What do you think?
Rate this book
Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World
Radical. Crazy. Transformative and restless. Every word we read these days seems to suggest there’s a “next-best-thing,” if only we would change our comfortable, compromising lives. In fact, the greatest fear most Christians have is boredom—the sense that they are missing out on the radical life Jesus promised. One thing is certain. No one wants to be “ordinary.” Yet pastor and author Michael Horton believes that our attempts to measure our spiritual growth by our experiences, constantly seeking after the next big breakthrough, have left many Christians disillusioned and disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with an energetic faith; the danger is that we can burn ourselves out on restless anxieties and unrealistic expectations. What’s needed is not another program or a fresh approach to spiritual growth; it’s a renewed appreciation for the commonplace. Far from a call to low expectations and passivity, Horton invites readers to recover their sense of joy in the ordinary. He provides a guide to a sustainable discipleship that happens over the long haul—not a quick fix that leaves readers empty with unfulfilled promises. Convicting and ultimately empowering, Ordinary is not a call to do less; it’s an invitation to experience the elusive joy of the ordinary Christian life.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
317 people are currently reading
2288 people want to read
About the author
Michael Scott Horton
86 books333 followersDr. Horton has taught apologetics and theology at Westminster Seminary California since 1998. In addition to his work at the Seminary, he is the president of White Horse Inn, for which he co-hosts the White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated, weekly radio talk-show exploring issues of Reformation theology in American Christianity. He is also the editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. Before coming to WSC, Dr. Horton completed a research fellowship at Yale University Divinity School. Dr. Horton is the author/editor of more than twenty books, including a series of studies in Reformed dogmatics published by Westminster John Knox.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 310 reviews
March 28, 2021
Evangelicals never really rejected Roman Catholic monasticism. They simply moved it either to the mission field (if they were conservative) or did weird communes (if they read Sojourners). In either case, if you weren’t on board, you really weren’t living the Christian life. In fact, you might not even be a Christian. It’s the new salvation by works.
If you’ve ever been pressured or guilt-tripped by these movements, then Horton’s book can save your sanity. It might even help save your soul. Instead of a review, I was almost tempted to simply copy/paste quotations from Goodreads. It would have same effect. But here goes.
It’s harder to love your neighbor, change diapers every day (sorry, Christic Manhood guys), and go to work every day, than it is to “do the crazy thing for the gospel” (the latter is an actual quote from a Passion conference). But what did Paul tell us to do? As we await the Lord’s return to work quietly with our hands.
We grow in the Christian life, not by the next big thing, but by receiving the means of grace. The most beautiful section of the book is on the catechetical life. As evangelicals, our favorite metaphor for God (or the Christian life) is “being on fire.” True, God is a consuming fire, but that verse in Hebrews is actually meant to make us uncomfortable. The more common metaphor for the Christian life is the organic one. God is tending his garden (and you are not meeting him alone in it). Jesus is the fine, we are the branches, not the firewood.
Jesus never promised to meet us in the next bold thing (fad). He promised to meet us in Word, Water, and Wine and Bread.
I really can’t praise this book highly enough. The best I can do is simply firebomb the review with quotes.
“Sometimes, chasing your dreams can be “easier” than just being who we are, where God has placed you, with the gifts he has given to you.”
“Christ’s body is not a stage for my performance.”
“Although it is a bit of a caricature, I think that there is some truth in the generalizations I’m about to make. The tendency in Roman Catholic theology is to view the kingdom of Christ as a cosmic ladder or tower, leading from the lowest strata to the hierarchy led by the pope. Anabaptists have tended to see the kingdom more as a monastery, a community of true saints called out of the world and a worldly church. Lutheran and Reformed churches tend sometimes to see the kingdom as a school, while evangelicals (at least in the United States) lean more toward seeing it as a market.”
“The power of our activism, campaigns, movements, and strategies cannot forgive sins or raise the dead.”
“we’ve forgotten that God showers his extraordinary gifts through ordinary means of grace, loves us through ordinary fellow image bearers, and sends us out into the world to love and serve others in ordinary callings.”
“No longer a star in my own movie, I can take my place in this gift exchange. The gifts that I have are not only for my private use, but for me to pass along to others. And the weaknesses I have are important because they make me more dependent on others.”
“We’re not building a kingdom, but receiving one.”
If you’ve ever been pressured or guilt-tripped by these movements, then Horton’s book can save your sanity. It might even help save your soul. Instead of a review, I was almost tempted to simply copy/paste quotations from Goodreads. It would have same effect. But here goes.
It’s harder to love your neighbor, change diapers every day (sorry, Christic Manhood guys), and go to work every day, than it is to “do the crazy thing for the gospel” (the latter is an actual quote from a Passion conference). But what did Paul tell us to do? As we await the Lord’s return to work quietly with our hands.
We grow in the Christian life, not by the next big thing, but by receiving the means of grace. The most beautiful section of the book is on the catechetical life. As evangelicals, our favorite metaphor for God (or the Christian life) is “being on fire.” True, God is a consuming fire, but that verse in Hebrews is actually meant to make us uncomfortable. The more common metaphor for the Christian life is the organic one. God is tending his garden (and you are not meeting him alone in it). Jesus is the fine, we are the branches, not the firewood.
Jesus never promised to meet us in the next bold thing (fad). He promised to meet us in Word, Water, and Wine and Bread.
I really can’t praise this book highly enough. The best I can do is simply firebomb the review with quotes.
“Sometimes, chasing your dreams can be “easier” than just being who we are, where God has placed you, with the gifts he has given to you.”
