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So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church
More than 50 years ago scientists made a remarkable discovery, proclaiming, "We have found the secret of life ... and it's so pretty!" The secret was the discovery that life is helixical, two strands wound around a single axis—what most of us know today as the model for DNA. Over the course of his ministry, author Leonard Sweet has discovered that this divine design also informs God's blueprint for the church. In this seminal work, he shares the woven strands that form the missional, relational, and incarnational. Sweet declares that this secret is not just pretty, but beautiful. In fact, So Beautiful ! Using the poignant life of John Newton as a touchstone, Sweet calls for the re-union of these three essential, complementary strands of the Christian life. Far from a novel idea, Sweet shows how this structure is God's original intent, and shares the simply beautiful design for His church.
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
24 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Leonard Sweet
158 books138 followersLeonard I. Sweet is an author, preacher, scholar, and ordained United Methodist clergyman currently serving as the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School, in Madison, New Jersey; and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 21, 2022
So many insights spoke to me in this book that it makes a short review difficult. So, I will hit a few themes that resonated with me.
1. The churches relationship to modernity and propositional Christianity.
Sweet says many churches are “museums to modernity.” I am seeing this played out in my field, apologetics. Many apologists are fixated on leveraging Enlightenment rationalism for commending and commending the faith. The truth is, the Christian church survived – and thrived – for 1500 years before modernity, and it will be just fine in postmodernity. We can’t demand our listeners become converts to modernity before they can become followers of Christ. As Sweet says, “For Gutenbergers to expect Googleys to get de-Googled so that they can join a Gutenberg church – Good luck with that.”
2. Our mission.
Three things about mission stood out to me. First, mission is not agenda. God gives us a mission – a goal – a purpose – but not necessarily an agenda for accomplishing it. One of my most frustrating job experiences occurred years ago when our boss gave us a pretty menial task to complete. We were making quick work of it when our boss insisted we stop doing it the way were doing it and do it the way he always did it. We tried and slowed down to a crawl. Eventually, we ignored him and went back to our way. Our God gives us a mission, but not necessarily the “approved” method of carrying it out. Just get it done. Be creative. Play to your strengths.
Second, this mission is a joint venture with other believers. “We are not sent individually or in isolation but together…” We must work together toward accomplishing the mission rather than as individuals. We are an organic unity, each part with a purpose, not pious particles out in the world on our own.
Third, as Sweet says, “We seriously overpack for the journey of life.” As the body of Christ, we are on a shared journey. Such a body benefits from shared resources, economies of scale. This allows us to travel light – or should allow it – but we have become so at home in this consumer culture many in the church have massive anchors holding them in place.
3. Learning from everyone.
I so appreciated Sweet’s comments on the fact that he will quote anyone, especially the “bad and the ugly.” We really can learn from people we disagree with. It’s refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed the quotes peppered throughout text. They were thought provoking, pointed, and needed. I especially loved his Mencken quote because it speaks to the mindset of modernity: “There is always an easy solution to every human problem – neat, plausible, and wrong.”
The text did leave me some questions:
Sweet says that this is “likely the last generation to be familiar with the Christian story and for whom churches have cultural significance.” Is it necessarily a bad thing that the Christian story has lost its cultural significance? When it had that significance, did it do more to help the church’s mission or hurt it by allowing the church to be coopted by the culture or assimilated to it?
I’d love some clarification on the statement that, “Christians need to be bilingual, proficient in both the language of faith and the native language of the culture, but our public voice is the language of the culture.” Could this not lead to cultural accommodation as we prune/shape/alter our language to fit or appeal to culture? Sometimes the vocabulary of the culture comes loaded with meanings that can be (subtly and erroneously) read back into the Christian message.
Sweet says in So Beautiful, “One problem with the modern church is that it affirms less local distinctiveness than Cincinnati affirmed distinctive chilis.” If we insist that they affirm their local distinctiveness that could easily devolve into churches becoming caricatures of themselves. “We are all things X,” can become kitschy and inauthentic as well. Would it not be cultural imperialism for Americans to insist that African churches perform African music and maintain what we consider an authentic African culture? Shouldn’t we allow them the autonomy to decide that for themselves without criticism?
1. The churches relationship to modernity and propositional Christianity.
Sweet says many churches are “museums to modernity.” I am seeing this played out in my field, apologetics. Many apologists are fixated on leveraging Enlightenment rationalism for commending and commending the faith. The truth is, the Christian church survived – and thrived – for 1500 years before modernity, and it will be just fine in postmodernity. We can’t demand our listeners become converts to modernity before they can become followers of Christ. As Sweet says, “For Gutenbergers to expect Googleys to get de-Googled so that they can join a Gutenberg church – Good luck with that.”
