The Social Church

The Social Church: a Theology of Digital Communication by Justin Wise Moody Publishers, 2014

The Facts: Your church has gone digital. Have you caught up? First email, then instant messenger and MySpace, and now Facebook and Twitter rule the internet. Where once phone calls were the quick way to connect, now it’s text messages. The old ways of communicating simply aren’t as effective any more. Your church needs a vision and a strategy for how to minister to people in the digital space. Justin Wise uses the church’s long history of innovation and visioneering to lay the groundwork to offer a grand vision and strategic steps for pastors to be effective in a digital world.

The Slant: Millennials are “digital natives.” They have never known a non-digital world. Technology is to them as pen and paper were to previous generations. What are churches doing to adjust to this new reality? Justin Wise is experienced in pastoral ministry and helping churches learn to effectively utilize technology to proclaim the name of Jesus. In The Social Church Justin offers more than tips and tricks, though those are included. He offers a biblically grounded explanation of why churches should care about technology and digital communication and ties it to the church’s magnificent history of being communication front-runners (consider, for instance, Martin Luther’s use of the printing press). This book will inspire readers to develop a digital ministry strategy and give them the foundation and education needed to get started.

Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller Dutton, 2013

The Facts: Pastor Tim Keller has a unique ability to answer complex questions about God, theology, philosophy, and life in a way that leaves the reader with a profound understanding of the gospel. He does it again in Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. Nothing presents more anxiety and challenge to faith than suffering. Where does it come from? How can God be good and in control even as evil is all around us? How can a Christian respond with feeling and in faith? Keller answers these difficult questions with his usual clarity, grace, and biblical wisdom.

The Slant: Every pastor faces the problem of evil in some form. Congregants in a time of deep pain are figuring out how to trust God even while believing that he is sovereign over suffering. Most congregants (and many pastors) struggle to find answers that truly satisfy. Tim Keller, starting with a philosophical and worldview base and moving to pastoral counsel and application, offers just the sorts of answers people need. He is not trite, never simplistic, and always biblical. The reader is left with a keen sense of God’s bigness, goodness, and love and a better understanding of how they fit together even when we can’t fully comprehend it.

—Reviews by Barnabas Piper