Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens

by Neil Cole, Leonard Sweet (Foreword by)

Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members - revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren't being reached, who don't want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God's presence in our hearts is what changes us. Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God's Word. According to international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed - restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms,and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.

Genres: Church, Christian, Faith, Nonfiction, Theology, Leadership, Discipleship

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Neil Cole was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. While studying at CSULB he encountered the Good News of Jesus Christ and turned his life over to Him, never looking back. His journey in God's kingdom brought him to serve in a mega church, a local community church and now small rapidly multiplying organic churches that meet in homes, campuses and places of business all over the world. Neil travels around the world sowing the seeds of God's kingdom, catalyzing the development of organic church networks and coaching leaders. He has been married for over 26 years to Dana and has three adult children--Heather, Erin and Zach.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made a note on the very first page of this book, the preface: "Remember when references to the Matrix were edgy?" This is because the author begins with a few pages on that scene from the Matrix where Neo has a choice between blue and red pills and...well, if you went to church between 1999-2005 you certainly heard an illustration about it.

Early on in the book there was a reference to the Lord of the Rings films. Then Braveheart made the trifecta! I suspect it was required for Christian books published in the early 2000s to refer to at least two of these movies. To get all three guaranteed readership!

This isn't a bad book. Its pretty helpful and thought provoking actually. But there were a number of things that just irritated me about it. The cliched movie references were a relatively minor one. I mean, pulling illustrations from The Matrix and Lord of the Rings is easy, but its hardly a fault to hold against the writer.

Other problems:

1. Historical errors - He notes that there were no church buildings in the first three-hundred years plus (p. 37). Wrong. The church building Dura-Europas dates from the 200s. Later he says the minimum population of a village in Judea (or Galilee, he's not clear) was 15,000 people. Minimum? For a village in the first century? The reference is to the MacArthur Bible Commentary who cites Josephus. Any amateur historian knows Josephus cannot be taken at face value and a quick search shows historians doubt that number.

2. Theological Unclarity - I'm not sure how to put this. I am actually okay with theological unclarity, I mean, if we're talking about God we need to be a little humble. He consistently rails against the church in the West (and in Japan and other places). Within this he argues we have not relied enough on the Holy Spirit. But then he says churches are not effective because of the people. I know this is a question that's been debated for a while, but it struck me that it needs a bit more clarity if he's going to bring it up. Can't the Spirit work if God wants to? Is it the people being ineffective who are at fault? But wouldn't people working harder then give them credit and not the Spirit? It just seems that if he's going to attack the church he ought to be a bit more clear in how he thinks the Spirit and the humans work together. Somewhat ironically, after spending hundreds of pages saying what's wrong with the church he at one point warns we ought not attack the church.

3. Anti-Science? He seems to write as if any problem a person has will be solved by becoming a Christian. At one point he speaks of a man who is "addicted" to drugs and the problem is this man had no "accountability." He writes as if people suffering addiction are just choosing poorly. I wonder if he has any understanding of addiction? I want to believe God can free people from addiction, but it also seems clear that lots of Christians struggle with lots of things. He writes as if just having faith will free you from whatever. Addicted to drugs? Trust Jesus. Alcoholic? Turn to God. Gay? God will free you. Maybe I have little faith, but I just don't see this. And the deeper problem is that in the end you sort of blame the victim, if someone is still addicted its their fault.

4. On page 125 he says "as someone once said..." Who? In what context? It is small, but this just irritated me.

5. He also argues that people just need to read the Bible more. This goes to the theological unclarity of the whole thing - is the Word of God scripture or Jesus? Beyond that, is his program going to work in a world where people have access to information? I mean, I am all for people reading the Bible. But the Bible is sort of a mess: violence is endorsed, as is slavery. Women are often seen as second-class citizens. How do we know what to do with those passages? For all the faults there are in hierarchical churches, there is equal danger in anti-intellectualism. Further, we've seen the fragmenting that comes when people read the Bible differently and create different denominations. Again, as a non-Catholic I see much good in the Protestant Reformation but I would be wrong not to see the problems. People should just read the Bible? How did that work out for those early Anabaptists in Munster, Germany around 1530?

Overall, this is a good book that could have been great. There is so much here I resonated with and am challenged by. I think decentralized church is great. Lots of money is wasted on programs and people have power to change the world. Despite everything I have written, I am thinking more about the positives then the negatives. I am thinking more about how to apply the good here to my campus ministry and my church. But those negatives make me unable to unquestionably recommend this book to people.