2. Our mission.
Three things about mission stood out to me. First, mission is not agenda. God gives us a mission – a goal – a purpose – but not necessarily an agenda for accomplishing it. One of my most frustrating job experiences occurred years ago when our boss gave us a pretty menial task to complete. We were making quick work of it when our boss insisted we stop doing it the way were doing it and do it the way he always did it. We tried and slowed down to a crawl. Eventually, we ignored him and went back to our way. Our God gives us a mission, but not necessarily the “approved” method of carrying it out. Just get it done. Be creative. Play to your strengths.
Second, this mission is a joint venture with other believers. “We are not sent individually or in isolation but together…” We must work together toward accomplishing the mission rather than as individuals. We are an organic unity, each part with a purpose, not pious particles out in the world on our own.
Third, as Sweet says, “We seriously overpack for the journey of life.” As the body of Christ, we are on a shared journey. Such a body benefits from shared resources, economies of scale. This allows us to travel light – or should allow it – but we have become so at home in this consumer culture many in the church have massive anchors holding them in place.
3. Learning from everyone.
I so appreciated Sweet’s comments on the fact that he will quote anyone, especially the “bad and the ugly.” We really can learn from people we disagree with. It’s refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed the quotes peppered throughout text. They were thought provoking, pointed, and needed. I especially loved his Mencken quote because it speaks to the mindset of modernity: “There is always an easy solution to every human problem – neat, plausible, and wrong.”
The text did leave me some questions:
Sweet says that this is “likely the last generation to be familiar with the Christian story and for whom churches have cultural significance.” Is it necessarily a bad thing that the Christian story has lost its cultural significance? When it had that significance, did it do more to help the church’s mission or hurt it by allowing the church to be coopted by the culture or assimilated to it?
I’d love some clarification on the statement that, “Christians need to be bilingual, proficient in both the language of faith and the native language of the culture, but our public voice is the language of the culture.” Could this not lead to cultural accommodation as we prune/shape/alter our language to fit or appeal to culture? Sometimes the vocabulary of the culture comes loaded with meanings that can be (subtly and erroneously) read back into the Christian message.
Sweet says in So Beautiful, “One problem with the modern church is that it affirms less local distinctiveness than Cincinnati affirmed distinctive chilis.” If we insist that they affirm their local distinctiveness that could easily devolve into churches becoming caricatures of themselves. “We are all things X,” can become kitschy and inauthentic as well. Would it not be cultural imperialism for Americans to insist that African churches perform African music and maintain what we consider an authentic African culture? Shouldn’t we allow them the autonomy to decide that for themselves without criticism?
May 9, 2024
Mostly mishmash stapled together with hodgepodge and glued to some ragbag. The good parts were just ok but the bad parts were pretty bad.
October 24, 2019
In So Beautiful, Sweet presents a Theology of Life. Sweet is the E Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew University and a distinguished visiting professor at George Fox University. He writes in a very popular style but with deep meaning and provides a meaningful contribution to our daily lives.
Very reflective on the divine design in creation and the relationships of our lives. Also very practical with specific application to everyday events of life. He quotes sources from virtually every discipline and specialty of life, professors, philosophers, authors, musicians, poets, historians, scientists of various kinds, theologians, classical, medieval and modern.
This book was a delightful and rewarding read with great substance for mind and heart, for life in the real world with our sights on the cosmic scope of life.
Very reflective on the divine design in creation and the relationships of our lives. Also very practical with specific application to everyday events of life. He quotes sources from virtually every discipline and specialty of life, professors, philosophers, authors, musicians, poets, historians, scientists of various kinds, theologians, classical, medieval and modern.
This book was a delightful and rewarding read with great substance for mind and heart, for life in the real world with our sights on the cosmic scope of life.
July 6, 2012
Another thought provoking book by Sweet. MRI as not the call of the church but who/what the church truly is
July 3, 2024
I love Dr Len’s voice in the missional space. So many status quo practices are just accepted and not challenged. The MRI framework is so helpful in church leadership, and the questions he raises are important. This book is from 2008, so it feels a bit dated in places, but the depth and authenticity of the discussion is great. He and other leaders have taken these concepts so much further now, but this work seems foundationally significant. Also tons of great quotes from places you wouldn’t normally pull from.
