The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation

by Jim Wilder, Michel Hendricks

"In The Other Half of Church, pastor Michel Hendricks and neurotheologian Jim Hendricks couple brain science and the Bible to identify how to overcome spiritual stagnation by living a full-brained faith. They also identify the four ingredients necessary to develop and maintain a vibrant transformational community where spiritual formation occurs, relationships flourish, and the toxic spread of narcissism is eradicated"--

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Church, Christian Living, Spirituality, Psychology

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

This author is also published under the pen name E. James Wilder.


Jim Wilder (PhD, Clinical Psychology, and M.A. Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary) has been training leaders and counselors for over 27 years on five continents. He is the author of nine books with a strong focus on maturing and relationship skills for leaders. His coauthored book Living From the Heart Jesus Gave You has sold over 100,000 copies in eleven languages. Wilder has published numerous articles and developed four sets of video and relational leadership training called THRIVE. He is currently executive director of Shepherd's House Inc., a nonprofit working at the intersection of brain science and theology, and founder of Life Model Works that is building contagiously healthy Christian communities through equipping existing networks with the skills to thrive. Dr. Wilder has extensive clinical counseling experience and has served as a guest lecturer at Fuller Seminary, Biola, Talbot Seminary, Point Loma University, Montreat College, Tyndale Seminary and elsewhere.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely write reviews because I’m not that great at it. This book came at a time when I’m studying spiritual formation and discipleship methods in the western Church. Sometimes they work, most of the time they don’t. Generally, we use left-brained methods, thanks to the Enlightenment. Just think the right doctrine and all will be well. Will that form us into the image of Jesus? Sadly, it often does not. The authors argue for a Whole-brained Christianity.

“We understand for the first time how our Creator designed our brains to form our character into the image of His Son” (p. 206).

This book does not offer quick fixes. It requires practice and time to engage in whole-brained spiritual activities. The compelling picture the authors paint of a vibrant, joyful, whole-brained body of Christ compels me to start practicing now.

“The mysteries of love, applied to the way the brain learns, offer us hope for overcoming our spiritual stagnation and becoming whole-brained Christians” (p. 207)

Highly recommend!

2024: Having read The Other Half of Church for the fourth or fifth time, I’m more convinced than ever that the right-brain practices suggested are key to transformative discipleship. I’ve been practicing now for over a year and there is definite change happening in me. What’s even more amazing is that the practices are enjoyable and life-giving. Paired with left-brained, traditional Christian disciplines, discipleship and growth becomes predictable and consistent. For example, I now know what to do when I am triggered. I can quiet myself and continue to act like myself. I can think clearly rather than react harshly towards others.

I have more joy and can return to joy from most of the big six emotions. I’m growing in my maturity and will begin to assess maturity skills I’m lacking. I’m actually excited to see where I can grow and learn rather than feeling ashamed of the lack of maturity I exhibit.

These are a few examples from my own life. These practices work. All one needs is a committed community to practice with. It’s worth it!

[Cherie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I was telling my husband I want to learn to know God in a more complete way—in my quiet times with Him, I want it to be more than just an intellectual lesson or a gleaning of life principles; I want to get to know Him as a person. I had a hard time explaining myself, but what I was trying to say and didn’t realize it was that I want to get to know my God with my right brain too, not just with my left brain. This book came at a pivotal time for me in my personal walk with God; beyond that, it gives me excitement, vision, and specific strategies for living out full-brained (not just left-brained) Christianity with my church family. It’s also an invaluable resource for anyone who, like us, finds themselves in a leadership position. It’s hard to sum up the message of this book! Each of the 8 chapters were incredibly relevant and eye-opening for me. This is one of those books I would love to be able to give to everyone in my life (thanks for gifting us our own copy, Kris) and talk about together. I’m rating this book 5 stars not for the writing itself, but because of the content that feels desperately relevant to the American church.

[Tyler Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book (perhaps the most important I have ever read) on discipleship. It seeks to answer the question, "Why we have had so many people in the church who profess faith in Jesus but have had so few people who actually become like Jesus?" It answered this and other related questions about the lack of character change in Christians (including myself).