But hey, I bet the Matrix and Lord of the Rings references were enough to overlook any faults in 2005!

[Brian Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Cole rethinks the way we've been doing traditional church. With years of church planting experience, he convincingly show us how to overcome the pitfalls of institutional church by using an organic church model. As he pointedly says, "We want to lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple."

The way we do church has become so complex that is time to refocus our efforts to fulfill Jesus' simple command, "Go and make disciples." He demonstrates how "the oikos" (household) is the most fertile ground for evangelism and discipleship. He even expands the oikos to include places like coffee houses, workplaces, bars, and 12-step programs. In other words, the most fertile ground for the light of the Gospel is where there is the most darkness.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to a different way of doing the Christian life. Cole brought me back to the biblical roots - the New Testament Church. The apostles weren’t perfect, but they lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls me to do the same - not just go to church every Sunday and agree with Him, but actually live the way He did.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in 2006 according to some notes I made at the time. Or at least I read some of it. The notes top around page 99, which means I may just not have made any more notes.
I seem to have found some good things in it.

[Jordan Shirkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, encouraging, practical and very funny along the way. A visionary introduction to the organic/house church model.

[Ánder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book challenging the way Christians understand the concept of church today. The book is extremely simple and without being pretentious it challenges the readers to focus on establishing significant relationships with people around and, by doing so, to share the Christian message of love, fellowship and renewal in Christ. Cole advocates for a church that is formed by people who have witnessed the power of Christ first-hand, and not for an institution or organization that creates inflexible requisites and structures for those who want to become Christians.

PROS: A fresh book that reminds the reader of the nature of the Church in the New Testament and the obvious and significant departure modern-day churches have taken from that model. The content is backed-up by Cole's extensive experience and fruitful ministry; he speaks out of experience with vibrant testimonies and recognition of the way in which his ideas on church growth have changed as time passes by.

CONS: The book makes extensive use of movies and books as illustrations of the points presented. Sadly, these are clearly Western (from the U.S. particularly) and readers from other context (particularly Asians and Africans) may no find these illustrations familiar. A more serious issue, however, is Cole's radicality with what he calls "the bad soil." For Cole there are certain people that are not really worthy of investing time in them. Instead, he proposes to dedicate that time in the "good soil" the rejected, oppressed and poor people. Though his argument is well presented, I personally am not totally sold into the idea of giving up on someone, if I were the one on that position, I would not like others to leave me to go after the "good soil."

CONCLUSION: This is seriously a must-read for all Christians. Cole is not shy in raising the concerns that any person in modern Christianity has surely had. Even those wholeheartedly committed to denominationalism and traditional ecclesiastic systems will find the reading enriching and able to broaden their perspective. Even those who are not Christians can read this book and understand why Christianity has been so revolutionary from the time of Jesus until now. If you ever wondered how would Christianity look like independent from denominational structures, this book is a good starting point.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a certain sort of book written by someone who has had great success in their field, but who is not necessarily the best teacher. I like these books because there are going to be some truly valuable insights of the type that you can only get from a true practitioner, and because they always have some great stories to tell.

This is certainly true of Organic Church, and I'm glad I read it for those reasons. I was inspired and entertained, and the stories he shared of people discovering Jesus through a local house church were really awesome. And there are also some genuine insights into modern church culture that were worth hearing.

On the other hand, I have two major knocks on the book:

1. Cole comes across as though he has a chip on his shoulder towards traditional church. I just don't like running across that sort of thing because (1) none of us would be Christians were it not for the church and (2) it's hard to trust someone's teaching when they seem to have such an obvious bias.

2. I just didn't like his way of proving his points, in spite of the fact that I found myself largely in agreement with his conclusions. For instance, he regularly employed two types of arguments that I really hate. The first is the argument of the following form:

A1: bold statement
A2: several scripture verses that are consistent with A1 but don't really prove it.
A3: See, A1 is scriptural, how are you guys missing this?

Or alternatively, the second form of argument:

A1: some aspect of life (esp. church life).
A2: extended metaphor for A1
A3: because x is true of the metaphor, it is also true of A1.

Both of those types of arguments drive me crazy. There's just way too much wiggle room which will allow you to always come up with an argument to support your predetermined conclusion. Even when I mostly agree with the conclusion this irresponsible style of argument drives. me. crazy.