December 31, 2023
This book has some good insights here and there but as a whole, it’s not very impressive or well put together. Some of his analogies were strange, and some of his statements I flat out disagree with (“Forgiveness means you give up the right to justice” page 238).
There are some good thoughts about the incarnational aspect of life, but I wouldn’t recommend buying the book.
There are some good thoughts about the incarnational aspect of life, but I wouldn’t recommend buying the book.
May 13, 2009
Leonard Sweet describes the DNA of the modern church with the acronym APC (Attractional, Propositional, and Colonial). He gets the acronym from the widely used Aches-Pains-Complaints (APC) pills from World War II. It's a highly addictive drug and it was later discovered to be very dangerous for ones health.
He argues this APC model of doing church has attracted members, encouraged propositional faith, and has encouraged a kind of consumerism to get our spiritual fix. This APC church often measures its success in terms of ABC: Attendance, Buildings, and Cash.
He asserts that the Church has a entirely different DNA which he calls MRI: Missional, Relational, and Incarnational. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, "Culture is not to be conquered or converted, but [rather:] incarnated, inhabited, and impregnated with the seed of the gospel. We are here to live on the earth in MRI beauty, and to enjoy a relationship with the One in whom we live and move and have our being."
Leonard paints a picture of what the MRI life looks like. In summary, "The church doesn't 'go' into the world and take the church there. Te church 'goes' into the world to discover itself there. The church isn't 'sent' into the world merely to bless or 'be a blessing to the nations.' The church is 'sent' to be Jesus. Jesus is the blessing. As we incarnate Jesus in the world, we will find ourselves doing things he did, even 'greater things.'"
He argues this APC model of doing church has attracted members, encouraged propositional faith, and has encouraged a kind of consumerism to get our spiritual fix. This APC church often measures its success in terms of ABC: Attendance, Buildings, and Cash.
He asserts that the Church has a entirely different DNA which he calls MRI: Missional, Relational, and Incarnational. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, "Culture is not to be conquered or converted, but [rather:] incarnated, inhabited, and impregnated with the seed of the gospel. We are here to live on the earth in MRI beauty, and to enjoy a relationship with the One in whom we live and move and have our being."
Leonard paints a picture of what the MRI life looks like. In summary, "The church doesn't 'go' into the world and take the church there. Te church 'goes' into the world to discover itself there. The church isn't 'sent' into the world merely to bless or 'be a blessing to the nations.' The church is 'sent' to be Jesus. Jesus is the blessing. As we incarnate Jesus in the world, we will find ourselves doing things he did, even 'greater things.'"
November 1, 2017
Leonard Sweet has once again provided for us an acronymn. Having created 'EPIC' to help us get a handle on the experiential, participatory, image driven, and 'connectivity' nature of the 21st century, he has now helped us to analyze the nature of the church. This, Sweet says, needs to be accomplished as an "exercise in anamnesia, or re-membering, after years of talking and writing about epiklesia, or "what's going on out there?" Is the church - those who you gather with to worship - best described by means of the acronymn APC (attrational, propositional, and colonial), which sometimes is referred to as the ABC Church (attendance, buildings, cash)? If so, the challenge of this book is to become "So Beautiful," that is, an MRI congregation (missional, relational, and incarnational). The book is divided into three part addressing each of these aspects: Part 1 - The Missional Life: God's 'Go'; Part 2 - The Relational Life: God's 'Yes'; and Part 3 - The Incarnational Life: God's 'No'. The book is another fine example of the creativity of the author, an example of how well read he is, and a prime source for bibliographic material. The creativity is demonstrated, for example, in the Epilogue, which is an analysis of the "ten ways to tell if your church is so beautiful" subtitled "Mirror, mirror...", an excellent new 'scorecard' to help you determine if you are "So Beautiful." I highly recommend this book - as I have with most of the books authored by Leonard Sweet.
November 21, 2013
This is one of my favorite books about the church and mission!
pg. 52 - thoughts on the transforming (negatively) power of our current "celebrity culture" and the "cult of the individual."
pg. 55 - mission as an attribute of God and finding His will for your life
pg. 72 - "if you aren't on a pilgrimage, you're a settler...", the modern church loves to settle
pg. 75 - the five characteristics of pilgrimage
pg. 123 - the inerrancy, the authority, and the living organism of scripture
pg. 135 - points, proofs, and propositions about God
pg. 151 - the great commission, as you go, and pulling people out of their contexts
pg. 153 - "Jesus was at home everywhere, but naturalized nowhere."
pg. 159 - the collision of Anglo and African culture and the Gospel
pg. 182 - not here to transform or reform a culture
pg. 187 - planting not harvesting...
