Hunter (Christianity Beyond Belief
) sought God in many churches, from the United Methodist Church of his youth through “contemporary fundamentalism” to Vineyard, then emerging churches, and finally the Anglican Church. He discovered that the “genuine Christian spirituality you’ve been dreaming of is possible by repracticing the spiritual routines of church.” Hunter investigates nine church practices—attendance, prelude, doxology, scripture reading, sermons, liturgy, offering, communion, benediction—as “a launching pad to life.” He avoids lengthy theological dissection of each practice, instead sharing how each can point to “real and lasting life in Jesus.” His words ring true for those tired of church as usual, who want to take Jesus outside the doors but aren’t sure why or how. Hunter advocates church for spiritual nourishment, but he’s also about applying church practices to the heart, then flinging open the church doors to help the world. Hunter describes repracticing communion as changing “Eucharist as a noun
to Eucharist as a verb
.” That linguistic transformation exactly conveys his exciting premise for all church practices. (Mar.)