“Christ’s body is not a stage for my performance.”
“Although it is a bit of a caricature, I think that there is some truth in the generalizations I’m about to make. The tendency in Roman Catholic theology is to view the kingdom of Christ as a cosmic ladder or tower, leading from the lowest strata to the hierarchy led by the pope. Anabaptists have tended to see the kingdom more as a monastery, a community of true saints called out of the world and a worldly church. Lutheran and Reformed churches tend sometimes to see the kingdom as a school, while evangelicals (at least in the United States) lean more toward seeing it as a market.”
“The power of our activism, campaigns, movements, and strategies cannot forgive sins or raise the dead.”
“we’ve forgotten that God showers his extraordinary gifts through ordinary means of grace, loves us through ordinary fellow image bearers, and sends us out into the world to love and serve others in ordinary callings.”
“No longer a star in my own movie, I can take my place in this gift exchange. The gifts that I have are not only for my private use, but for me to pass along to others. And the weaknesses I have are important because they make me more dependent on others.”
“We’re not building a kingdom, but receiving one.”
December 19, 2014
Finally, someone who understands that we can't all be exceptional or superlative--and that we shouldn't believe that's the norm. Life lived in ordinary time in ordinary ways will have extraordinary effect upon us and those around us. This is the only sustainable approach to faith. We can't and shouldn't be celebrities. We should be regular folks living regular lives with Jesus at the forefront.
For me,cChapter 8, "We don't need another hero," was worth the price of the book and the time to read. The material about the pressure on our daughters and wives was powerful. The challenge to act lovingly must be clearly received.
Horton is Reformed and it shows. However, the treatment of all topics is balanced and insightful.
This is worth a timely, thoughtful read.
For me,cChapter 8, "We don't need another hero," was worth the price of the book and the time to read. The material about the pressure on our daughters and wives was powerful. The challenge to act lovingly must be clearly received.
Horton is Reformed and it shows. However, the treatment of all topics is balanced and insightful.
This is worth a timely, thoughtful read.
December 24, 2014
An Excellent Antidote to Today's Exhausting Christianity
There are several books out right now that teach clearly how to be a more missional, more radical, and all around better Christian, but there are only a few books that teach that being an ordinary Christian is not only enough, but admirable in its own right. I would strongly suggest to any Christian who has, at any point, felt that they are not doing enough, or perhaps has felt as though their "normal" vocation is somehow a consolation prize to what they should really be doing, read this book. Likewise, I also strongly suggest to everyone in the ministry that they read this book.
Christianity is not an either/or proposition, whereby you either give up everything you have and live in Africa feeding the hungry, or else you must not be a believer at all, and you may as well abandon the faith entirely. There is a place for the "ordinary" believer at the table, and this book is a call from the wilderness for perseverance and faithfulness even in the ordinary.
There are several books out right now that teach clearly how to be a more missional, more radical, and all around better Christian, but there are only a few books that teach that being an ordinary Christian is not only enough, but admirable in its own right. I would strongly suggest to any Christian who has, at any point, felt that they are not doing enough, or perhaps has felt as though their "normal" vocation is somehow a consolation prize to what they should really be doing, read this book. Likewise, I also strongly suggest to everyone in the ministry that they read this book.
Christianity is not an either/or proposition, whereby you either give up everything you have and live in Africa feeding the hungry, or else you must not be a believer at all, and you may as well abandon the faith entirely. There is a place for the "ordinary" believer at the table, and this book is a call from the wilderness for perseverance and faithfulness even in the ordinary.
December 28, 2020
Michael Horton critically examines the rhetoric of a "Radical" (e.g. David Platt) perspective on the fulfilled Christian life. Horton advocates instead for an ordinary Christian Life, where patterns such as liturgy, catechism, prayer, and Bible reading, in addition to "secular" activities such as parenting, work, and rest, lead to a life that better reflects a biblical vision. While the majority of Horton's thesis rightly exposes the futile nature of a constant radical perspective, the dangers of passivity and complacency hover over Horton's rhetoric. A balance mist be struck between the radical and ordinary -- no one attitude can truly capture Christlike character.
June 1, 2025
Horton's book is a very poignant message for the young, restless, reformed world. He calls his readers to examine their "radical" ideas of obedience for hints of self-exaltation. I came for the thesis and stayed for the beautiful writing! Horton reinspires us to delight in all of God's ordinary graces. I think this book is helpful for all seasons of the Christian life!
Some gems:
"We use God's good gifts as weapons in the service of our mutiny against him and each other." (p.29)
"We see ourselves as 'on the move,' making an impact---and we need others like us to be props or supporting actors in our movie." (p.166)
"Do we enjoy our neighbor? It's a lot easier to serve a neighbor than to enjoy him or her." (p.194)
"We can live with the ordinary world, with its common curse and common grace, with our ordinary growth in Christ through the ordinary means of grace, and with our ordinary callings in the family, the church, and the world." (p.210)
Some gems:
"We use God's good gifts as weapons in the service of our mutiny against him and each other." (p.29)
"We see ourselves as 'on the move,' making an impact---and we need others like us to be props or supporting actors in our movie." (p.166)
"Do we enjoy our neighbor? It's a lot easier to serve a neighbor than to enjoy him or her." (p.194)
"We can live with the ordinary world, with its common curse and common grace, with our ordinary growth in Christ through the ordinary means of grace, and with our ordinary callings in the family, the church, and the world." (p.210)
July 16, 2023
4.0 Stars
"Ordinary" by Michael Horton is a book about the faithfulness and glory of a normal Christian life. As of late, modern Christians have been exhorted to live "radical" over-top lives for Jesus. While many of these exhortations contain truths, the reality is that the bulk of most Christian's lives consists of simple and small every-day faithfulnesses. This is the main point of Horton's book, to call out the way modern Christianity has wrongly idolized flashy and extravagant obedience and to extol Scriptural simple obedience. This is a great book and much needed for myself, as I believe I often struggle with thinking my obedience is insignificant (and even at times sinful) simply because it's not flashy, or limited, or imperfect. This book was a great reminder that the Christian life is receiving all the good gifts God has to offer us, responded to Him in thankfulness, and serving others and doing good as we are able. Great read!
