The Church Case Scenario: How to Survive and Thrive in Church

by Bruce Bickel, Stan Jantz

The bad Statics tell us that half of all people who go to church while growing up leave the church once they become adults. But there is good Bruce and Stan, who grew up in the church and survived, recommend the church experience to anyone adventurous enough to give it a shot. They're so positive about the church that they've written this book to show people how to do what they've Survive and thrive in the church. Drawing upon nostalgic memories and positive experiences, these two veteran churchgoers make a case for appreciating rather than avoiding it. Bruce and Stan had only two rules to guide First, don't take yourself too seriously. Second, take God very seriously. It all adds up to an encouraging and often funny look at the world's greatest institution (and they mean that in a good way).

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian

Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[Judine Brey · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this will be good for group interp (which is why I bought it), it felt a little uneven in how it handled the comedic and serious ideas present in the modern church. Sarcasm doesn't always work well in print.

[Judine · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book will work really well for group interp (which is why I bought it), I found the writing as a whole to be somewhat uneven. Because the authors are Christians who are trying to bring a lighter side to the humanness of church functions, they are right on the money with some of their observations. However, this reminded me of when I was in high school and writing for the school newspaper; I knew when I was being humorous and sarcastic, but my peers didn't always get it. I feel like it was hard to tell the difference between the serious and the sarcastic, which I know was not the authors' intent.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, this book was okay. I liked that the authors had two rules up front: don't take yourself too seriously, and take God seriously. The result is a book that makes fun of church culture without undermining the occasionally mentioned deeper truths.

I'm counting this as "a book about the church" for 2016 #vtReadingChallenge

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

More amusing than useful, but still well worth reading.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny! And true!