In sum, I kept feeling as I was reading it that there are things worth saying here, but surely someone somewhere else has said them better?

[Paul, · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this take on how church should be done.

My favorite quote:
After spending 3 years personally training His disciples, Jesus told them to wait in the upper room behind close doors and not even think of going out until the Helper came. (p. 52)

[Cal Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neil Cole puts forward an argument for Christians, particularly in an American context, to return to the simpler, more reproducible new testament church that provides fertile ground for the seed of the Gospel to once again begin producing church movements. He begins by claiming that the church has moved from the offensive posture to the defensive posture and that Jesus is not present in a lot of the American Church. He wants to restore the zombie bride of Christ back to life. Cole then goes into defining the nature of the church by arguing that it is organic, or naturally grows and reproduces, and at its core is a group of at least two people joined together by the seed message of the Biblical Gospel. He wants to see the church remain simple and stripped down do just what is necessary so that it can reproduce rapidly like an epidemic.He ends the book by giving many examples of this simple form of church, that can be reproduced by anyone, working and changing lives in the real world and calling his reader to a life of true significance.
There is much in this book that can be helpful, especially in a missional context. In general, the American church does need a kick in the butt to return to the offensive. We have, in many churches, left the task of evangelism and radical outreach to the professionals. We do need to “decentralize” as individuals and as whole churches as we look outward to plant more and more churches. With a more simple church model, the idea of planting new churches would seem more manageable for more people and would require less resources. Cole has also tapped into our culture’s great desire for true community which his simple and intimate church gatherings provide which, in my opinion, is one reason he has found such success in his church planting model. I also respect the boldness of evangelizing the true margins of societies, a practice that smells of Jesus but looks like dangerous stupidity to much of the watching world. However, there are many ideas in this book that I would strongly push back against. First of all, Cole never gives a good or fair defense of the traditional church model thus putting the reader immediately on the defensive and leaving the reader wondering about which church model exactly is he condemning. He seems to say we need to leave the whole of the American Church behind to pursue his model of church. Furthemore, Cole says, ”I sought to have all my traditional understandings sifted in the light of God’s word, seperate from cultural bias, historical traditions, and my own experience.“ Claiming to view anything without any bias is bold and refusing to look at historical traditions is arrogant. I agree that we need to reform the church where necessary but to reject any historical basis for church fails to learn from the many great saints who have come before us. He would affirm doctrinal orthodoxy, why not ecclesiology orthodoxy? Cole also repeatedly says that their movement rejects curriculum and instead wants the Holy Spirit to be the teacher. This idea sounds spiritual but again shows an arrogance that is unwilling to learn from those who went before you, like Timothy learned from his mom and grandma. There are other interpretive errors I think Cole falls into and passages he chooses to neglect. For example, Paul speaks often of training others and did so extensively in Ephesus. When Paul writes to Rome, we see him mention 26 people by name. Surely this was not the full church but even this 26 number is a church size that Cole would likely be uncomfortable with. I could go on, but overall I think Cole potentially lacks a church structure and planting movement that fosters deep robust theology that moves its members from milk to solid food.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens
Summary:
Organic Church by Neil Cole is an excellent book written by a man who was supposed to be a terrible church planter, but turned out to be the one who initiated a church planting movement that has started hundreds of churches all throughout the world. Evidently, God really does use the ordinary and unlikely!
It seems as though his book is a response to traditional church leaders who have found that their churches just aren’t “working” like they should. More exciting churches and church programs are still missing a majority of the population who doesn’t care for or trust “the church”. Although the book does not speak against or throw away the traditional church model per say, Cole is offering a solution to the dilemmas churches are facing with reaching the lost world and even transforming the lives of those already in the church.
The title of the book, Organic Church, helps to explain the concept that churches are best built “organically, like small spiritual families born out of the soil of lostness, because the seed of God’s Kingdom was planted there. (xxvi)” These churches would then sprout new churches automatically, on their own, without the big budgets and planning that usually go into such a thing. Just hearing this, many people would say, “but how would you create a church so quickly, without financial resources, a preacher, and a bulletin?” Mr. Cole answers this question rather simply, but in detail throughout the pages of the book.
