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE relates a man’s rebirth from performance based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ. Any Christian who has felt deep frustration with the church will be uplifted by SO YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4052 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 191 pages

About the Author
Formerly a pastor and a contributing editor to Leadership Journal, Wayne Jacobsen has written numerous books on Christianity. Dave Coleman is a retired hospice chaplain who continues to teach and counsel people.

Customer Reviews

A page-turner that packs a punch
I confess to being more than a little sceptical when I started reading this book. I have an aversion to religious jargon and there's a fair helping of it in here ("relational" etc). There are also some blind spots when it comes to making inferences from Scripture. For example, the clear emphasis in the New Testament (in the life of Jesus, the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul's epistles) on the power and importance of both teaching and preaching, is somehow overlooked. My impression is that the NT account presents personal discipleship/fraternal fellowship as something that complements, rather than substitutes for, the preaching of the word. Despite these reservations, the book has had a profound impact, clarifying and reinforcing my views in some respects, and thoroughly challenging them in others. I find it hard to think of a book that has so effectively and effortlessly communicated complex and nuanced issues about the interplay of church life, personal discipleship and grand issues like purpose, suffering and service. OK, so it's a bit corny in places, but if you can force yourself to persevere with it, there's much to be gleaned from this little gem. Without trying too hard, it offers a radical critique of almost every contemporary mainstream church structure, yet leaves the reader feeling more able than ever to work within those structures without frustration or ambition. I am still marinating in the many implications of the book and plan to read it again more slowly. And by the way, it is a real page-turner! Highly recommended.

A Must Read for all in Ministry!
This book was recommended to me by a friend, who described it as similiar in vain to The Shack (same author)and that it was a fictional story that detailed the journey of a man called Jake who was in ministry, but not experiencing the "Abundant Life" that christ promised. A long the way he meet a man who helps him so much, and he thinks he is the desciple "John". I could not put this book down once I started it, and it was so thought provoking and relivant to so much in the christian walk. I loved the way John always came through with a differnt way of looking at things, and how they made so much sense, yet most times we get bogged down with our weakness to please people and look good. I would recommend this book to anyone, you will enjoy it and grow for having read it. Remember it is fiction...but very close to most peoples experiences in life and especially ministry.

Is This Relevant to my Walk With Jesus?
I purchased this book on the recommendation of a friend, for my wife who was having problems about the Fellowship she was attending. She found it a great help so I read it too. I found it well written and logical and it set the focus of the mind where it should be, which is of course for a Born Again Christian, on Jesus. It is written as the story of a Christian, Jake, who is sold out to Christ but then starts doubting and because of the issues that bother him he begins to wonder if it is all true. Then Jake meets a stranger through an Evangelistic incident and is led along a path by this stranger, John, that makes him a stronger more efficient Christian. John, who has become a good friend, also leads Jake to a place where he begins to work like John and teaches him that it isn't the place where you meet other Christians that matters, it is the way in which you meet. Should be on everyone's shopping list.