Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life

by Jeff Vanderstelt

Many Christians have unknowingly embraced a lie--the idea that "church" is a once-a-week event rather than a community of Spirit-empowered people; that "ministry" is something pastors do on Sunday morning rather than the 24/7 calling of all true believers; and that "discipleship" is a program rather than the normal state of every follower of Jesus. Drawing on his experience as a pastor and church planter, Jeff Vanderstelt wants us to see that there's more--much more--to the normal Christian life than merely sitting in a pew and listening to a sermon once a week. Rather, God has called his people to something bigger: a view of the Christian life that encompasses the ordinary, the extraordinary, and everything in between.

Genres: Christian, Discipleship, Christianity, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Faith, Evangelism

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2015

About the author

Jeff Vanderstelt is the visionary leader of the Soma Family of Churches. He also serves as one of the teachers and elders of Soma Tacoma. He is the author of Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life. He lives in Tacoma, Washington with his wife, Jayne, and their three kids.

Reviews

[Matthew Manchester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this 3.5 stars but rounded down instead of up. I need to separate my thoughts about the book itself and my thoughts about his ideas.

THE BOOK:
The reason I rated this 3/5 stars is because of the book itself. Most of the information in this book is simply repeated. This could've been 3 (although longer) blog posts. It did not require a whole book, or one of this size, to tell.
I also felt he highly disliked the word "church". I only remember hearing it once in the whole book. Usually they are called "missional gatherings" or something hipster like that. lol
The final big thing I didn't like this book was the lack of scripture. The book is 35% story and maybe 1% scripture, if that. I'm not saying what he wrote was unbiblical. He just didn't root it in the Scripture like I would expect from a Reformed (and from Crossway) title.

THE IDEA:
As for what he said, most of it was really good. The parts on compassion and city outreach were golden, though my favorite sections were the ending chapters on how to practically start the kind of "gatherings" they talk about in the book. I LOVE the idea of having the church meet for dinner regularly in people's homes. How our churches would change if we did this every 2 weeks!

Also, although this book is missing a lot of Bible verses, it is FULL of the gospel. From the reason we meet, to the doctrine of vocation and Coram Deo, to reaching out to the lost, to giving one's finances to church families who are in need are all deeply rooted in gospel thought. It was edifying and encouraging to be reminded of these things.

------------------

Overall, I felt like I was reading a gospel-centered-and-saturated (hehe) version of a Craig Groeschel book. Take that for what you will.

[Aaron Carlberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is essentially everything Jeff has ever said condensed in a way that almost everyone can understand. If you are a fan of SOMA, been to a training, this book will feel very elementary in that you have heard it all before, but if you are new to the idea of missional communities I couldn't recommend this book any higher!

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good parts with a few very disappointing sections.

Started in a church community group, which was volunteering at a local Keim Center (Crisis Pregnancy Center). June 24, 2019, was the first Keim Center meeting. Apparently this book was helpful in shaping the vision of the director of the Keim Center.

Introduction
Jesus saturation = "having a daily encounter with Jesus through words spoken and deeds done through his people"
first first mentioned in Hab. 2:14 (as waters cover the sea)
"this book is written to encourage the everyday Jesus follower to engage in the everyday stuff of life with the goal of seeing Jesus saturation for everyone in every place"
Jesus saturation = "him filling us so he can fill the world through us"

Part 1: Beginnings
Ch. 1: It Began in a Boat
Jeff was a youth pastor for 12 years at Willow Creek. [Wikipedia; Willow Creek affirms women in ministry and employs women pastors but has taken criticism for not being supportive of LGBT.]
parents were great at hospitality
You don't just go to church as a spectator; you are the church.
2003: quit position and moved to Seattle to plant churches

Ch. 2: Jesus Goes to Poker Parties
feasts foreshadow the kingdom of God; Heaven isn't just a long church service
OT requirements to donate money so feasts could be good [no reference given]
Jesus used ceremonial cleansing jars for his water-to-wine miracle.
dismantling the sacred-secular split; holy things are anything done for God's glory
named their church Soma (Greek for "body")

Part 2: Jesus
Ch. 3: Jesus Is Better
Jesus builds his church through us, but we don't carry the entire burden. He's the savior, not us.
Jeff read Tim Keller on how Jesus doesn't just jumpstart the Christian life.
The gospel is the power to break the penalty, power, and presence of sin.

