Church Reset: God's Design for So Much More

by Jack Wilkie

Shouldn’t church be… more?

If you’ve ever driven home on a Sunday with that question on your mind, you are not alone. When we read about the church in the Bible there’s a beauty and an appeal to it that so often seems missing. In our busy, distracted, consumeristic world it seems as though becoming a self-sacrificial, tight-knit, Christlike family like the early Christians is a pipe dream.

In Church Reset: God’s Design for So Much More, Jack Wilkie traces the problem back to its roots to show how we’ve deviated from God’s plan and how we can get back on track. How can we stop operating as an organization and start living like a family? How do we stop creating church customers and start making dedicated disciples? How do we abandon man-made strategies and rediscover the power of God’s design? Church Reset casts an exciting vision for what Christ’s church can be by pointing back to what it was meant to be from the very start.

316 pages, ebook

Published April 28, 2020

Reviews

[Titus Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important book for the modern Christian struggling with wanting their relationship with the church to be something more than a social club.

[Edie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread. This book is one I need to revisit periodically.

[Elijah Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Wilkie does an incredible job describing root issues within the Lord’s church and giving biblically-based advice on how we can grow into to what God intends it to be.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will make you rethink and reconsider what "church" looks like and what it ought to be. If we truly desire to have the unity that first- century Christians displayed, then our consumer-driven culture of a church that operates more like a business needs to change. While this book does feel a little bit repetitive, I highly recommend this book to make the reader thoughtfully reevaluate the practices and programs of his local congregation.

[Devon Elmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic read. It really prompts you to think about what the church was created for and if you are really doing your part.
It is not gospel, there are some parts that should be taken with a grain of salt. I highly recommend it as long as you check your Bible and yourself along the way.

[Andrew Warnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack covers terrain perhaps familiar for those adequately introduced to the modern restorational/discipleship thinking. The pudding here though is in it's ultra-relatable church of Christ-centric viewpoint. This is a work that can be and ought to be used in molding a generation caught up in the traditional-business heavy formula we have found ourselves in. It's a great and needed piece he's penned here, and I plan on using it excessively for quite some time.

[Alecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘What you win them with, you win them to.’ Sadly most churches in America are winning people to their church experience, not Christ. We are going and baptizing, but not making disciples and teaching them to obey the word.

‘The biggest reason why church isn’t more is that the church is about something other than Jesus.’

The conversation of ending consumeristic, individualist, business like churches needed to happen.

This book really challenged my way to thinking about church. It’s a true study of ecclesiology and how the church was originally designed. He does a great job of exposing the current issues within the collective church, but in a careful way that clearly shows his love for bride of Christ. I think every Christian needs to read this book and it’s a book I’ll definitely revisit.

It made me extremely thankful for the solid, biblical churches that are living this out. It also made me realize how rare they actually are.

[Lori Hooten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent challenge to the status quo within the church. It looks at the biblical foundation and what we need to do to stand firm on that example. Calling out opportunities for change and being better, there is a lot to consider within this short book. This is not a fix it book and it is not a simple read. It is calling God's people to consider where each one stands and why they are there. Then, the call is to look at how to be more of what God has called each one of us to be.

[Daniel Cahill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a thought provoking book. I read a couple of chapters per night and thoughtfully considered what it said. There were concepts that I thought were incorrect and other new perspectives that I still need to think through. While I am sometimes hesitant to read "church of Christ books", this is one that I was really excited to discuss with others.

[Travis Renfrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilkie’s book is not a revolution as much as it is a catalyst for gradual change. The focus on discipleship necessitates patience because disciple-making takes time and because we have created a culture that is contrary to it. But Wilkie does well in Church Reset to present the need for change and the blessings that await us on the other side.

[Shannon Kuhl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and it challenged me to think differently than I have in the past about how the church should act and look. I appreciate Jack’s encouragement for Christians to look to scripture first and foremost.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read! Maybe it's time to take a serious look at what the church has become and get back to what God intended it to be. Can't wait to share this book with friends!

[James Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action provoking. Biblical issues discussed humbly.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for preachers, elders, and other leaders in the local church!

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

After discussing this book with a group of friends, I'm not sure I would recommend this book to others without quite a few reservations. While I found this book encouraging and challenging, I think that some of it can be taken out of context and inaccurately applied without a good depth of Bible knowledge....because, at the end of the day, the Bible IS the final authority.

If you have often wondered if church should be more, you are not alone. If you do choose to read this book, please also study the book of Acts as well as the New Testament as a whole. Look at the first century church, and ask yourself if your congregation looks the same in doctrinal practice and familial love or completely different.

Thankfully, my family and I are part of a wonderful congregation that strives to stay true to the Bible, and it does feel like a family.

There were things I disagreed with or points I felt the author took too far. Even though I don't regret reading this book, I will no longer recommend it.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's my obligatory "this book isn't the Bible; so, obviously, I didn't agree with every word written" statement. That being said....

I found this book to be a bold and challenging call to Christians to get back to the way the church looked in the time of the New Testament. They were a close knit family. I am blessed to attend a congregation that is like family to me, but I see where I can improve and be closer to my church family.

I highly recommend reading this book and prayerfully considering your attitude and feelings towards your Christian family and faith. Do they matter to you above all others? Are they really your family? Or, could you do without them?

I think the following quotes sum up the message of this book beautifully:

"When it comes to helping people grow in Christ, the kitchen table can be just as effective as the pulpit."

"...we have to base everything we do on the beauty and supremacy of Christ. His love, His blood, His headship, His promises, and everything else about Him are where we find the power of Christianity."

"May we as His church look to Him, drop everything that hinders us, and run toward Him with all our might (Hebrews 12:1-2), and bring as many along with us on the journey as we can. Only then will we see just how much more church can be."

"Jesus planned His church beautifully, and the more closely we follow Him the more blessings we will see."

[Will Harrub · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, one of the most needed books in the Christian brotherhood today. Jack does a phenomenal job of examining how the church largely operates today compared with how God designed the church to operate in the New Testament. His findings are rather unsettling as it reveals the New Testament church “structure” today has much that can be improved upon. Should be eye-opening and convicting for all who read it.

Jack’s writing style is also unique in that his thoughts and points are deep and well thought out, but also communicated in a personable and easy to read fashion. Rich with points and thoughts backed up entirely by Scripture make this book an absolute must-read for the modern day Christian.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a reread for me and it lost a star on my second time through it just because it seemed like it got pretty redundant, but the overall message is a good one that all Christians need to wake up to! I will be reading this one again and again .