Wilder and Hendricks advocate The Life Model for life and ministry—which highlights the need for "full-brained Christianity," Christianity that does not neglect our right brain functions (dominant, relational, emotional, identity-forming) because of an overemphasis on our left brain functions (submissive, intellectual, practical, problem-solving). This "full-brained Christianity" can only happen in communities of faith that are joy-filled, loving families with a strong group identity and a healthy culture of correction. Discipleship must be, in a word, relational.

I was stunned at the important revelations the latest brain science now contributes to how we should be living as the church. Chapter 3 on Joy ('Joy: The Face of Jesus that Transforms') and Chapter 6 on Shame ('Healthy Correction: Stop Being so Nice') rocked my world. I cannot wait to begin to incorporate some of the practices Wilder and Hendricks suggest into my personal spiritual life and communal church life.

Our church (St. Aidan's Anglican Church in Kansas City) is using this book to guide us into the new season ahead, and we are discerning right now how to transform the way we do discipleship and church life based on what we are learning from The Life Model. We are thrilled for what the Lord has in store for our community.

[Grace Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good book, but i definitely have some mixed feelings about it. There are some things that I had issues with and some that I found so helpful. I will start with the bad and end with the good.

At times, this book was honestly just pop-psychology masquerading as neuroscience. Using the justification of “brain science tells us…” to describe human behavior doesn’t make something neuroscience. Some sections felt as though someone read a few articles on how emotional processing works, didn’t take the time to thoroughly understand the complexities of the process, and then tried to write a book about it. Particularly today, “neuroscience” and “narcissism” are buzz words that people love to misuse. This made me upset and skeptical about the book. Additionally, I think the author could have gone into more detail about how slow the process of spiritual transformation truly is. Sometimes we are doing all the right things, and yet still growth is slow and painful. The daily practice of picking up our cross and dying to self does not come naturally.

However, this book definitely got some things right. It’s emphasis on spiritual formation was excellent. While learning things about God is a good and right thing, one doesn’t grow into Christ-likeness by knowing many things. We grow in community and by spending time with Jesus. Group identity, relational connectedness, joy, and healthy correction help us to grow and become like Christ. I particularly loved this book’s emphasis on reminding people that they are apart of a family and how to live difficult people well. It was convicting, but also hopeful and joyful. The picture of the church painted by this book is a beautiful and wonderful thing, I think we could learn a lot by following some of these practices.

[Rosie Mae · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will be sparing with my words because a few like-minded people have already left their reviews and the reasons behind them which I tend to agree with.
One major bone I have to pick with this book is the overwhelming emphasis on the physical, personal, fleshly, power that we and "our people" have in order to become mature Christians.
Where is the instruction to listen to the Holy Spirit and obey Him? It's more like listen to the author and obey Jim.
I'm not impressed positively.
Read at your own discretion.

[William Stapleton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having read Rare Leadership by Jim Wilder, and found his adaptations of brain science for Christian growth appropriate, I have been appalled at this mess. Hendricks is clearly angry and bitter at "the church" (perhaps over his failure as director of spiritual formation at his previous church), and it shows through in much of his writing. Don't get me wrong, the major premise and some of the supporting material - that we can use neuropsychology as an aid to understanding discipleship and spiritual formation - is not incorrect. But it seems as if, in an effort to marshall enough material for a book, based upon, not his own research, but teaching he received from Jim Wilder -- who, by the way, is also not a neuropsychologist, but comes a great deal closer to it than Hendricks does -- Hendricks goes too far time and again in accusing the church of failure in its mission to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19). Here is but one example:

"God’s face is connected with joy in the Bible. One of the first Scriptures I memorized when I was a new Christian was Psalm 16:11, “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (NASB). However, the original Hebrew renders this verse, “abundance of joy with your face.” Psalm 21 lists the blessings of God for the king of Israel. In verse 6, the psalmist proclaims, “You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence” (NASB). The word-for-word rendering of the Hebrew is, “You make him happy with joy with your face.” In Scripture, we see that the face of God brings us joy, but God’s face gets erased in translation. Some versions of the Bible alter the image of God’s face shining on us, presenting a more generic concept of God’s presence and favor. Translators may do this to make the text more readable, but an important bodily sensation is lost. “The light of God’s presence” does not feel the same in our bodies as “the light of God’s face.” God designed facial recognition circuitry into our brains and linked it to our joy center. My wife’s face lights up when she sees me, and this initiates a joyful chain reaction in my brain that I can feel in my body."