"Ordinary" by Michael Horton is a book about the faithfulness and glory of a normal Christian life. As of late, modern Christians have been exhorted to live "radical" over-top lives for Jesus. While many of these exhortations contain truths, the reality is that the bulk of most Christian's lives consists of simple and small every-day faithfulnesses. This is the main point of Horton's book, to call out the way modern Christianity has wrongly idolized flashy and extravagant obedience and to extol Scriptural simple obedience. This is a great book and much needed for myself, as I believe I often struggle with thinking my obedience is insignificant (and even at times sinful) simply because it's not flashy, or limited, or imperfect. This book was a great reminder that the Christian life is receiving all the good gifts God has to offer us, responded to Him in thankfulness, and serving others and doing good as we are able. Great read!
February 11, 2021
Horton critiques our society’s infatuation with new, big, and different ~ of which the church is not immune.
“We’ve come to expect jaw-dropping testimonies or novel experiences, and as a consequence we have created an environment of perpetual novelty.”
“We’ve come to expect jaw-dropping testimonies or novel experiences, and as a consequence we have created an environment of perpetual novelty.”
October 19, 2022
“Given the dominance of The Next Big Thing in our society, it is not at all surprising that the Christian subculture is passionate about superlatives. Many of us were raised in a Christian subculture of managed expectations, called to change ourselves or our world, with measurable results. There always had to be a cause du jour to justify our engagement. Otherwise, life in the church would simply be too ordinary. Like every other area of life, we have come to believe that growth in Christ — as individuals or as churches — can and should be programmed to generate predictable outcomes that are unrealistic and are not even justified biblically. We want big results — sooner rather than later. And we’ve forgotten that God showers his extraordinary gifts through ordinary means of grace, loves us through ordinary fellow image bearers, and sends us out into the world to love and serve others in ordinary callings.”
This book exists to help us remember what we’ve forgotten. Love the ordinary. Re-learn contentment. Embrace vocation, not ambition.
This book exists to help us remember what we’ve forgotten. Love the ordinary. Re-learn contentment. Embrace vocation, not ambition.
November 26, 2024
Month: no idea! A refreshing book to complete while in the most ordinary (yet also extraordinary) stage of my life. Finishing this book while yet again being nap trapped by my son was a truly humbling and real life example of how beautifully ordinary most of our life will be, but how that shouldn’t negate from us always considering Jesus and doing it all to God’s glory and not our own.
Highly recommend this book!
Highly recommend this book!
October 5, 2021
If you subscribe to Covenant Theology then Horton's treatment of sustainable faith in a radical, restless world is a grand slam. If you are not, like me, then I still think it is an inside-the-park home run. As long as you recognize where his theological perspective is driving the narrative and solution, you can run the bases of this book with great profit.
This book drill home the reality that we are often looking for the next best thing and running ourselves (and others) ragged seeking to get there seeking to live our Christian lives on a mountain top-level experience that we were not designed for or called to in the Christian life. The goal seems to be anything and everything other than the slow sustained growth into conformity to Christ that the Scripture everywhere calls us to that takes place through day-by-day exposure to and application of God's Word.
This is no call to laziness or an invitation to being sinfully content. It is an invitation to rest in Jesus and see him make your life for his glory throughout the ordinary, not just the current evangelical craze of extraordinary.
Helpful:
Chapter 1: The New Radical:
"Patient dedication to the ordinary and often tedious disciplines of corporate and family worship, teaching, prayer, modeling, and mentoring have been eroded by successive waves of enthusiasm" (25)
Chapter 2: Ordinary isn't mediocre
"Far from throwing a wet blanket on godly passion, my goal is to encourage an orientation and habits that foster deeper growth in grace, more effective outreach, and a more sustainable vision of loving service to others over a lifetime. This is not a call to do less but to invest in things that we often give up on when we don't see an immediate return" (28).
"But real growth, the cultivation of excellence, doesn't work like that. The key is a loving, patient, attentive care to the things that really matter--things that we're likely to ignore in our overachieving rush to relevance and radical impact" (34).
Chapter 3: The Young and the Restless
"Young is Restless" (47)
"Happiness is like a cat,' writes William Bennett. 'If you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come. But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business, you'll find it rubbing against your leg and jumping into your lap.' Happiness is something that happens when you're looking for someone or something other than happiness" (58-59).
Chapter 4: The next big thing
"Each successive awakening or revival claimed to be radical, dispensing with the baggage of the past that weighs down mission. In relation to the history of the church, these movements are indeed radical. Yet they have been anything but countercultural, especially in the American context. The values of democracy and free enterprise--grounded in individual choice--became the gospel itself int eh Second Great Awakening" (77).