Ch. 4: Jesus Did It Better: We Have Been Saved
bad advice regarding sanctification

Ch. 5: Jesus Does It Better: We Are Being Saved

Ch. 6: Jesus Will Make It Better: We Will Be Saved
Jim Elliot

Part 3: Discipleship
Ch. 7: All-of-Life Discipleship

Ch. 8: Life on Life

Ch. 9: Life in Community
DNA groups: discover, nurture, act

Ch. 10: Life on Mission
mission trips help us too

Part 4: New Identity
Ch. 11: You Do Who You Are
"being precedes doing"

Ch. 12: We Are Family: Baptized into the Name of the Father

Ch. 13: We Are Servants: Baptized into the Name of the Son (the King)
work to make things look like God's kingdom

Ch. 14: We Are Missionaries: Baptized into the Name of the Holy Spirit
Rick Warren
strange resurrection story

Part 5: The Everyday Stuff
Ch. 15: Everyday Rhythms
six rhythms: eating, listening, storytelling, blessing, celebrating, recreating
good reminder that God doesn't speak to us and contradict his word (173–74)
disappointing examples of volunteering to help at wicked events (183–84)

Ch. 16: An Everyday Plan

Ch. 17: Everyday People on Mission
details about how people of the church ministered to a local high school football team

Conclusion

[Edwin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country. (Proverbs 25:25)

This book is cut from the same cloth as Rosaria Butterfield's Gospel Comes With a House Key. It has Trinitarian, Gospel saturated roots and loving, God glorifying fruit. To be honest, at times it feels almost like a dream, almost too good to be true. But this is the power of God we're talking about! Jeff's vision is infectious and I hope more of us catch it.

[Jeremy Gardiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The purpose of the book is to see the whole world saturated with the message of Jesus by word and action through ordinary people. It paints a great picture of everyone sharing in the work of the gospel and being deep in each other's lives, rather than merely attending event-based church on Sunday where a few participate and the rest just watch. I agreed with most of the content and will definitely apply much of it in our small group.

However, there are numerous troubling aspects of this book as well. I think they are all tied to the fact that Jeff lacks the "prophet" role in ministry. He advocated for non-confrontation of a doobie smoking/drunk new disciple of Jesus. Jeff just follows this new Christian around a concert while he gets high and drunk, keeping him out of trouble. Though people suggested he be confronted, Jeff wanted to pray for him to be convicted instead. The fact that this happened was evidence for him that it was a good idea. Very pragmatic.
Another instance was a person stopped attending church almost entirely. His solution was to start praying for him again. This is an example of a deeper problem where he often presents being "spirit led" in these types of situations to justify non-confrontation. Then there was him lifting up examples of his group serving as designated drivers for pub crawlers and a pastor serving as a bounce-house operator for an LGTB community party. A pastor serving at an LGTB event communicates approval to those who onlook (1 Thess 5:22). Though these are done with good intentions, they are not helpful.

So good book overall, with some very troubling application.

[Jared Daugherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gospel Mission that is simple, straightforward, and yet specific for every Christian on living the commands of Jesus.

[Liz Wann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My three year old spills things. My almost one year old spills things too. Because of this I have a good idea of what the word saturate means.

1. to cause a substance to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance, through solution, chemical combination, or the like.

2. to soak, impregnate, or imbue one thoroughly or completely.

In Jeff Vanderstelt's book, Saturate: Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life, he is talking about something more spiritual than kids who spill things. He is referring to our life with Christ spilling over into our everyday mundane lives.

"It has always been God's intention to choose normal, everyday people, and to show his amazing power and glory through them."