With apologies to Wm Shakespeare, Methinks the [gentleman] doth protest too much. This is but one example where the author writes his own preconceived notions into his Biblical interpretation. In his attempt to redefine discipleship in the trendy terminology of neuropsychology, Hendricks tries to distinguish between the light provided by God’s face and the light provided by God’s presence. Sadly, in the passage quoted above, the Hebrew word for presence פָּנִים (pānîm). Face. He correctly identifies the definition of the word as “Face”. But then he goes on to make much of the literal translation of the word versus the dynamic translation offered by NASB. Yes, the Hebrew word is literally face, but one’s face may also be more correctly characterized as one’s whole presence, not just the “skin that covers the front of the skull.” But Hendricks, incredibly, makes just such a comparison when he says that it is the facial recognition circuitry in our brains that recognize God’s face and that that is connected to our joy center.

At the risk of seeming overly critical, I must point out that God (YHWH of the Old Testament) is a Spirit and has no face for our facial recognition circuitry, either finely honed through Hendricks’ discipleship method or otherwise, to recognize. This is probably why the translators of the NASB lean on words like “presence”, instead of the more literal “face.” Most Jews would be appalled at a Hebrew translation that implied God has a literal face by which He can be recognized.

I do not wish to belabor the point, but Mr. Hendricks' work reads through and through as written by someone who is trying extremely hard to prove that the church has a problem and he has the matching answer. His assessment of the problem is possibly correct, if overstated, but pop-psychology carefully decorated with stale Christianese is not the answer. For those hoping to discover the source of your spiritual stagnation, try actually poking your nose into Scripture.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be right back, making a quick career change... Who knew a neurotheologian was a thing 🤩

[Sophia Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Some churches openly welcome all people … but there is no plan in the church to form anyone, much less a deeply broken person, into the image of Christ. People can show up to some meetings and hear some inspiring talks, but they are on their own in building their emotional and relational skills. There is no plan to help them mature. This is the void of the great omission, where we make Christians but not disciples.”

Here is the therapy x discipleship crossover event that I have been searching for!! Laura Barwegen and Dana Townsend could only dream of this!! (Actually, Dana’s neurobio is far superior to what you’ll find in this book, teehee)

My left brain was initially questioning the quality of what I had started reading, I think because Michel’s narrative voice is genuinely honest & vulnerable and the explanation of the neurobiology is truthfully rather lacking (granted I’ve been learning a lot about lateralization and right brain functions recently). But the more I read the more I got my right brain back on line. By golly. Our churches need deep relational joy, and they need secure hesed attachments and they need healthy correction and a strong group identity. And they certainly need to address the problem of narcissism!

The strength of this book is that it is so very practical. To be discipled into greater Christlikeness, we don’t need more ideas & content to absorb. We need a way forward, and fresh imagination for how to truly live as the people we already are, the Beloved of God. I think this book is a lovely, honest little response to that need.

I really hope and pray that voices like these represent the start of a revolution, one marked by radical commitment to growth in true spiritual maturity, relational wellness and character formation into christlikeness. It makes me excited knowing that my church leaders spent a day reflecting on these concepts together, and despite the somewhat mixed responses of my fellow church members at our discussion tonight, I feel hopeful that people are willing to grow.

PSA: Please tell me if you read this book because I can’t stop talking / thinking about it!!

[Sabrina Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I don’t know if I agreed with some of his strongest premises. There were some parts of the book that I agreed with and others that I had some major questions about how his “methods” corresponded with or are supported by Scripture.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilder & Hendricks take a very interesting approach to discipleship, contending that our spiritual growth can become stunted if we focus too much on our left brain—having the proper beliefs and thinking rightly, and neglect our right brain—the center of our emotions and affections.