Chapter 9: God's Ecosystem
"Setting aside the ordinary callings and pastimes of the week, our calling on the Lord's Day is to share, together with our coheirs, in the powers of the age to come. It is not by simply emptying the day with the list of rules, but by filling it with treasure hunting, that the Christian Sabbath orients us our famlies and our fellow saints to our heavenly citizenship" (176) [Take "Christian Sabbath" out and the point still stands]
Carl Trueman quote: "They do not own the church; they are merely looking after her for the next generation"
Chapter 11: After ordinary: Anticipating the revolution
"Not content to be the moon, reflecting the sun's glory, we demanded to be the sun itself" (203)
Not helpful: Infant baptism (80-81), Presbyterian polity (117), non-literal creation account (142), Christian Sabbath (176), and not rooting a women's calling according to God's design in Titus 2.
This book drill home the reality that we are often looking for the next best thing and running ourselves (and others) ragged seeking to get there seeking to live our Christian lives on a mountain top-level experience that we were not designed for or called to in the Christian life. The goal seems to be anything and everything other than the slow sustained growth into conformity to Christ that the Scripture everywhere calls us to that takes place through day-by-day exposure to and application of God's Word.
This is no call to laziness or an invitation to being sinfully content. It is an invitation to rest in Jesus and see him make your life for his glory throughout the ordinary, not just the current evangelical craze of extraordinary.
Helpful:
Chapter 1: The New Radical:
"Patient dedication to the ordinary and often tedious disciplines of corporate and family worship, teaching, prayer, modeling, and mentoring have been eroded by successive waves of enthusiasm" (25)
Chapter 2: Ordinary isn't mediocre
"Far from throwing a wet blanket on godly passion, my goal is to encourage an orientation and habits that foster deeper growth in grace, more effective outreach, and a more sustainable vision of loving service to others over a lifetime. This is not a call to do less but to invest in things that we often give up on when we don't see an immediate return" (28).
"But real growth, the cultivation of excellence, doesn't work like that. The key is a loving, patient, attentive care to the things that really matter--things that we're likely to ignore in our overachieving rush to relevance and radical impact" (34).
Chapter 3: The Young and the Restless
"Young is Restless" (47)
"Happiness is like a cat,' writes William Bennett. 'If you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come. But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business, you'll find it rubbing against your leg and jumping into your lap.' Happiness is something that happens when you're looking for someone or something other than happiness" (58-59).
Chapter 4: The next big thing
"Each successive awakening or revival claimed to be radical, dispensing with the baggage of the past that weighs down mission. In relation to the history of the church, these movements are indeed radical. Yet they have been anything but countercultural, especially in the American context. The values of democracy and free enterprise--grounded in individual choice--became the gospel itself int eh Second Great Awakening" (77).
Chapter 9: God's Ecosystem
"Setting aside the ordinary callings and pastimes of the week, our calling on the Lord's Day is to share, together with our coheirs, in the powers of the age to come. It is not by simply emptying the day with the list of rules, but by filling it with treasure hunting, that the Christian Sabbath orients us our famlies and our fellow saints to our heavenly citizenship" (176) [Take "Christian Sabbath" out and the point still stands]
Carl Trueman quote: "They do not own the church; they are merely looking after her for the next generation"
Chapter 11: After ordinary: Anticipating the revolution
"Not content to be the moon, reflecting the sun's glory, we demanded to be the sun itself" (203)
Not helpful: Infant baptism (80-81), Presbyterian polity (117), non-literal creation account (142), Christian Sabbath (176), and not rooting a women's calling according to God's design in Titus 2.
February 3, 2023
“Ordinary is not a call to do less; it’s an invitation to experience the elusive call of the ordinary Christian life”.
It’s easy for me to look at life, circumstances, and see all the things l cannot do. I am left frustrated. Unsatisfied. Frustrated and unsatisfied because life sends out the all too common message that being ordinary, by the world’s standards,isn’t enough.
A horizontal view of life leads to a performance based pursuit. A pursuit of that which remains just out of our reach. So far yet so close.
Comparing social media to the new Salvation by works, Horton makes a point that should pierce the heart of anyone truly in search of God’s will and plan for his or her life. It’s become increasing harder to find true contentment without a performance based measuring stick.
It’s easy for me to look at life, circumstances, and see all the things l cannot do. I am left frustrated. Unsatisfied. Frustrated and unsatisfied because life sends out the all too common message that being ordinary, by the world’s standards,isn’t enough.
A horizontal view of life leads to a performance based pursuit. A pursuit of that which remains just out of our reach. So far yet so close.
Comparing social media to the new Salvation by works, Horton makes a point that should pierce the heart of anyone truly in search of God’s will and plan for his or her life. It’s become increasing harder to find true contentment without a performance based measuring stick.
May 20, 2021
Michael Horton does a superb job pushing back on the dominant mindset that to be ordinary is somehow the lesser option. Exposing the sensationalist mentality pervading evangelicalism, Horton shows how believers need the ordinary means of grace rhythm found in the covenant community of the church. This book is a tonic for pastors and laymen alike. I enjoyed how Horton ties together the simplicity of the NT’s outline for growth into the ordinary means. For those who feel the weight to do something the world labels extraordinary, Horton shows how being faithful and content in the ordinary is truly radical.
There are times Horton gets repetitive and says the same thing over a bit much. However, this is a great resource and I highly recommend.
There are times Horton gets repetitive and says the same thing over a bit much. However, this is a great resource and I highly recommend.
October 27, 2023
Picked up this book as it was referenced in Liturgy of the Ordinary.
