Subversive Kingdom - by Ed Stetzer - Book Review

Subversive Kingdom by Ed Stetzer is available at Amazon.com

This past winter I purchased the Bible study called Subversive Kingdom that was created by Ed Stetzer to use in my church.  This was one of those odd instances where the Bible study hit the streets before the book of the same title did.  I knew from the study that I'd be very interested to read all of the book, so when the chance came along to review it, I jumped on it.  I'm not paid for my review, though I did get my copy for free.  Ed is a big influence on me, but I think that is because what he brings to the table with experience, knowledge, networking and resources puts him in a very unique position to speak clearly into many important areas of Christianity.  This book falls well within that realm of Ed's vast expertise.

In short, the book is about taking the Word of God seriously, and living it out in our every day life.  Not a ground breaking topic, but Ed does a great job of bringing clarity and his own perspective to it.  The book finds a very enjoyable yet challenging place by being both readable yet stretching of my faith to keep growing and going beyond my own personal comfort zone spiritually.

I asked an older lady of great spiritual depth in my church to review the curriculum for the bible study of Subversive Kingdom.  After going through it, she said it was very good, but that she didn't like the idea and terminology of subversion.  She wasn't quite offended, but she wasn't quite comfortable with it.  When I got my hands on the book, I felt somewhat similar, but not because of the terminology but rather because it managed to get the claws of conviction into my hide.  Upon reading the book it became clear to me that the concept of subversion was apt and well worth exploring in the life application of what Ed is talking about in living out our faith in a culture/world where we are spiritually speaking aliens.

Stetzer illustrates how many Christ followers find themselves in a holding pattern in their faith.  A middle ground between what Christ has done on the Cross for us, and Christ's return.  Living in this place of tension should propel us into action as Christians Stetzer believes (and I agree!) rather than find ourselves waiting for whatever happens next.  And as we begin to move forward authentically living out our faith in a culture that has rebelled against God and His ways, we are in a sense ourselves rebelling - "rebelling against rebellion" is how Stetzer phrases it.

While we rebel against the world's rebellion, we are agents of Christian subversion (thus the title) building God's kingdom to the best of our abilities in the here and now with the realization that our work won't be complete until the return of Christ.

The book calls on Christ's parables heavily to make Stetzer's point(s).  Pretty good source material from which to draw from!  The first section of the book (chapters 1-3) are about "A Subversive Way of Thinking."  Matthew 13 plays an important role in this section.  The second section of the book moves us from thinking and Ed building his argument to "A Subversive Way of Life" (chapters 4-7 with some key sections focusing on Matthew 25 & Matthew 5).  This gets to some of the real concrete examples of what Christian subversion might look like in our world today.  The final section caps the book well as we progressed from more of a intellectual/conceptual beginning, to a clear example driven middle, with a get in the game and go out there and do it conclusion section called "A Subversive Plan of Action" (chapters 8-10).

One of the strengths of the book is that Ed addresses this subversive kingdom living from both a personal level as well as a corporate (church) level.  Both are needed, and both are necessary if we are to be about God's kingdom work. 


While there are not a lot of parallels, I was nonetheless constantly reminded of the book "The Monkey Wrench Gang" by Edward Abbey.  Rather than destroying things and creating havoc and pushing for anarchy though, Stetzer's call is for us to move forward disturbing and disrupting people's lives for something far greater than what is in the here and now.  Rather than being destructive, Stetzer's goal is that we are reconstructive.  We don't just want to tear things down, we want to build people back up, restoring their vision of how they are created in God's image, and that to serve Him, and others in Christ's name and for His glory is our highest calling while we breath on this side of the cross.  The world is more broken than we think, but as Christian we cannot pull back and abandon it and hunker down in our spiritual fox holes.  Rather we have to get in the world and meet it where it has need and bring our most powerful weapon wherever we go - Christ.

I think of of the most helpful portions of the book is Stetzer's framing of mission and the Church.  His point is that the church doesn't have a mission, but that God's mission has a church.  I think that order is important, especially in some enclaves of Christianity that are somewhat isolationist in nature.  The Church serves God's mission, not the other way around.  It is a tool God has created for His glory.  Keeping that in mind should help us prioritize what we do individually and corporately as followers of Christ.


I think the book is well worth your time to read and fully recommend it!

A few quotes from the book that resonated with me (there were many more):

The kingdom of God is a radical rejection of every value or point of view that keeps people in bondage to untruth, blinded to Christ's mercy.  -pg. 8

Something is wrong when churches are filled with people who seemingly haven't changed their loyalties.  People who have a religious veneer but live like everyone else.  -pg. 20

The kingdom of God...
  - is informed and initiated by the Word of God
  - is designed to take place in the midst of the world.
  - uses small things to grow big things and impact lives.
  - offers a joy that's otherwise unavailable to the human heart.
      -pg. 47

Every believer has been designed by God to bring Him glory by serving His kingdom agenda.  Each one of us has been given a part in His grand scheme to subvert the broken systems of the world.  - pg. 86

Jesus is unapologetic to connect who you are in Christ with how you live for Christ.  Those things matter.  -pg. 101

Here is reality at ground level:  People who have been deceived into thinking they can successfully map the course of their own destiny, people who are wearing themselves out trying to cobble together a life that's too big to be figured out on their own, people whose greatest need isn't for more money or better job prospects or a couple of lucky breaks - they need Jesus.  -pg. 165

If we are not on this mission (living supremely for the glory of God and what He is doing through His Son in our world), then we must ask ourselves what we're doing here.  Are we just working to make the church a more acceptable place to our friends and neighbors?  Are we looking for a nice place to socialize on Wednesday nights?  Are we turning the spiritual cranks and pulleys because we think the church is supposed to do those things, because we feel better about ourselves when we do them?  -pg. 177

Make your own Pho

My wife loves Pho (pronounced "fa").  Below is a video describing the prep to make it.  Not hard, but lengthy prep.