Although this is not the authors outline, in trying to summarize how I understand the book, I would say that the first thing Cole wants us to understand is that Christ calls us, all of us, as believers, to reach out to the lost, the hurting, and the soul-sick people we come into contact with every day. We must reach out with a message of hope and salvation especially to those that we may not normally even want to talk to. Sometimes the scariest people have the best soil because their lives are so full of fertilizer! As believers, we must understand that the Great Commission was not a commission to invite people to our church building and hear the preacher; rather, it was a commission to go to the lost and tell them about Jesus. Most often, the opportunity to tell the lost about Jesus comes from building simple relationships with people in the coffee shop, at school, at work, a restaurant, or wherever we can interact with the lost on a consistent basis. Through relationships, and through living a consistent Christian life in front of non-Christians, believers will have the opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus with people. As people believe, they should seek baptism quickly, and then seek to be missional themselves as quickly as possible...telling others about Jesus, even as a new convert. This immediate work strengthens the resolve of new believers and gives them instant and trusted access to their circle of family and friends who may not be believers. New believers should then be encouraged to start a church in their own homes with even one or two others, hopefully also new believers, where the church can pray together, worship together, sing together, and read scripture together. Over time, as this church grows in someone’s home, people are encouraged to plant their own churches with new believers they then teach, baptize, and mentor. Thus, we see the church growing naturally (organically), in small groups, giving rise to new believers and new churches especially where people are when they are hurting such as bars, coffee shops, and even parking lots. This model, as the author suggests, is much more like the church of the New Testament.
Finally, the book is concluded with the stories of some ordinary people who God used in extraordinary ways to reach out and share the saving knowledge of Christ with the lost around them. On page 215, Cole sums this up by saying, “I believe we are leaving the day of the ordained and ushering in the day of the ordinary.” Every day people who reach out to the lost, and help them find Jesus, show them true Christian fellowship in their living rooms and coffee shops, and then multiply these little organic churches into other organic churches truly understand what the New Testament Church was designed to be.
Biblical and Ministerial Strengths:
All throughout the book, Neil Cole is offering Biblical precedence for the Organic Church Model. In fact, I believe he had a reference in his book to almost every book in the New Testament. Within the introduction, Cole lays the precedence for evangelism in the Great Commission (xxvi). From here, Cole spends considerable time talking about Jesus’ life and ministry and how Jesus must be our model for evangelism. Included in his discussions of Jesus, many parables are explained (such as the 4 soil types) and put into the context of the church and Christian living. The book of Acts takes a prominent role throughout the book as Cole explains how churches came to be, function, and exist throughout the first century.
From a ministerial perspective, there were so many ideas and examples from the Bible, and the organic church model, that compelled me to continually write “WOW” in the margins of my book. For instance, on page xxvi, Cole writes, “The Great Commission says that we are to ‘go into all the world,’ but we’ve turned the whole thing around and made it ‘come to us and hear our message.’” These kinds of statements rattle me and make me want to immediately change the way I communicate to everyone both inside and outside of our church. All throughout the text, I found ideas and processes that I believe could be implemented in our existing church model (even though many of them would be derivatives of what the organic church actually looks like). For instance, I would like to invite some of our small group attendees (especially a couple of new believers) to begin an evangelism process like the one described in this book (coffee shop evangelism). Then with the harvest God provides, begin organic styled churches within the homes of new believers. This book also compels me to want to use our small groups as the initial insertion point for unbelievers as opposed to Sunday Morning Worship as it is done now. This book has given me many things to think about regarding this process; however, further research on my end will be necessary before making this change.
Biblical and Ministerial Weaknesses:
I do believe this book has some significant weaknesses as well as some textual concerns that I believe need further explanation. From a biblical perspective, I am mostly concerned with his concept that one must wipe the dust off of our feet when we encounter people that are not interested in what we have to say. It is true that each of the gospels, and other places in fact, set a precedence for doing just that when a Christian worker encounters people or places not interested in the Good News; however, I don’t understand this in the context of his relationship evangelism. How does one know when to give up on someone? We shouldn’t expect that people will be immediately attracted to what we have to say. He needs to give more explanation and examples for what he means by this “dusting” of oneself and when in his model he believes it is important. Also, I am curious how this and other concepts such as this are taught to new church leaders.
Neil Cole seems to take issue with things as simple as study Bibles. His belief is that a study Bible shows people how much they don’t know. In reality, new Christians don’t know much, and a study Bible can be very useful. It is true that most people can figure out what most passages mean on their own; however, why not utilize the knowledge of scholars who have studied these texts for many years (of course they can misinterpret as well)? This leads to another weakness of the model. If there are no mature Christians within many or most of these organic church plants, it seems as though a baby church with no mentoring is a prime target for misinterpretations, cults (like Mormonism), and the blending of Christianity with whatever beliefs one had before conversion.
Lastly, the Organic Church model does not provide tools for the traditional church to implement any of these ideas. Perhaps that is because this model just doesn’t allow for a blend; however, I think many more churches and church leaders would be interested in utilizing some of these ideas if there was an opportunity to tie organic church growth to the larger church body that currently exists.