Another good book that ties into a lot of things I’ve been thinking about and reading about more recently, and even what we have been going through at church (1 Thessalonians). At times it felt a bit dry, but maybe that’s because it was…ordinary? 😆
Some things covered: ordinary life, means of grace, catechism, work and vocation, sabbath, covenants, contentment, common grace, general culture, youth culture and ministry (reminded me of Andrew Root’s first book of ministry in a secular age), living in between the already and not yet, being present in where we are, ambition and restlessness, and probably more…
“Ordinary isn’t mediocre.”
1 Thessalonians 4:11 "and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,"
Another good book that ties into a lot of things I’ve been thinking about and reading about more recently, and even what we have been going through at church (1 Thessalonians). At times it felt a bit dry, but maybe that’s because it was…ordinary? 😆
Some things covered: ordinary life, means of grace, catechism, work and vocation, sabbath, covenants, contentment, common grace, general culture, youth culture and ministry (reminded me of Andrew Root’s first book of ministry in a secular age), living in between the already and not yet, being present in where we are, ambition and restlessness, and probably more…
“Ordinary isn’t mediocre.”
1 Thessalonians 4:11 "and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,"
February 22, 2019
There are some killer quotes in this book, but most of it reads like an old man yelling from his porch, "get off my lawn!" The gist of the book is summarized in this quote: "From childhood we're told that we can be anything we want to be, do anything we want to do, make of ourselves whatever we dream. We often miss the trees for the forest, looking for ambitious causes instead of actual people God has sent into our lives that moment, hour, day, or year"
November 6, 2022
Started off with some valid but not groundbreaking points which would be fine but around the conclusion of the first chapter things started to feel repetitive to the point that it seemed like he was just trying to meet a word count. In this repetition the author began to share some view points that I feel may be more harmful than grace filled.
November 12, 2025
Excellent, one of the best from 2025 for me to be sure.
July 19, 2016
God sometimes does miracles, but he always works through means--natural, ordinary, routine means. God is building his kingdom, but he usually does so in imperceptible ways. The organic image of the kingdom is prevalent throughout Scripture, and organic growth is often slow.
The author uses these realities to challenge aspects of contemporary culture, and contemporary evangelical culture; aspects such as always looking for the next big thing, the continual cry for innovation, personal ambition, seeking to change the world, even seeking ardently for revival. He calls us to be content with where God has placed us and to be content with the callings he's placed on us. He urges us to "stop dreaming and love your neighbor." God builds his kingdom through our ordinary interaction with family, neighbors, and local church.
A few quotes may give some flavor of this freeing book:
Now, I’m a thirty-something with two kids living a more or less ordinary life. And what I’m slowly realizing is that, for me, being in the house all day with a baby and a two-year-old is a lot more scary and a lot harder than being in a war-torn African village. What I need courage for is the ordinary, the daily every-dayness of life. Caring for a homeless kid is a lot more thrilling to me than listening well to the people in my home. Giving away clothes and seeking out edgy Christian communities requires less of me than being kind to my husband on the average Wednesday morning or calling my mother back when I don’t feel like it. (Quoting Tish Harrison Warren, 15)
Facing another day, with ordinary callings to ordinary people all around us is much more difficult than chasing my own dreams that I have envisioned for the grand story of my life. Other people—especially those close to us—can become props. “The Poor” can be instruments of our life project. Or fighting “The Socialists” may animate our otherwise boring autobiography. Changing the world can be a way of actually avoiding the opportunities we have every day, right where God has placed us, to glorify and enjoy him and to enrich the lives of others. (15)
Christ’s global garden grows concretely only in local plots. (119)
CNN will not be showing up at a church that is simply trusting God to do extraordinary things through his ordinary means of grace delivered by ordinary servants. But God will. Week after week. These means of grace and the ordinary fellowship of the saints that nurtures and guides us throughout our life may seem frail, but they are jars that carry a rich treasure: Christ with all of his saving benefits. (149)
Loving actual neighbors through particular actions every day can be a lot more mundane as well as difficult than trying to transform culture. (161)
The habit of reading stories to children at bedtime is often tedious. Family and private devotions can be tedious as well. So too can daily homework be a chore for students, along with grading for teachers. Making rounds is often tedious for doctors and nurses. Yet daily faithfulness to these callings—more accurately, to God and the neighbors he has called us to serve—is precisely what enriches life. (166)
It’s easier to pour myself into a service project for the needy than it is to give a little more to my wife and kids. That’s ordinary. I can’t see the impact of the dozen or so little conversations, corrections, laughs, and tasks that happen in a day—or even a week, month, perhaps even a year. I can’t measure the ordinary stuff. But I can measure (supposedly) how many souls were saved or how many people were fed or how much money came in for a special project. (194)
The author uses these realities to challenge aspects of contemporary culture, and contemporary evangelical culture; aspects such as always looking for the next big thing, the continual cry for innovation, personal ambition, seeking to change the world, even seeking ardently for revival. He calls us to be content with where God has placed us and to be content with the callings he's placed on us. He urges us to "stop dreaming and love your neighbor." God builds his kingdom through our ordinary interaction with family, neighbors, and local church.