I suspect some neuroscience sticklers may label some of this as closer to pop-psychology than neuroscience, but that would be missing the point. The neuroanatomy isn’t important here. What is important is the recognition that our gut-feelings (wherever their anatomical source) are critical to our spiritual transformation as disciples of Christ, and perhaps more important than our “slow thinking” cognition (to use Kahneman’s term).

This book dovetails nicely with James KA Smith’s You Are What You Love, which reminds us that we are not simply “brains on a stick.” Therefore we need to pay close attention to our affections. To what stirs our feelings and imagination. Wilder & Hendricks provide a pathway and specific exercises to doing just that.


Here’s a passage from a chapter about shame and group identity:

Let's say I'm the coach and yell, "Why did you push that guy? You just lost us a good gain, and we may lose this game because of you! That was a stupid thing to do!" Then I stomp away angry. How would you feel? Alone. Dumb. You are thinking that maybe I have given up on you. You would like to hide.

Let's rewind. If I understand how the brain metabolizes shame relationally to form our character, this episode would look very different. First, I would simply look you in the eyes. No words. My eyes would say, "Our relationship is not at risk, even though you messed up." Then I would say, "You seem to have forgotten that we are not the kind of team that gets into little pushing matches when our feelings get hurt. Instead, we are learning to be men of character who can take an insult and walk away because our team is more important. This is a great opportunity for you to learn. Don't waste it."

Can you feel the difference?

Healthy shame affirms the relationship, points out how I am not acting like myself, and reaffirms who we really are, our group identity. I am being corrected but quickly invited back into my true identity. I feel the shame of my failure, but I am not left there long. I think, I do not want to do that again. I am immediately reminded of who I really am. I simply forgot and stopped acting like myself.

Highly recommended.
And thanks for the gift Bob!

[John Muriango · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book main gist is on a topic that is chief of all believers: Growth in maturity to Christlikeness, unfortunately, it's approach is what I believe isn't supported by Scriptures.
Yes, our minds needs renewal, but it is not through 'neurotheology', a term which came over the past few years, and hasn't been applied, or even known by the historical Church. So, the treatment suggested by this book is wanting as it source is man-centred, not God or Gospel centred.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting read on how Christians often focus on intellectual growth and forget the emotional growth also needed in discipleship!

[Brianna Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely was challenged reading this book. anyone else read it and want to hash it out?

[Tim Casteel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with Jim Wilder. Extremely thought provoking and helpful diagnoses. Yet very wrong application. Definitely worth reading (both this and Renovated).

Our society focuses on the left brain: logic, speech, and strategies. Since the enlightenment we are right-brain deficient, resulting in: "low joy, isolation, a lack of loving community, [and] poor identity formation."

The best idea in the book: "Character formation… is governed by the right brain, not the left brain. If we want to grow and transform our character into the character of Jesus, we must involve activities that stimulate and develop the right brain."

Wilder's focus on joy is very helpful: "Joy is relational. This is the definition of joy: I want to be with you. It is what we feel when we are with someone who is happy to be with us. Joy does not exist outside of a relationship. God designed us to live on a rich diet of joy-filled relationships."
And this is a key insight: "Joy and screen time are inversely proportional."
All of this is what the book excels at: diagnosis.

As far as prescription…the book falls apart.
According to Wilder, how do you develop your joy in the Lord? He instructs you to:

"Think of a memory that makes you feel grateful and connected to God in that moment."
Reply: "I closed my eyes and went back to a memory in the mountains of Colorado. I sensed God encouraging me as I watched a red-tailed hawk. "
Prompt: “What do you think God might have been wanting to impress on you by that memory?”
Reply: "As I remembered the wind ruffling the feathers of the hawk, I answered, 'God is reminding me that He loves me and is with me, and I also sense that He is very glad I am in this room right now learning from you.'"

HUH?