Countryside Ministry

Pastors go to great lengths to connect with their communities. How about pitching in at a milking parlor at 4 a.m., or turning an old grain mill into a teen and tween hangout? Those are exactly the types of efforts you will read about in Rhonda Sholar’s article, “Rural Outreach From the Inside Out.” Sholar states that “part of being a church in any setting is identifying the marginalized in the community and responding to their needs.” That is why rural pastors are reaching out by rolling up their sleeves to help on the farm, hosting a backyard carnival at the church, and finding ways to be the community’s support center in an economic downturn. These types of environments draw people in to want to know Christ and experience the love of the church.

(from Thriving Pastor)

Ed Stetzer speaking to the NACCC Annual Meeting 2012

This past June I had the blessing of spending parts of three days with Ed Stetzer. I had been lobbying the NACCC for a couple of years on our need to bring Ed in as a guest speaker for our annual meeting. Needless to say, Ed did NOT disappoint. Within minutes you could hear a pin drop in the room, and he kept on bringing exactly what we needed to hear - beginning to end.



CCD Presentation with Ed Stetzer 2012 from Rebecca Moore on Vimeo.


If you are reading this and considering bringing Ed Stetzer in to speak at your event, I'd gladly share with you our experience (which was fantastic!) - shoot me an email or call me & we'll connect.

Churches to watch in Minnesota

Below is a list of some of the fastest growing and largest churches in Minnesota with Eagle Brook Church leading the way for Minnesota.

MINNESOTA

1. Bethlehem Baptist Church (Minneapolis, MN) :: John Piper >> 10G 07I 06I 05I
2. Church of the Open Door (Maple Grove, MN) :: David Johnson >> 07V 04G
3. Eagle Brook Church (White Bear Lake, MN) :: Bob Merritt >> 11G 11S 10S 09G 09S 08G 08S 07S 06G 06S 05G
4. Emmanuel Christian Center (Minneapolis, MN) :: Mark Denyes >> 05G
5. Friendship Church (Prior Lake, MN) :: Doyle Van Gelder >> 05G
6. Grace Church (Eden Prairie, MN) ::  >> 04G
7. Grace Fellowship (Brooklyn Park, MN) :: Dave Reno >> 07P
8. Hosanna Lutheran Church (Lakeville, MN) :: Bill Bohline >> 05G
9. Living Word Christian Center (Brooklyn Park, MN) :: Mac Hammond >> 10S 06G 06S
10. New Hope Church (New Hope, MN) :: Stephen Goold >> 09G
11. River Valley Church (Apple Valley, MN) :: Rob Ketterling >> 11G 10G 09G
12. Substance Church (Roseville, MN) :: Peter Haas >> 10G
13. The Sanctuary Covenant Church (Minneapolis, MN) :: Efrem Smith >> 08V
14. Wooddale Church (Eden Prarie, MN) :: Leith Anderson >> 07I 06I 05I 04G
15. Woodland Hills Church (Maplewood, MN) :: Greg Boyd >> 05G 04G

Numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 15 are all part of the former Baptist General Conference (BGC) that is now known as Converge World Wide.

All the churches would fit into the definition of evangelical churches, with #9 leaning toward Word of Faith and #8 with mainstream roots.

At least 6 of the listed churches are multi-site churches.

Also of note - both John Piper (#1) and Leith Anderson (#14) have stepped down from their weekly preaching roles in these churches.  Piper continues on in some different ministries related to the church (a college/seminary & conference speaking).


Referenced Lists

1. 11G = Outreach magazine’s 2011 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
2. 11S = Outreach magazine’s 2011 100 Largest U.S. Churches
3. 10G = Outreach magazine’s 2010 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
4. 10S = Outreach magazine’s 2010 100 Largest U.S. Churches
5. 09G = Outreach magazine’s 2009 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
6. 09S = Outreach magazine’s 2009 100 Largest U.S. Churches
7. 08V = Outreach magazine’s 2008 America’s 25 Most Innovative Churches
8. 08G = Outreach magazine’s 2008 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
9. 08S = Outreach magazine’s 2008 103 Largest U.S. Churches
10. 07V = Outreach magazine’s 2007 America’s 25 Most Innovative Churches
11. 07G = Outreach magazine’s 2007 101 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
12. 07S = Outreach magazine’s 2007 100 Largest U.S. Churches
13. 07I = The Church Report’s 2007 50 Most Influential Churches
14. 07P = Outreach magazine’s 2007 America’s Top 25 Multiplying Churches
15. 06G = Outreach magazine’s 2006 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
16. 06S = Outreach magazine’s 2006 100 Largest U.S. Churches
17. 06I = The Church Report’s 2006 50 Most Influential Churches
18. 05G = Outreach magazine’s 2005 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches
19. 05I = The Church Report’s 2005 50 Most Influential Churches
20. 04G = Outreach magazine’s 2004 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. Churches

 For a full list visit Kent Shaffer's blog - Church Relevance.