Vanderstelt isn't talking about another church program based out of a church building, but a way of life that makes Christ's mission and ministry the core of our very lives. Because we are the church. We gather together every week in a building and then our weekday is spent in our various vocations and activities. Our weekdays are the lifeblood of Gospel living and Gospel mission. As Vanderstelt says:

"Church is the people of God doing the work of God in everyday life."

As the Church, we need to be equipped on how to be intentional where God has us. What opportunities are around us for ministry and mission? Or what opportunities can we make for ourselves in the place and season God has us in right now? Vanderstelt refers to Jesus as our example in this:

"Jesus lived a normal, quiet life for thirty years in an unknown town....The difference is that Jesus did everything for his heavenly Father's glory. He lived all of his life as an expression of his love for God the Father...He set apart every aspect of life as holy unto the Lord."

This aspect of the book encouraged and challenged me. Being a stay at home mom is as normal and real as it gets. My days are consumed with taking care of little ones, and I'm learning that this work is holy unto the Lord; it is my primary ministry and mission in life right now. This was the encouraging part, and yet the challenging part is the area I am weak in right now, which is extending this mission and ministry beyond my family. Because of this book I'm now intentionally thinking through ways I can (with my family) reach out more to fellow Christians and non-christians in my home.

The rest of the book outlines ways to engage in all-of-life discipleship, which is learning to follow, trust, and obey Jesus in our everyday lives. Here is an excerpt on three key environments that are essential for this type of discipleship:

"Life on life, where our lives are visible and accessible to one another; life in community, where more than one person is developing another; and life on mission, where we experience making disciples and, while doing so, come to realize how much we need God's power."

Here is another great summarizing excerpt on what it means to be the body of Jesus (the Church):

"Who is God? He is our King (the Son). What has he done? He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Who are we? We are servants of the King of kings. If we believe this, what do we do? We serve the least of the people of the world as an act of worship of our King. "


You don't have to be a pastor or missionary to engage in the mission and ministry work of Christ; you just have to believe, by faith, in the saving work of Jesus Christ. We are sent by God into the world through our normal lives: our day jobs, school, community work, the grocery store, the local library, and our homes. This is true Gospel saturation. This is how God chooses to fulfill his work, plan, and purpose on the earth until he returns. We get to be apart of this in the everyday stuff of life; let's saturate where we are right now.

"Who is God? He is Spirit. What has he done? He sent and empowered Jesus the Son to take on flesh and to seek and save what was lost. Who are we? We are missionaries, sent and empowered by the same Spirit. If we believe this, what do we do? We make disciples of Jesus through proclaiming the gospel in the power of the Spirit."


{This book was a complimentary copy from Crossway book publishers.}

For more book reviews, visit my blog: http://rowhomereview.com

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will have to admit when I got into Jeff's journey of missions, I thought here we go again. Another book about missions that is pragmatic and has no life. The deeper I got into the journey, the more it spoke life into me and that is what the gospel does. Jeff's background began in the Mega of Mega churches...Willow Creek and it was leaving the mega that opened his heart to what the gospel is really about, living in community. To be honest, as a Christian, I have not experienced living in community like Jeff has experienced and I think most Christians would be hard pressed to have experienced that as well.

Jeff starts with the basic foundation-the Gospel and the Gospel revealed by the Holy Spirit leading. I loved the emphasis of the Holy Spirit. The clarity of the work of the Holy Spirit and how we can get in the way of that work. Many times Church becomes an event, another program, another thing to do once or twice week. We cannot have community that way. Speaking from experience, working at my church several years ago for 10 years, I did feel and experienced community, but when I was let go, my community was as well. To be honest, I have not recovered from that and reading Saturate made me realize how I am grieving for community. So if you are in church leadership, it is a easy thing. However, when you have a job, a family, and 20,000 million directions pulling you away from community, it can be difficult to be in community. Don't misunderstand me, we still need to strive for community for the health of the church, our maturity, and our relationship with the Lord and others. Jeff's community got that, applied that and lived it. It strived not to leave others behind and to pursue and not give up on people. If there is one in the party that is not willing to give up, someone has a chance, but when all parties give up on a lost sheep, that sheep may be lost forever. Love your sheep!