A few quotes may give some flavor of this freeing book:
Now, I’m a thirty-something with two kids living a more or less ordinary life. And what I’m slowly realizing is that, for me, being in the house all day with a baby and a two-year-old is a lot more scary and a lot harder than being in a war-torn African village. What I need courage for is the ordinary, the daily every-dayness of life. Caring for a homeless kid is a lot more thrilling to me than listening well to the people in my home. Giving away clothes and seeking out edgy Christian communities requires less of me than being kind to my husband on the average Wednesday morning or calling my mother back when I don’t feel like it. (Quoting Tish Harrison Warren, 15)
Facing another day, with ordinary callings to ordinary people all around us is much more difficult than chasing my own dreams that I have envisioned for the grand story of my life. Other people—especially those close to us—can become props. “The Poor” can be instruments of our life project. Or fighting “The Socialists” may animate our otherwise boring autobiography. Changing the world can be a way of actually avoiding the opportunities we have every day, right where God has placed us, to glorify and enjoy him and to enrich the lives of others. (15)
Christ’s global garden grows concretely only in local plots. (119)
CNN will not be showing up at a church that is simply trusting God to do extraordinary things through his ordinary means of grace delivered by ordinary servants. But God will. Week after week. These means of grace and the ordinary fellowship of the saints that nurtures and guides us throughout our life may seem frail, but they are jars that carry a rich treasure: Christ with all of his saving benefits. (149)
Loving actual neighbors through particular actions every day can be a lot more mundane as well as difficult than trying to transform culture. (161)
The habit of reading stories to children at bedtime is often tedious. Family and private devotions can be tedious as well. So too can daily homework be a chore for students, along with grading for teachers. Making rounds is often tedious for doctors and nurses. Yet daily faithfulness to these callings—more accurately, to God and the neighbors he has called us to serve—is precisely what enriches life. (166)
It’s easier to pour myself into a service project for the needy than it is to give a little more to my wife and kids. That’s ordinary. I can’t see the impact of the dozen or so little conversations, corrections, laughs, and tasks that happen in a day—or even a week, month, perhaps even a year. I can’t measure the ordinary stuff. But I can measure (supposedly) how many souls were saved or how many people were fed or how much money came in for a special project. (194)
June 18, 2016
I suppose I primarily liked this book because it gave language and credibility to some thoughts that have been percolating over the past year or so - that fad-oriented, rush-around, change-the-world approaches to mission may not be sustainable and that perhaps a less exciting, less immediate approach may prove to bring more Kingdom impact.
Horton points out that much of Scripture looks at the Kingdom of God as a garden or a building i.e. things that take time. He questions our motives in outreaches set up to love our neighbours whilst overlooking our actual neighbours. He's a traditionalist - perhaps too much so for many who I would recommend this book too - who laments the diminishing importance of catechisms, Sabbath, and generation-spanning church communities: things that are either irrelevant to modern culture, or tried and tested depending on your viewpoint.
He gets a bit too hobby-horsey for me towards the end, cramming in gentle rants that seem a bit tangential, but overall I like his call to participate in and celebrate the 'ordinary', to be a 'faithful presence' and to live a sustainable faith.
Horton points out that much of Scripture looks at the Kingdom of God as a garden or a building i.e. things that take time. He questions our motives in outreaches set up to love our neighbours whilst overlooking our actual neighbours. He's a traditionalist - perhaps too much so for many who I would recommend this book too - who laments the diminishing importance of catechisms, Sabbath, and generation-spanning church communities: things that are either irrelevant to modern culture, or tried and tested depending on your viewpoint.
He gets a bit too hobby-horsey for me towards the end, cramming in gentle rants that seem a bit tangential, but overall I like his call to participate in and celebrate the 'ordinary', to be a 'faithful presence' and to live a sustainable faith.
July 9, 2015
Here is Dr. Horton at his best: exposing American culture and church culture with its individualism and isolationism, calling us back to the simple and ordinary things of life that we often neglect, and demonstrating how the power of God most effectively resides in His ordained means of grace in the local church. I was deeply exposed and convicted reading this book, as so often our attempts to 'do great things for God' are selfish and self-centered, and neglectful of the simple areas of life where God has called us to be faithful first and foremost. The only complaint I have about the book is that it is a bit repetitive, and a bit long-winded and off-topic at times. This made it difficult reading in some of the middle chapters. Yet even still, I highly recommend this work. Without a doubt, don't miss this one.
September 21, 2025
An absolutely fantastic book that I would recommend to all Christians. This is the best book I've ever read on the Christian life in the 21st century. Horton focuses on what Christians are primarily called to, which is the preaching of the Bible in the local church, and the receiving of the Sacraments. Horton touches on just about anything you can think of in relation to the Church today: multi-site churches, small groups, women in the Church, reading your Bible, mercy ministry, online sermons, ect.
March 15, 2017
It was a very interesting book that provided a different view than most people address today. It was a little repetitive and took longer to get through than I would have liked because the writing style is not the best. But I would recommend it to others because it is a good book, and is definitely something that most people struggle with, the idea that we don't have to be extraordinary or fantastic, but simply glorifying God in the ordinary things.
January 9, 2015
I was glad I took the time to read this book. The message echoed sentiments I read in Kevin DeYoung's book "Just Do Something." Waiting for the next big thing can lead you to miss the opportunities right in front of you.
September 26, 2023
Like 3.5 stars…
I think this is an important message. While we are absolutely called as Christians to lay down our lives and pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, I think there is something to be said about the so-called “ordinary” calls on the Christian life as well.
I’m not sure, though, there was enough meat here for a whole book. Feels like this could’ve just been an article. I think The Wisdom of Stability (Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove) and Just Do Something (Kevin DeYoung) arrive at similar points and I enjoyed those books more.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“We do not find success by trying to be successful or happiness by trying to be happy. Rather, we find these things by attending to the skills, habits and—to be honest—the often dull routines that make us even modestly successful at anything. If you are always looking for an impact, a legacy, and success, you will not take the time to care for the things that matter.”