[Jeffrey Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed several things from this book. Below are some of specific things I gleaned:



We expect people to come to church, when the Great Commission commands us to go to them.

God did not expect for us to go to Him, He came to us.

Since we are the light of the world, we should not be running from darkness but running towards darkness to lighten it up.

The key to starting churches that reproduce spontaneously is taking Jesus to the lost people.

We should not be interested in starting a regional church, rather making Jesus available to a whole region.

Lower the bar to how church is done and raise the bar to what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

The gospel says go, but we seem to stay. The gospel says take the good news to the lost, but we wait for the lost to come to us.

Someone said that we shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us. A church building should not confine God’s work.

Church worship is much more than what we do weekly for one hour. The only time God mentions church and worship together was about a lifestyle of serving him 24 hours a day.

The kingdom of God is to be decentralized, but God’s people constantly try to centralize it. God wants his people to fill the Earth with His glory.

Apostles specifically means sent ones.

The church in Jerusalem was told to go, but they stayed. God had to bring persecution on the church in order for the gospel to be spread.

Southern Baptist have said that only 4% of churches in America will produce a daughter church.

We cannot compete with the world’s show. Wherever the next best show is, that’s where people run.

The key to a healthy church is not more attendance, more money, nicer buildings, or better activities.

Healthy disciples make a healthy church, and reproducing disciples make a reproducing church.

Accountability, confidentiality, caring for needs of each other, flexibility, communication, direction, and leadership is better done in smaller groups/churches.

One reason churches are not growing today is because they have left out the outreach chromosome.

We are tempted to focus on models that work when we should be focused on the Master.

The Ethiopian eunuch was one of the best evangelists we know. After being saved, he only had the Holy Spirit and the Scripture, but he went back to his people and shared the gospel.

As Christians, we should repent of:
Underestimating what God can do through new believers
Overestimating what we think our value is in the growth of new believers.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A question that stuck out to me in the book was: Am I allowing myself to be in situations where Jesus has to show up lest His reputation be ruined?
It made me consider if it’s my reputation that I care about, or have I given mine up, and allowed Jesus’ reputation to be known. If I do put myself in those situations mentioned in the question, then I have to not care about my reputation, otherwise I might take back control.

This book challenged my idea of what church was and gave evidence of how God was using people in a mighty way outside of traditional church. When people gathered together and talked about Jesus, He showed up, and when they went to bring the good news to sinners that the “normal” church would avoid, lives were changed. Coffee shops, bars, homes, or anyplace is an opportunity for Jesus’ people to use as a church. It’s not about buildings, leaders, events, or entertainment, it’s about following where the Spirit leads.

[Matthew Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some very great and important points in this book about our focus on the Word and the importance of the small group setting in church. I also love the idea of starting groups where life happens.

However, I did have an issue with his base argument of church multiplication. He argued that for a church to be alive it is supposed to reproduce. However, he fails to recognize that in truth there is only one church. We should be multiplying disciples and that can come through his method of multiplying groups meeting about the Word, but the Church is one body.

[Patrick Porras · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the heart. Love the desire to be friends of sinners. Love the compelling call for we, the church, to go.

But calling a small group of people who meet at a coffee shop for some Bible reading a church is probably not okay. I get that NT brothers and sisters just oikos'd it, but Cole's model would be better and more effective if he called these gatherings communitt groups and each CG was connected to the same local church with elders, preaching, and the sacraments.