Many things keep you from community. Is it doubt? Is it fear? Lack of confidence? All things belong to Christ-your doubt, your fear and your confidence. This is a process, this takes the holy Spirit. Reflect on this. Pray on this. Find examples in others, to be transparent with. Reveal your brokenness-don't ignore it. Another personal reflection for me is are we living in community within our own families. If not, it would be a good start and if that is not possible, pray for a family that live in community with you.

Jeff's experience in being disciples of Jesus in everyday stuff is encouraging. He does not portray it as easy, but so worth it. It is the everyday stuff like eating, how meals can have eternal significance. Learning the art of listening because it is in the listening we can be applicable to the needs of those in our community. Celebrating life with each other like birthday, anniversaries. Where there is celebration, there is joy. Learning to play and laugh with each other as well. This is where bonding takes place. Many great ways where community can do every day life together and be a family to each other. Conflicts will happen but it is in the conflicts where real discipleship takes place.

Regardless of how you apply discipleship and community, it is Jesus work in you that will He will see to the end. Don't put your hope in your faithfulness but in His work in you.

A Huge thank you to Crossway Books and Netgalley for an ARC copy and the opportunity to review.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theologically rich, helpfully practical. Full of encouraging real-life examples of what it can look like to be disciples making disciples - not just through church programs and Sunday mornings, but through the church community living and doing everyday life together. This is a book about God doing big things through normal people, by the power of His Spirit.

For me personally, this book engaged with a lot of my fears of getting close to people in community - both with the church and unbelievers alike. The fear is that things will get messy; sin will be exposed - and what then? Then - the GOOD NEWS meets us. The truth of the Gospel can be spoken to each other, repentance can happen, and Jesus is shown every time to be the true Savior in our stories. We can be humbled as we see restoration happen in each other's lives.

"[God's] means of restoration is others in your life who are committed to bringing your brokenness out into the open and bringing the gospel of Jesus to bear on it. The layers with which we've covered ourselves have to be pulled back, and we can't do that kind of work alone. We have to get close. We have to be seen and known.

"This is what we call life-on-life discipleship - life that is lived up close so that we are visible and accessible to one another, so that others can gently peel back the layers and join us in our restoration."
- pg. 95

[Chris Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long known of the passion that Jeff Vanderstelt has for seeing communities of believers spread out across cities, states, nations, and the world to display the beauty, love, and worth of Jesus. "Saturate"is a labor of love from Vanderstelt to the church at large, especially those who have adopted a small group meeting through the week model of church, although this would be easily applicable to a Sunday School model as well.

Jeff walks the reader through the life of his church through the eyes of their missional communities and all the myriad ways opportunities are present to be the Church to our neighborhoods and cities. I was grateful for the second part of the book, "Jesus", where Jeff walks through the supremacy of Jesus and how he has saved, is saving, and will save us and this reality serves as the foundation for healthy biblical communities that are focused on gospel proclamation, gospel service, and gospel maturity. If we leave out any of the three ways Jesus is saving us we will miss out on holistic ministry that verbalizes the gospel, serves through the gospel, and matures believers in the gospel. From here Jeff builds on the foundation in part 3 about "Discipleship" and part 4 about our "New Identity." It is hard to overestimate how important these three sections are to establishing a firm foundation for any iteration of small group, life group, missional community health and longevity.

The most convicting and helpful portion of the book for me was the final section on "The Everyday Stuff." Here is where my mind begin to spin with all of the possibilities that lay before us as a new church just getting started in our city. The conviction settled in as I began to realize just how much of my personal calendar is set with a priority on my family and not on my family being on mission because we belong to the family of God. So often disciple making doesn't happen because our schedules don't show discipleship as a priority. The helpful part in particular came from beginning to think through the rhythms that Vanderstelt and his church identified: Eat, Listen, Story, Bless, Celebrate, and ReCreate. Regardless of where you live these are the things everyone, regardless of beliefs, does every day it is just a matter of the Church thinking creatively and intentionally of how to be involved with other disciples and to borrow Vanderstelt's phrase "those who are not yet disciples."

I am grateful for this book and the roadmap it lays out for how to become a church focused on saturating our city for the fame of Jesus. I look forward to reading "Gospel Fluency" in the near future and learning more from Jeff and his ministry. I would encourage you to pick this book up and give it a read if you are looking for ways to become more intentional in living in the everyday stuff of life on mission for Jesus!

[Whitney Winslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea that we are always discipling and being discipled is a key theme in this book. Yes and Amen! It’s not a separate activity it’s life on life.
Finished the book feeling encouraged and motivated to continue and grow in living in a way that honors God. Reaching out and pressing in to the lives of others.
I gave it a four because I wasn’t naturally engaged to keep reading. Maybe it was the way it flowed and my own attention span. That said I kept reading and I’m glad I did. I learned helpful and practical reasons for why we live the way we do. It calls to mind John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The missional covenant that is in the Appendix is a helpful structure for a group would isn’t naturally used to the process. It’s a tool to equip the saints. I think however, as communities grow in these practices I don’t know that the heavy heavy structure would continue to be helpful, but nonetheless, that’s a personal thought.

[Christopher David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is Soma's discipleship theology, philosophy and ministry strategy. For those who are familiar with the missional community movement in churches in the last couple of decades then this is basically the manual for all that. While beautifully gospel centered and peppered with tools and encouragement to be a community that lives out the great commission, the book tends to be more missional focused than worship focused. Thus instead of being ecclesiastically centered, it is missionally centered. Other than this issue, the book has greatly influenced my thinking and been a great blessing for me.

[Jonathan Crabb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book on practical, all-in Christian living. I very much appreciate the model that the author brings forward. It’s well written and there are great resources through the book to get immediately started.

My only challenge with the book is that it very much goes against the grain of American evangelicalism in its current most prominent form. It was hard to deny the validity of his suggestions and yet it was so radically different than middle class life, that it was hard to seriously consider undertaking. I think that says more about me than the book. This is one to seriously discuss within the church community.

[Lexi V · Rating 4 out of 5]

recommended by Christianne

I appreciate all of Vanderstelt's stories of real-life examples of how we can be Jesus' hands and feet to the world. I am inspired to a) pray that the Holy Spirit will convict others before I confront them myself, b) pray every day that the Father will give me an opportunity to share the gospel that day, and c) study and work for the glory of God every day.

[Aubrey Swanson · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star because there were barely any scriptural references and just plain weird examples used throughout the book. The premise of the book is good and important, but nothing novel. Kind of felt like I’ve read similar content in books about purpose etc.

[James Gómez · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been a few years since I first read this book. I’d didn’t initially realize how 70-80% of the book is anecdotal and focused on stories. Only the last 3 chapters deal with practical rhythms and navigating barriers.

[Bethany Battles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book overall with great points. However, I didn’t love all the dialogue and story telling from his real life experiences. They were good examples from experiences with Soma, but I found myself skimming a lot of them to get to the main point he was making.

[Lydia Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would highly suggest if you love Jesus and want to have practical examples of how to live life loving/learning about Him with others. This would have blown my mind in middle school, but it's very similar to the DNA of our church. Being a disciple is loving God and inviting others into it with you.

[Kari McLeod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Jeff’s writing style. Easy to read and understand. I also appreciate the practical and real life examples used to illustrate topics.

[Paige Redwine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book inspiring. It has many examples of living on mission. I don’t like the “rebranding” of several common words that pertain to the church.

[Grant Humphreys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about practical ways to redeem all parts of our life, eliminate categorical lines of divided compartments, and bring it all into the light of Kingdom purpose.

[Alex Strasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the final 2 chapters on practical examples of what it looks like for missional communities to serve and love those around them.

[Andrew Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think for someone who isn't familiar with some of his terminology this book could be confusing, but putting that issue to one side I think its a very good book. I would say the big takeaway is that as believers we are called to bring tangible good into other peoples lives as a community and in a way that fits with the regular rhythms of life together. We are meant to show what God's kingdom looks like in fellowship and in service and then be prepared to give a clear, gospel centered answer when outsiders ask about our hope, 1 Peter 3:15. Jeff does a great job to make this lifestyle of service look like a joyful thing rather than a necessary evil. The picture he paints in the book definitely looks like "a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works," Titus 2:14, and that is a beautiful thing.

[Aaron Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Wordy" is a strange adjective for a book, don't you think? And yet that was my feeling throughout this book. No, the prose isn't flowery or poorly constructed. It's just that this book uses so much boilerplate it's difficult to strain out its unique contribution. There must be a way for the Gospel-centered, missional camp to say what we need to say without saying the same things every single time. Like maybe referring to a confessional document of some kind. I don't know what the solution is - we need to hear the Gospel repeated, but a hundred other authors have already said a lot of what's in here.

I get it, though. This is Jeff Vanderstelt's turn in the conversation, and he needs to show his Gospel credentials, as well as state clearly these eternal truths for those readers who will hear him first. Which is a bit of a shame for the rest of us because he is truly a revolutionary leader with some unique ideas!

Unique, not in the sense that these ideas can't be found in Scripture, but in the sense that the church has largely abandoned them. This is heart of what it means to BE the church. Other authors have embraced the idea of "everyday church" as the posture of the institution, but Vanderstelt may be one of the first in recent times to treat everyday discipleship as the essence of the church. The reader will not find any mention of worship services or church org charts but plenty of descriptions of "family" and "gathering," even "teaching." If there were such a thing as an "organic" church, this is it.

And that's why I would recommend this book to church leaders in all camps. Different parts of the book will make different people uncomfortable: Holy Spirit communications, miracles, alcohol, incarnation ministry, you name it. But everyone should be challenged by the simple idea that for Christians, church is not where we go or what we attend; it is what we are. And that's how to reach the world for Christ.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh! I really wanted to like this book because of several points of emphasis: Discipleship and loving our neighbors and reaching them with the gospel. I appreciate the author's many attempts at sharing the gospel and his care and concern for those who don't know Christ. I appreciate as well, his honesty about his short-comings. I just can't get to a place where I see the benefit of promoting Jesus as a partier. That terminology has so much baggage and therein is the problem. It appeals to the natural man and borders on a "bait and switch" approach (not that the author presented it as such, but clearly it walks so close to the line). To further the problem, there is an undertone of criticism directed at the organized church, pressing the reader to embrace the "missional community" idea. I understand, the organized church has problems, including a hang-over effect from the liberalism of the past, the high church, and Roman Catholic church, but all criticism of organized church is neither helpful or accurate. While I appreciate the focus of the missional community concept and the motivation that comes with much of it, a motivation to reach the various communities, it is not the only approach to reaching the lost. Nor is it necessarily the most effective. I'm sure that this book will provide a challenge for some readers, it just didn't grip me or leave me thinking, "Now this is a book that every believer ought to read."

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn between 3 and 4, as there were many chapters and sections which I really liked, but there were also times that I found it "tough going" as there seemed to be a lot of repetition of ideas.

I also agreed with the author most of the time, but sometimes felt that his recommendations on how to interpret the teachings of Jesus for our culture were a bit risky. As an example, I often felt that if young couples were following his recommendations, their children could often be put at risk. I know that Jesus mixed with all peoples, all cultures, all races, all levels of society, but He was and is the Son of God and also travelled with his disciples and followers as he went about. When we freely open up our home to our neighbours (meaning anyone we meet or want to disciple), we are also putting ourselves and our children at risk in the type of society we live in. Christian men are responsible for their families and mothers and fathers need to be there for their children helping with homework, treating them when sick, hugging and cuddling them, and if one or both of them are also working full time, and active in church work or other volunteer work, it leaves little time left to work with sports teams, school communities, etc. Having said that, I agree that we should never retire from "Making Jesus Known" and we need to be doing it on a daily basis from now until we take our last breath.