The other main problem of the book is that he does not cite (nor read?) sources outside his very narrow (mostly published in-house) tribe. Most of the bibliography is his own books! Almost no sources on neuroscience.

I'd recommend Iain McGilchrist's Master and His Emissary over this book. Even though it's a secular book, it's far more helpful (but also WAY longer!).

[R. Alex Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Other Half of Church was disappointing. I was drawn in by the title and premise of the book, hoping to be able to serve my church more effectively. The actual premise of the book is helpful: a large portion, half or more, of people in our churches do not learn or grow from the traditional ways we "do church." The right brain is often neglected in the ways in which we do church. Since the right brain is neglected, we cannot expect people to grow as we desire them to grow. Wilder and Hendricks contend that "if we want to grow and transform our character into the character of Jesus, we must involve activities that stimulate and develop the right side of the brain." They suggest that the four essentials for growth are joy, love, identity, and community. Neglect of any one of those four essential elements will hinder growth into Christlikeness.

All of that sounds great, and the first two chapter were incredibly informative and helpful. The problem is the absolute lack of practicality. The chapter about hesed love is the without question the most practical chapter of the book, listing many practical ways church communities can begin to grow love for one another and create an environment of love in one's church. However, the other chapters lack practicality. In the instances when the authors try to offer practical application, the applications are generic: greet each other, look at each other in the face and light up, make eye contact, etc.

Unfortunately, The Other Half of Church was a book with great potential and a great beginning but one which lacked the practical application and step-by-step guide to help church leaders implement the authors' ideas. The book becomes merely informative and leaves the reader with questions regarding how to implement the ideas from the book and wondering whether or not they are implementing those ideas correctly.
I was provided with a free copy of this book by Moody Publisher's as part of their blog review program.

[Marisa Maloney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 stars- a book i cannot stop talking about with others , texting screen shots, and sharing what I learned are good books in my category.
This was one of those books. Christian non fiction is not my favorite reads category but when my pastor mentioned this book, brain science and discipleship I was all in.

A study into why we have spiritual stagnation. Clue- it is found when we don’t run at the speed of jOy in our Christian communities.

Learned so much and recommend highly to anyone in a church , family or a form of leadership.

Loved doing this in my sister book club with Molly.

[Megan Mae Oitzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. One of the best resources I’ve ever read combining (digestible) neuroscience and spiritual growth. Beautiful, brilliant, and encouraging. Would recommend to anyone!

[Benjamin Shurance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book looks at the emotional and relational conditions which allow for growth in Christian maturity. The title and the repeated use of "half-brained church" is dumb, and the authors' way of talking about "brain science" in relationship to theology seemed a bit simplistic. And yet despite these weaknesses, the basic principles outlined (joyfulness, committed community, group identity, mutual correction) were entirely compelling, much more than I expected, to the point where I went through the audiobook twice. (The stuff on narcissism felt out of place the first time I listened; less so the second time.)

As a somewhat weird parenthesis: This book made me think repeatedly about John Driver's bible studies published by Certeza in 1974 as _Comunidad y Compromiso: Estudios sobre la renovación de la iglesia_. The common ground between the chapters on community and mutual correction is significant.

[Molly Grimmius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with Marisa. She heard recommended from her pastor and I borrowed from Dierenfeld.
This is book is about the brain and how God created both halves to work together to grow closer in our spiritual growth however churches often get stuck on one side over the other… especially the left side of the brain. The right side is crucial to focus on too to have soil to growth.
We need:
-Joy— remember moments of JOY of God’s facing shining upon us
-Hesed - community… deep community where we feel Joy and belonging
-identity— our right brain is our immediate reaction to how will react and who has modeled and who is modeling that forms that identity
- shame… we need healthy shame for growth

It was a fascinating talk and reflection in my life and areas I want to think about to grow more.

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A look at whole-brained discipleship which uses insights from recent neuroscience to help develop Christian maturity. 

