Ironically, for a book called There is More, it didn't really have much to say. Once you've read the front cover you've basically got the gist of it. Brian Houston's a pretty good communicator, to be sure, but the book doesn't really do anything beyond that. A few of my qualms:
1) I think he gets the essence of Christian ministry, and the Christian life in general, wrong. He begins the book talking about the dreams that were on his heart from a young age: to be on a massive stage, to do something on a bigger scale than the church he grew up in, to travel to glamorous and impressive cities and get out of his small town, to lead an influential church that spreads its music throughout the earth. But is this something Christian ministers should aspire to? To be sure, in every generation it is inevitable that some authors, speakers, songs will do well and shape the way Christianity is expressed. But the idea that "I" should be the one to do it is what puzzles me for a number of reasons: Firstly, it's the nature of the game that not everyone will be able to do that. Every pastor should not and can not be the huge conference speaker with massive name recognition. If everyone is, then no one is. Secondly, wouldn't it be far more prudent to desire that the best and truest ideas, songs, and insights take off, regardless of who it is that is fronting them? I may not have the best insights. I may not have the best songs. That's ok. I can take my seat and benefit from what is genuinely helpful. I should want the church to succeed and grow, not my platform. Thirdly, I think it undermines the importance of the really important, gritty, day in/day out work of local church pastors. Their work matters, and it's crucial that they stay at their post. If Houston is right, they should always be scheming up ways to have more viewers, a bigger platform, and a better itinerary. Now if that means more successful evangelism, then great, but I don't think that is what he's meaning a lot of the time. For the vast majority of pastors, their work is done in secret and will be rewarded by their heavenly father. If it so happens that they go viral and get to stay in some fancy hotels, then great, but that shouldn't be the goal. In the book, Houston talks about New Zealand, his country of origin, not being the proper material to work with if he wanted to achieve the success he desired. Basically, he had to get out of there. Imagine if all Kiwi pastors followed suit? Does Houston think they should? Fourthly, I think it blurs the categories of sacred and secular. In short, I think it's fine to want to see the world and get out of your small town. I'm an emo kid, I get it. But that is not what the purpose of Christian ministry is. Fifthly, it doesn't seem to fit with what Houston himself even says later in the book about putting pastors on a pedestal. My guy, if you're wanting to be on big stages, speak before crowds, and have the church around the world singing your songs, that is the definition of a pedestal. Sixthly, if we keep in mind that in effect this is a ministerial guide book for the 21st century, the understanding of ministry offered by Houston here is like day and night when compared to a Charles Bridges, D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, or Spurgeon.
2) The use of Scripture often misrepresented the Bible and plucked verses right out of their context. When interacting with Biblical narratives, no effort was made to connect it to the wider story line of Scripture (ie. Joseph became a big dog, so you can be come a big dog). I didn't count, but I would say more than half of the scriptural citations made errors like this. Isaiah 43:19 ("Behold I am doing a new thing") is not about your new business venture, multisite campus or anything else like this. It's true of the entire new covenant era and will be consummated in the second coming of our Lord. Mark 10:43 ("But whoever would be great among you must be your servant") is not saying that in order to be a big dog and step into your dreams, you have to serve others. He's saying that if you serve, you are among those regarded as great by the Lord, who looks not on the outward appearance, but the heart. I struggle to understand how contorting the Scriptures we are supposed to value highly gets such a pass like this. I'm shocked at the amount of endorsements. I'm shocked that the publishers let it through. Does no one at the Christian publishing house care?
3) I also struggle with the comments about tradition. On one level I get it: the 21st century church has found itself in a different set of circumstances to, say, the 19th, and should strategise accordingly. I also understand Scripture's urging to look forward, be future focused (ie. Phil 3:13-14, Isaiah 43:18, Ecclesiastes 7:8, 10). At the same time, looking to the past and drawing insight from it is affirmed over and over again in Scripture (ie. Isaiah 46:8-9, 2 Timothy 2:1-2, Proverbs 22:28). Yes, the Holy Spirit is at work now, but let's not forget he has been at work in the past centuries and we don't need to reinvent the theological wheel. From my perspective, where the charismatic church is at its weakest is in its failure to consider tradition and history and be principled in its ecclesiology. I'm not saying everything from the past needs to be accepted wholesale, but you've got to at least be aware of what you're rejecting/replacing.
Like possibly many, I've mainly known Hillsong through their music rather than their content. Because a lot of the music is of high quality and actually does have some good insights, I think I was surprised to find this book to be exactly like a bunch of the other flaky books out there. Anecdotally, I'm getting the feeling that Christians are growing more and more dissatisfied with this kind of thing. If that's true, it's not a moment too soon.