“In his providence, God has given to each of us specific gifts, inclinations, talents, and opportunities. We are not unlimited. Our future is not ‘whatever we want it to be,’ and we are not able to become ‘whatever we wish.’ Yet all of this is for our good—and the good of others. The gifts and opportunities we have been given are to be used not merely for private advancement, but for the public good. And this is why we all need each other. In society, every sort of calling is needed for the commonwealth. So too in the church, even a little finger cannot be hurt without the whole body aching.”
“The call to radical transformation of society can feed a spiritualized version of upward mobility. If direct cultural impact is the goal, it’s easy to adopt an elitism that places a premium on high-profile callings. We hear this on the left and the right in our circles. It’s fine to be a homemaker, baker, or diving instructor. But what we really need are lawyers, politicians, artists, economists, scientists, New York Times editorialists, entertainers, and sports celebrities. These are ‘strategic’ positions, it is often said. There aren’t a lot of agendas available for redeeming janitorial services.”
I think this is an important message. While we are absolutely called as Christians to lay down our lives and pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, I think there is something to be said about the so-called “ordinary” calls on the Christian life as well.
I’m not sure, though, there was enough meat here for a whole book. Feels like this could’ve just been an article. I think The Wisdom of Stability (Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove) and Just Do Something (Kevin DeYoung) arrive at similar points and I enjoyed those books more.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“We do not find success by trying to be successful or happiness by trying to be happy. Rather, we find these things by attending to the skills, habits and—to be honest—the often dull routines that make us even modestly successful at anything. If you are always looking for an impact, a legacy, and success, you will not take the time to care for the things that matter.”
“In his providence, God has given to each of us specific gifts, inclinations, talents, and opportunities. We are not unlimited. Our future is not ‘whatever we want it to be,’ and we are not able to become ‘whatever we wish.’ Yet all of this is for our good—and the good of others. The gifts and opportunities we have been given are to be used not merely for private advancement, but for the public good. And this is why we all need each other. In society, every sort of calling is needed for the commonwealth. So too in the church, even a little finger cannot be hurt without the whole body aching.”
“The call to radical transformation of society can feed a spiritualized version of upward mobility. If direct cultural impact is the goal, it’s easy to adopt an elitism that places a premium on high-profile callings. We hear this on the left and the right in our circles. It’s fine to be a homemaker, baker, or diving instructor. But what we really need are lawyers, politicians, artists, economists, scientists, New York Times editorialists, entertainers, and sports celebrities. These are ‘strategic’ positions, it is often said. There aren’t a lot of agendas available for redeeming janitorial services.”
August 16, 2023
What if following Jesus with radical abandonment meant staying in a small town, loving the people in front of you, raising babies to love the Lord Jesus, and dying unknown to the world and with no discernible impact beyond your immediate circle of family and friends? What if the cross Jesus calls you to bear is to sacrifice your ambition and your restless chasing of The Next Big Thing and instead give attention to ordinary means of grace, designed by Christ's appointment to make you fit for resurrection life begun now and culminating in the new heaven and earth?
Horton lays down a welcome challenge to a fascination with the superlative, an obsession with metrics, a selling out to marketing that seeks to draw us away from what God has ordained to form us into the image of his Son. What is needed by confused teens, exhausted parents, discouraged elders, and anxious singles? Is it not the Word, sacraments, and prayer? What if the Lord's Supper will do more for you than ticking off the boxes of the conference circuit and the latest evangelical fad? What if loving the neighbor next door is harder than loving kids in an African slum? What if God transforms the world through the catechesis of the young and the slow growth in grace of generations who sit under preaching together and unite their voices in prayer and praise?
What if the better way to take back our faith from the American Dream is to delight in the ordinary and everyday, to revel in Sabbath rest, and to pursue our vocations and raise our families to the glory of God?
Horton lays down a welcome challenge to a fascination with the superlative, an obsession with metrics, a selling out to marketing that seeks to draw us away from what God has ordained to form us into the image of his Son. What is needed by confused teens, exhausted parents, discouraged elders, and anxious singles? Is it not the Word, sacraments, and prayer? What if the Lord's Supper will do more for you than ticking off the boxes of the conference circuit and the latest evangelical fad? What if loving the neighbor next door is harder than loving kids in an African slum? What if God transforms the world through the catechesis of the young and the slow growth in grace of generations who sit under preaching together and unite their voices in prayer and praise?
What if the better way to take back our faith from the American Dream is to delight in the ordinary and everyday, to revel in Sabbath rest, and to pursue our vocations and raise our families to the glory of God?
May 15, 2020
Ordinary was a surprisingly great read. This is the first work I’ve read by the author, but it will not be my last. If not for the frequent insertions of Covenant Theology, this would easily rate 5 stars.
Ordinary is a critical and insightful look at the success syndrome that pervades much of the American brand of Christianity, primarily in the way it shapes our methods and styles of ministry. The biblical principles that undergird the author’s diagnosis of the ills he addresses are sound. The way he addresses them is engaging, and full of thought provoking and memorable statements. His insight reminds me of David Wells, but they are more accessible. I do not mean to imply Horton lacks scholarships, only that he seems to have been concerned with reaching a broader audience.
The success syndrome has invaded the pastorate. It shapes how we view the health and impact of our churches. It affects how we conduct children’s ministries and youth ministries. It is responsible for much of the ground biblical Christianity has lost in our culture. The author addresses each of these in-depth, and other issues as well.
Ordinary is a great compliment to The Courage to be Protestant by Wells, and Prophetic Untimeliness by Guinness, without being redundant. The answers Horton frames in terms of the elements of Covenant Theology miss the mark, but identifying better, biblical answers is not difficult. I will be referencing this work in the future.
Ordinary is a critical and insightful look at the success syndrome that pervades much of the American brand of Christianity, primarily in the way it shapes our methods and styles of ministry. The biblical principles that undergird the author’s diagnosis of the ills he addresses are sound. The way he addresses them is engaging, and full of thought provoking and memorable statements. His insight reminds me of David Wells, but they are more accessible. I do not mean to imply Horton lacks scholarships, only that he seems to have been concerned with reaching a broader audience.
The success syndrome has invaded the pastorate. It shapes how we view the health and impact of our churches. It affects how we conduct children’s ministries and youth ministries. It is responsible for much of the ground biblical Christianity has lost in our culture. The author addresses each of these in-depth, and other issues as well.
Ordinary is a great compliment to The Courage to be Protestant by Wells, and Prophetic Untimeliness by Guinness, without being redundant. The answers Horton frames in terms of the elements of Covenant Theology miss the mark, but identifying better, biblical answers is not difficult. I will be referencing this work in the future.
April 13, 2025
Ordinary by Michael Horton was a refreshing and much-needed read for me. It wasn’t quite what I expected—it was more. Horton doesn’t just focus on the personal side of “ordinary,” but zooms out to look at the church and corporate life as well. In a highly emotional, sensationalized culture that constantly pushes us to be “radical,” we risk far more than we gain.
This book is a much-needed call back to the beauty and depth of faithfulness in the everyday. I honestly think it’s an important read for every Christian, pastor, and disciple of Christ who wants to serve the LORD with joy in the life HE has given us.
“We must beware of missing the value of the ordinary by seeing it as just one more means to greatness. True, there are many ordinary people who, precisely through their ordinary callings, sometimes make an extraordinary impact. Yet it is just as true that ordinary lives have an ordinary impact that is beautiful in its own right.”
This book is a much-needed call back to the beauty and depth of faithfulness in the everyday. I honestly think it’s an important read for every Christian, pastor, and disciple of Christ who wants to serve the LORD with joy in the life HE has given us.
“We must beware of missing the value of the ordinary by seeing it as just one more means to greatness. True, there are many ordinary people who, precisely through their ordinary callings, sometimes make an extraordinary impact. Yet it is just as true that ordinary lives have an ordinary impact that is beautiful in its own right.”
November 4, 2021
This was such an interesting, thought-provoking book. It definitely opened my mind to new things I hadn't considered before.
It's about how these days, we need to change the world. We must be radical, be those people who make a difference. Nobody wants to be ordinary, but that is exactly what we're called to be. We're called to live our ordinary lives and fulfill our ordinary callings and grow through the ordinary means of grace.
We thirst for glory, but apart from God. Yet through Christ we will be glorified far beyond our wildest dreams. We will live forever with God; it is a promise that had been secured by Christ's victory over death. Through this knowledge we can live embrace the ordinary lives that God has given us and look forward to the day when we will finally be with Him forever.
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
-Ephesians 4:1-3
It's about how these days, we need to change the world. We must be radical, be those people who make a difference. Nobody wants to be ordinary, but that is exactly what we're called to be. We're called to live our ordinary lives and fulfill our ordinary callings and grow through the ordinary means of grace.
We thirst for glory, but apart from God. Yet through Christ we will be glorified far beyond our wildest dreams. We will live forever with God; it is a promise that had been secured by Christ's victory over death. Through this knowledge we can live embrace the ordinary lives that God has given us and look forward to the day when we will finally be with Him forever.
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
-Ephesians 4:1-3
August 13, 2022
I wasn’t able to finish this… my general thoughts are that I’m just not a two kingdoms guy. I agree that we need to live quite and humble lives, free of the anxieties of “being something great” that plagues the church today… but I am just too ambrosian. I want my kids to live in a Christian nation and think the Lord does too.
That said there was a lot of good stuff here and good take aways. Horton is solid.
That said there was a lot of good stuff here and good take aways. Horton is solid.
December 6, 2020
Book 2/? in my How to Slow Down personal project.
If I had read this when it was first published in 2014, it would have blown my mind. But after reading the likes of Sayers it was more like a familiar, cooling balm (however - much more accessible than Sayers). A plea to return to the sacred, ordinary, patterns of life that have sustained Christians for millennia.
If I had read this when it was first published in 2014, it would have blown my mind. But after reading the likes of Sayers it was more like a familiar, cooling balm (however - much more accessible than Sayers). A plea to return to the sacred, ordinary, patterns of life that have sustained Christians for millennia.
May 14, 2022
I love Michael Horton’s premise—live a faithful, ordinary life for Christ. He presents a clear case for daily life: in parenting, working, loving neighbors, Sabbath rest, etc.. This book is chock full of scripture and reflections by the best theologians throughout history about living faithfully. I find myself continually going back to these principles of faithfulness in the day to day Christian life, when there is so much cultural pressure to do something “extraordinary.”
However, Horton is just a little too long, repetitive, preachy and at times scorning other Christian perspectives. It took me a long time to finish this fairly slim book as I kept losing interest or just couldn’t digest the repetition. I’ll take what was useful to me and leave the rest.
However, Horton is just a little too long, repetitive, preachy and at times scorning other Christian perspectives. It took me a long time to finish this fairly slim book as I kept losing interest or just couldn’t digest the repetition. I’ll take what was useful to me and leave the rest.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 310 reviews