A good friend recommended The Other Half of the Church to me about a year ago, and I have only recently gotten around to reading it. Many insights were not new to me because of work that either my wife or I have done regarding parenting, trauma, and attachment, or child development. I want to start with the fact that overall, I am glad that this book was written, and I commend it, even if I am going to spend most of my time discussing areas where I have concerns. The insights here into character development, group identity and its role in correction, and deep relationships are all important. Because of my training as a spiritual director and a couple of professional associations of spiritual directors which I am a member of, I know that more academic books in similar areas are being written. No book can address all of the nuance and potential areas of misunderstanding, so I am looking forward to reading more books to address different aspects.

This is a book that is co-written by Jim Wilder and Michael Hendricks. Much of the book is written in Hendrick's voice, and he relates insights about spiritual formation and brain science from Jim Wilder. Part of what I appreciate about the framing of this book is that it is intentionally oriented toward a reader unfamiliar with the science. It is very accessible, and the authors know that stories are necessary to communicate not just the information but the meaning behind it.

Many will come to The Other Half of the Church with some background from gentle parenting (Whole Brained Child, Brain-Body Parenting, etc.) or insights from trauma, attachment, or adult emotional development. In many ways, I think discipleship is a bit late to the game with these insights. I also think that from my experience (which is obviously limited), many of my Gen X cohort or the Baby Boomers are less likely to have exposure to this type of whole-brained approach than the Millennial parents who have been at the forefront of the Gentle Parenting movement. Millennials are much more aware of trauma, abuse, and the science around those realities, which, again, have some overlap with the science discussed here.

The main content of the book is only about 200 pages. The first chapter describes the problem of how Christianity has shifted toward a right-brained, information-heavy orientation over the past several hundred years. Like many other chapters, I think this could have been much more developed. But again, I know this is designed as an introduction, and that whole books have been written in this area. However, one aspect that I think is not discussed and matters is that conscious theological and ecclesiastical decisions were made that oriented Christianity toward evangelism and away from a more holistic discipleship. Particularly because this was published by Moody Press (a historically dispensationalist publisher), I would have preferred at least some mention of how dispensationalism, especially an orientation toward the immanent return of Christ, fed into some of these discussions. (See Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism for more.)

Chapter two lays out the initial discussion about how people grow and introduces the metaphor of soil and plants that will carry through the whole book. I think this is a helpful metaphor. Plants grow not just because of light, water, and seed but the soil quality. The book suggests that many churches do not have healthy soil, so when people become Christians, it is not their fault for lack of growth because the soil they are in (the church community, theology, and people around them) is depleted of nutrients. This leads into the next three chapters of the different aspects of a healthy soil, joy, Hesed, and group identity. Again, all three could have more development, but they do have decent introductions. The Group Identity chapter (chapter 5) is my main complaint about the three.

As noted later in the book, group identity can be positive or negative. However, despite the later expansion of how group identity can be unhealthy, I do not think adequate attention has been paid to a more robust understanding of community and culture concerning group identity. In particular, Christians often have a very hierarchical understanding of Christianity (not what is presented in the book) that I think needs to be taken into account as part of what it means to have a safe Hesed community. Hierarchical thinking about race, culture, or gender is very common in Christian communities, and without addressing those directly, the later Healthy Correction chapter can’t work.

Again, I am not saying that the authors of The Other Half of the Church don’t know this, but that they are writing an introduction, and this is an area that I think needs to be developed more fully to implement the ideas in the book. NT Wright’s biography of Paul talks about how Paul encouraged boundary crossing, and the early church intentionally called Christians to view the boundaries between gender, economics or social status, and ethnicity as permeable within the Christian community. Paul was able to do this because he reframed their identity as being one in Christ. Today, some also try to do a similar thing, but they do it in a way that denies the existence of social divisions. Some go as far as claiming that to identify harm from social divisions is to deny Christ. Because of this reality, I think that a lack of grappling with those social realities does a disservice to women, racial or sexual minorities, people of different immigration or class backgrounds, etc.