pg. 201 - the church as translators between God and humans
pg. 206 - Wendell Berry and the miracle of turning water, soil, and sunlight into grapes
pg. 213 - dropping the language of likeness (Genesis 3)
pg. 225 - the difference of the incarnant
pg. 229 - the four dimensions of the incarnation
pg. 52 - thoughts on the transforming (negatively) power of our current "celebrity culture" and the "cult of the individual."
pg. 55 - mission as an attribute of God and finding His will for your life
pg. 72 - "if you aren't on a pilgrimage, you're a settler...", the modern church loves to settle
pg. 75 - the five characteristics of pilgrimage
pg. 123 - the inerrancy, the authority, and the living organism of scripture
pg. 135 - points, proofs, and propositions about God
pg. 151 - the great commission, as you go, and pulling people out of their contexts
pg. 153 - "Jesus was at home everywhere, but naturalized nowhere."
pg. 159 - the collision of Anglo and African culture and the Gospel
pg. 182 - not here to transform or reform a culture
pg. 187 - planting not harvesting...
pg. 201 - the church as translators between God and humans
pg. 206 - Wendell Berry and the miracle of turning water, soil, and sunlight into grapes
pg. 213 - dropping the language of likeness (Genesis 3)
pg. 225 - the difference of the incarnant
pg. 229 - the four dimensions of the incarnation
December 31, 2024
This year I was able to participate in a Learning & Leadership Cohort led by Dr. Sweet, including spending some time with him personally. He is chock full of wisdom, wit, metaphor, and mind-blowing words about Jesus! I read a few books by Dr. Sweet this year, but by far this one was my favorite. It is a divine message for the Church, both now and in the future. This book was prophetically written years back, but it will always just be true! I don't think there is a page in the entire book where something or many somethings are not underlined, starred, notated, or have a doodle drawn on it. :) Note the strand of DNA and Christian fish on the cover? Find out inside why it is a “so beautiful” design.
October 3, 2012
I enjoyed this when it came out. I read it quickly, so I probably did not take time to savor all the depths and nuances. It was well-said and written, and the ideas were great.
The one bone I picked with it that it said only one thing. It said it many ways, and rephrased it a lot, but when boiled down to its essence, it was one idea presented a myriad of ways. Perhaps it would have been better as a shorter work, or incorporated into another work.
Still, Leonard Sweet is a great writer, speaker, whom I admire and have had the occasion to meet and talk with on several occasions. I'm definitely a fan.
The one bone I picked with it that it said only one thing. It said it many ways, and rephrased it a lot, but when boiled down to its essence, it was one idea presented a myriad of ways. Perhaps it would have been better as a shorter work, or incorporated into another work.
Still, Leonard Sweet is a great writer, speaker, whom I admire and have had the occasion to meet and talk with on several occasions. I'm definitely a fan.
July 16, 2011
here's today's exercise from Len Sweet's study guide to 'So Beautiful'. this one will encourage written reflection ~ perhaps grab your journal and a good hot drink ~ unless you're baking in some tropical heat! then grab whatever suits your fancy :) Steve Bell's song clip 'Here By the Water' offers a great suggestion for the spiritual markers we've collected. EnJoy this day and the start of this new week. Peace be with you ...
Questions:
1. Have you ever thought of your life-story as a pilgrimage?
Are there spiritual markers you have collected?
Luke 9:28-36 is an example.
Questions:
1. Have you ever thought of your life-story as a pilgrimage?
Are there spiritual markers you have collected?
Luke 9:28-36 is an example.
November 28, 2009
Good book. Not a great one for audio, too many quotes to understand well when you are listening to it.
I have a full review on my blog http://bookwi.se/so-beautiful-divine-...
I have a full review on my blog http://bookwi.se/so-beautiful-divine-...
May 17, 2012
My favourite of Len's books - challenging and affirming apologetic on the missional, relational and incarnational life found in God, Jesus, humanity, creation and the Church. Should be required reading in every seminary, everywhere. A call to re-orient ourselves to beauty.
September 14, 2015
If you wish to move from a church mentality of Aches, Pains and Complaints, to Mission, Relational and Incarnational this book is for you! Leonard Sweet is worth the read for any preacher just for his multitude of fresh sermon illustrations.
February 16, 2016
Although I really related to the content and idea of Missional, Relational and Incarnational as the way for the church to go out and meet the people, the writing and typos were incredibly distracting.
July 19, 2010
Did not like this. Could not even finish it.
September 28, 2012
Excellent book, a little deep for my mind.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews