Slow Down

by Russ Johnson, Gino Curcuruto, Tony Sorci

With a post-Christian society looming over the Western horizon, many church leaders and members race for the magic bullet. Ironically, it's the freedom from this race, made available to us through Jesus, that invites us to embrace an ancient, minimalist approach resonating with those who are uninterested in the church. Slow Down is a tangible look at this ancient way for our present time, written by practitioners with years of experience in making disciples, equipping leaders, and forming new church families.

89 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[WadeofEarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredibly refreshing for me. Starting out with the endorsements at the front, there are pastors, authors, and theologians alongside a UPS drivers, stay at home moms, and a farmer; to me these kinds of endorsements spoke volumes concerning the goals and focus in even writing such a book: it is not geared towards the elite and it doesn't have aspersions of greatness, but only helpfulness.

The book itself focuses mainly on some key teachings of Jesus that are under very little controversy, actually I would say that they are, generally, so lacking in controversy, they can easily be taken completely for granted. Here, Johnson and company talk about, not just what we who are seeking to follow Jesus are called to, but they also seek to create a discussion on how to practically do that without creating a system that makes us too busy to actually do it!

I appreciate the content of this book,but even more I appreciate the tone, attitude, simplicity and cleverness in which it was written. Do yourself a favor and check it out! It is a quick read and so worth the time!

[Steve Foor · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Slow Down" is a fantastic look at how discipleship is supposed to look. It takes a genuine and Biblical look at how to address the problem of reaching people who are all around us who are not interested in ever walking into much less participating in a formal church environment. It emphasizes the whole point of the Great Commission which is "GO" and make disciples. It emphasizes that necessary relational aspect of disciple making...coming along side those who are already a part of our lives in the places we live, work, and play and simply investing in their lives to understand where they are coming from, what they are looking for, and then sharing our own story and how Jesus has helped to shape our lives. It de-emphasizes the importance of the need for "programs" and "new-approaches" to try to reach those who are unreached (and aren't interested in those approaches in the first place). It takes things back to the time of the initial days shortly after Christ's resurrection and models the growth of the church back in the days of Acts.

This book if for those who are looking to strengthen themselves in their understanding of disciple making, those who are looking to plant a more home-grown type of church family, as well as those who are members or leaders of long established churches of all sizes. In the end, the important message of this book is that God calls us to make disciples and to spread the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. This is an encouraging way to show that in the process we can Slow Down to do it and bask in the joy of the process as opposed to feeling burdened to do so.