[Jakob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the book because it provides important impulses. The only problem is that Cole (whose book on discipleship groups I very much enjoyed) tries to build an ecclesiology but ignores, for example, most (or all?) the biblical texts that talk about set structures such as eldership and deacons.
As a result, he ends up with an inspiring "end product", which unfortunately does not correspond to the biblical idea of the church any more than the models he justifiably criticizes.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some take-aways:
1) LTG (Life Transformation Groups): non co-ed, accountability, read Scripture, pray.
2) If you want to reach the lost you must be willing to sit in the smoker's section.
3) Make a daily habit of begging God for souls and workers for and from the harvest.
4) Where we go the King goes and where the King goes people bow.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful series of stories, tips, tools, and biblical basis for "organic church" - foundational for anyone interested in pursuing a missional lifestyle and/or starting missional communities.

[Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the main concept of planting churches where people are--in coffee houses, homes, etc.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenged me to think more biblically about the church and what real community looks like. God is calling us to an adventure of building His kingdom if we are up for the challenge.

[Philmont · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Book

I wasn’t sure what this book was about when I purchased it, but it was both challenging and eye opening. It has given me some new concepts and ideas to employ.

[Alec Brunson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and challenging read for church planters and those interested in planting a church!

[Brett Maragni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paradigm-shifting book.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, some golden nuggets, great stories but unfortunately spoiled by the overall dodgy theology

[Fady Ghobrial · Rating 5 out of 5]

Radical model for house church ministry and lots of cool stories and testimonies of life change

[Kristy Hetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book, though I read the first half so long ago that I really need to reread it again!

[John Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neil Cole is founder and Executive Director of Church Multiplication Associates, which began in 1990 fostering and serving organic church movements and the network he founded called Awakening Chapels. I first connected with Neil in 2006 when he and I were both asked to consult the leaders of the Campus Transformation Network . Neil is also author of Cultivating a Life For God, co-author of Raising Leaders for the Harvest, and his new book, Search & Rescue: Becoming a Disciple Who Makes a Difference.

Thesis:
This book is an appeal to Christians to go where life happens to connect with the disaffected people who would not otherwise come to church. Cole presents more than a consistent organic theme as he outlines his story and the story of a movement of simple, reproducible churches, he argues that the very nature of the church is organic and must therefore contain within the smallest grouping the complete DNA for reproduction.

Content:
The core of this book is the study of the “DNA of healthy church life and reproduction” (99-140) Cole wisely shows that the practice of Modernity, seeking a universal principle or pattern, such as Thom Wolf’s “New Testament Discipleship Pattern (NTDP),” is not necessarily wrong. Cole shows how the “pattern” must be “easily passed on by both example and teaching.” Wolf called this “napkin theology…if you can’t pass it on by writing it down on a napkin at a restaurant, then it isn’t worth writing down at all.” (110-111) Cole has benefited from Roland Allen’s “Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?” and George Patterson’s thinking about “spontaneous multiplication movements” and “obedience-oriented education” in his journey seeking the simple reproducible church model. (113)
Cole examines the organic nature of the Church in Jesus’ agri-parables and the organic nature of the Kingdom of God through agro-biology and astronomy.

Seeking the basic pattern of church multiplication, Cole explains how the organic church goes beyond the popular “cell churches or house churches.” Cole shows how the scriptures consistently affirm the small group of two or three, “the ideal size for effective fellowship and ministry” where reproduction is easiest and community, accountability, confidentiality, flexibility, communication, direction and leadership are strongest. (100-102)

The DNA of Christ’s Body (D-Divine Truth or Faith, N-Nurturing Relationships or Love, and A-Apostolic Mission or Hope), like a seed, which is the “contagion” of the Kingdom of God, “must be whole, intact, and in every cell…complete in its simplicity.” (117-120) Cole warns that many churches have succumbed to Modernity’s tendency to specialize, concentrating on one part of the DNA and eliminating or segmenting out the other parts, such as “excellent preaching on Sundays, which is where we have divine truth.” Those same leaders will argue that they have small groups for nurturing relationships and a mission committee for apostolic mission, however Cole argues, “To separate each part is to destroy the whole thing.” (120)

Cole defends the “beautiful…design and order” of the organic structure of church, which is of “utmost importance.” (124-125) While some church leaders may argue that an organic structure will lead to disorder and chaos, Dee Hock, founder of VISA, author of the book The Birth of the Chaordic Age, writes,
“Purpose and principle, clearly understood and articulated, and commonly shared, are the genetic code of any healthy organization. To the degree that you hold purpose and principles in common among you, you can dispense with command and control.”