Thanks to Jeff for a very thought provoking book to remind us of our responsibilities as a child of God and an heir to His Kingdom.

[Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vanderstelt is a pastor in Bellevue Washington.
In this book, written in 2015, he writes about 'Jesus saturation' - everyone in every place having a daily encounter with Jesus through words spoken and deeds done through His people. Hab 2:14

This is an account of his church living out the Gospel in various places and ways.

Best passage in the book: "Jesus is better than any strategy. He is more faithful than your promises. He is more able to bring real, lasting heart-level change. He is the greatest missionary ever.

Jesus is better. He's better than you. He is better than your small group. He's better than your pastor. He's better than anyone or anything else." p53

The section of the book reminds me of the theme of the book of Hebrews.

In Vanderstelt's section on discipleship, he sometimes seems to rely on the strategy of certain categorizing life in certain rhythms such as: Eat, Listen, Story, Bless, Celebrate, ReCreate.
With this strategy, formula, grid, his church and small groups thought through and lived out, the Gospel and many people have come to Christ as a result.

Call me a bit of a cynic but I am not convinced such a formula is for everyone everywhere who desire to live out the Gospel in our culture. The section felt too much like a 'how to grow your church our way'.

Yet, Vanderstelt is a good writer, good ideas, some of which are good take aways.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really challenged my thinking about church. I disagreed with the author on points of theology and points of application but he did make me think which is never a bad thing. (It all fairness maybe some of my disagreement is not so much from the book but from being at a conference where I was a host for his seminars. I heard him speaker for three different sessions and some of that may be bleeding into this short review) He takes Acts chapter 2 and really applies it to life in ways I have never really seen before. He seems to be making it work.

While reading it I look back on my own life and think some of those things are unrealistic... until really think about it. Then I realize that many of the examples I have done myself with my family.

The first 1/3 to 1/2 of the book was spot on it was from there I had to stop many times and have a talk with my wife about what I was reading. This is the kind of book I enjoy because it challenges me.

Overall I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it with the acknowledgement that I still disagree with much of what the author says but that you can still benefit greatly from reading it prayerfully.

[So Won · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly thought there were too many anecdotes but that could have been because the other books I just read on discipleship were more academic(?) structured. I did find some anecdotes to be helpful and understand the intention of the author including them. I think he probably also wanted to make the book not so heavy to read, while still making the point the importance of discipleship.

What I did value about the book was the willingness of the author to be real about his own flaws and process towards holiness. At the end of the day, Pastor or lay person, we are all in the process of being grown into the image of Christ--it is not a conversion and done deal. It sounds easily done written on paper but knowing reality, really appreciated the example of the relationships Jeff and his wife, and his community committed themselves to. Especially having people live in their house. They show that even in the private, individualistic-culture of today, if we desire it, it can be done.

On a side note, I liked the little cute pictures that began each chapter. haha. :) The cover really hurt my eyes.

[Kylon Brune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vanderstelt's "Saturate" is a well articulated reminder that God's church is not simply a gathering but, it is also a call through the Father, Son, and Spirit into radical evangelism in the everyday rhythms of life. Vanderstelt provides many helpful anecdotes from his own experience as a church planter and visionary for Soma church that helps the reader understand that life on mission is not only the calling of every individual Christian, together with the universal church, but it is also entirely possible for those of us that may have told ourselves that we are not equipped to reach a broken and perishing world with the good news of the gospel. In all, "Saturate" was accessible, challenging, and encouraging as it exhorts all of us in Christ, to live into our design as full time missionaries in the context into which God has called each of us. After reading, I only wish that Vanderstelt had spent more time articulating how the church gathering for corporate worship relates to and energizes the church as she scatters on mission to reach those who do not yet know Jesus.