Saturday, October 21, 2017

A Review of "The Gospel of John: Church and Culture in Conflict"

The Gospel of John: Church and Culture in ConflictThe Gospel of John: Church and Culture in Conflict by Gregg Knepp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Five Big Stars!!!
Disclaimer—I served under Pastor Gregg as a Vicar at St. John’s Pimlico, so I’m biased.
I can’t say enough good things about Pastor Gregg’s book “The Gospel of John: Church and Culture in Conflict”.
This book reads the Gospel of John in light of Pastor Gregg’s experiences as, essentially, a Lutheran Human Shield in El Salvador, his time serving at St. John’s in NW Baltimore, and his experience as a parent of both biological and adopted kids. This book will give you an “in” into the head and heart of a very faithful Pastor.
I first read it devotionally, it reminded me of why I got into this business in the first place, the nuances of faith lived in the world as it is, it both convicted me and convinced me to be a better Pastor of the congregation I serve.
I am now using it as the main resource for a bible study on the Gospel of John. It is really helpful. I’ve been looking at scripture with this same crew of people every Thursday for 6 years, and Pastor Gregg’s book has brought us to a much deeper place of discussion than we’ve ever been at!
So, if you are clergy in need of a rerooting of your ministry, buy this book. If you are leading a Bible Study or book club, or want to, buy this book. For that matter, if you’re a skeptic or burnt out on church and church folk—this book is the real deal, not going to say it’ll convert you, but it’ll remind you why Christianity and Christian ain’t all bad, in fact at our best we’re pretty damn good!


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