Some may think that Cole is arguing for chaos, but he clearly states that, “structures are needed, but they must be simple, reproducible, and internal rather than external.” (124) For internal structure, a structure based on principle and purpose, to work, we must put more faith in the DNA than in organization.

Summary:
Cole reminds us that, like a seed, “multiplication starts with death” and “there is no resurrection without a death.” (103)

[Mark Lickliter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Organic Church was a good book about ideas for evangelism, but not a book I'd recommend for conducting a serious, biblical, and theologically sound, ecclesiology. Let me first discuss the good ideas and shared passion that Cole communicates in his book.

Clearly, Cole has a passion for evangelism. He shares story after story about all of the hurting people (what Cole calls "good soil") of the world that the organic churches have impacted. The stories are inspiring and encouraging, especially to those who share Cole's vision for churches and mission.

Cole also is not prone to "seeker sensitive" techniques and gimmicks that never really work anyway. Cole even poses a couple intriguing questions, "How far will we go to get people to come to our Sunday worship show? How much will we compromise to gain attendance?" (Intro. p. xxv) These questions are worth asking, many church leaders need to be asking them. Cole also rightly doesn't want to waste time on unproductive members who have no interest in growing or engaging in mission. He wants to instead focus on the hurting and poor, what he calls the "good soil", instead of the self-sufficient American who has no felt need for Jesus. I tend to agree with him here, so he gets an "Amen!" from me.

However, Cole is intensely biased towards the institutional church, and has an unbiblical and short-sighted view of Christ's Church. Cole states, "It is not the local church that will change the world; it is Jesus. Attendance on Sundays does not transform lives; Jesus within their hearts is what changes people." (Intro. pxxiv) The discerning reader should now notice that this is what Cole's theology of the church is ultimately based upon; a disdain for "traditional" church structures, and an elevation of experience. Cole's standard is experience and transformed lives, not a model given to us from Scripture. Cole states again toward the end of the book, "The churches birthed out of transformed lives are healthier, reproductive, and growing faster. It is about this: a life changed, not about the model. Never forget that." (p. 205)

This leads to Cole's unbiblical doctrine of the church. Cole bases his model, not on the didactic literature of the New Testament that addresses specifics regarding church government and structure, but on a few parables that do not even speak to the topic. Cole fails to discuss the positive and Scriptural role of Elders and Deacons in the Church. Cole constantly dismisses model (as in his comment above) as a man-made thing. However, Scripture does address model, Church government, and structure. Cole just doesn't deal with the biblical data on these issues.

This was an inspiring book on his experience with taking the gospel to a variety of contexts, but it was severely lacking sound biblical exegesis and discussion on what model is biblical. Cole is biased towards his model (even while he thinks he rejects models), and dislikes the ones he thinks are not working. We should be faithful to Jesus and His Scriptures in their entirety, not excited about what seems to be working at the time. Perhaps many of his "stories" and "experiences" will later be proven failures. There is no follow-up documented in the book. Either way, we need to let all of Scripture determine our doctrine of the Church, not just our favorite passages on evangelism.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring book about being authentic Christians in everyday, ordinary situations in one's community.

[Kelly Zens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book and has many important things to say. It gives a basic blueprint for simple church. The stories are interesting and Neil Cole is very honest and authentic. However, he is still recovering from a traditional church/ program mindset which shows in his obsession with multiplying. I expect that will change in the next several years as he experiences organic church. Jesus really is capable of growing his own church and he really does have a plan. All we have to do is follow him. This is a great book, though. I recommend it for anyone who is curious about organic church.

[John Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy does this on stir up memories. I've had this one on my shelf for quite a while and just never got "a round tuit". Neil's work here can and should be revolutionary as it addresses very clearly the ineffectiveness of the attractional, congregational form of church. And he does it with respect and without spending all of his time "de-constructing". (Appreciate that - got the T-shirt and use it to wash my car!)

I remembered my Campus Crusade for Christ days in college where we led a few people to Christ and discipled them to be disciplemakers. The campus ministry had growth in its DNA because it was focused on living out the mission of Jesus in our "community". It grew naturally. And it was exciting as lives were impacted and people were jazzed about their own sense of mission and were given the forum and tools to do it.

This one is a must read for anyone who's wondering why church as we know it just isn't working for them. But be careful. You may find yourself "jazzed up" to start your own missional community. Or at least find one that actually cares about living out the great commission as if Jesus meant it.