Without a more robust understanding of how gender, economics, class, disability, race, and other issues work in the modern world, there can’t be a healthy community that can call people to a better group identity. One of my other concerns about group identity is that the history of the Homogenous Unit Principle within the church growth movement has a very sketchy history. It was very much used to perpetuate segregation, to enable white normative churches and culturally homogenous churches, not just as a method but as the only God-ordained way for churches to operate. The very nature of Hesed as it is being used here, I think, means that a church that is unwelcoming to a particular demographic would make me question whether it could be practicing Hesed as intended. But at the same time, many churches that have been discipling people for generations discipled them into belief in segregation. So there is a lot of history that has to be unpacked there.

One of the other red flags for me in The Other Half of The Church is the repeated and regular call to think of the church as a family. The family metaphor is common in scripture, and I don’t want to dismiss what the authors are trying to do by using the family metaphor, but it is hard not to see family as a red flag. Many unhealthy churches or Christian non-profits consciously use family language as a type of hierarchical dominance. That violates the principle of Hesed presented earlier in the book, but it has to be named.

Many unhealthy Christian communities use biblical language in unhealthy ways, which then impacts the ability to use that language in healthy ways. It is similar to the discussions of “evangelical.” Many who like the term evangelical point to the theological meaning, the root of the word, which means to share the gospel. But those who resist the term note that it is often understood now as a racially coded political marker or a consumer identity group. Again, the book does mention that group identities can be negative, but I think part of the nature of introductions to topics is that they can’t get into as much detail as is necessary if you were going to fully develop a concept. In this case, I suspect that many people who may be interested in the concepts of the book have not grappled enough with their understanding of race, gender, culture, or class and will attempt to incorporate cultural preferences within their group identity in ways that can harm other Christians.

The book's most important chapter is chapter six, which discusses how people develop character through health correction. I do not like the chapter's subtitle (stop being so nice), but I appreciate the main point. In summary, people need some “healthy or appropriate” shame to be motivated to change emotionally. When we focus on behavior management, it uses conscious thought as a means of behavior change. There can be some value to that, but the deeper, preconscious thought change that is possible has to be done at a deeper level than simply conscious behavior change. This requires engaging that deeper emotion, and that can only be done well if the “soil” (Hesed, joy, and group identity) allows a person to be safe in a relationship to know that the change they are being called to will draw them into the community not be shunned or alienated from the community.

I have many personal antidotes where I think this happened to me. I remember someone talking to me about not using the idea of all women being treated well because they were all someone’s “wife, sister, mother or daughter.” There was a sense of shame when he explained that it only gave them humanity through their relationship with other men. I had emotional resistance to correction, and at the moment, I do not think I responded well (although I don’t remember my response. What I remember was: 1) a sense of shame that I hadn’t already understood that. 2) clear knowledge that even if I wasn’t ready to acknowledge it, I knew he was right. 3) a conviction that I needed to change. I can remember corrections from a seminary professor and friends and a number of corrections from people on social media, where I also had similar reactions. While I do think that a close community is the best place for correction, I do think that when people are open to it, and it is framed as a call to identify (something like, “as Christians, we talk about people in this way”), it can still work without in-person relationship. (But I also know these things can go quite badly.)

The final two chapters—a good discussion of the problem of narcissism within the Christian community and a concluding chapter that pulls together all of the previous chapters—round out the book.

Again, I think this is a very helpful book. My complaints largely concern what is not here or not developed enough. But this is intended as an introduction, so I don’t want to complain about what is not here and that this was written to the audience that it was. I have some comments on several of my highlights that you can see here in places where I have concerns beyond what I have raised here. (I mostly listened to this as an audiobook, and I did not realize it wasn’t synced with the Kindle when I got it. So, all of the highlights and comments I made, I had to find in the Kindle.)

I also want to link to my post on Brain-Body Parenting because I raise a concern about how whole-body parenting or discipleship can become a technique in the Ellul sense of the term. I think my concern there applies here as well.

Update: I wanted to add a quick update. On of the areas where I think there is a need for a follow up book or a book by someone else is to work through spiritual practices in light of neuroscience. I think this is part of what is going on with Trauma in the Pews where Janyne McConnaughey riffs off of Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline and talks about how traditional spiritual disciplines are impacted by developmental trauma. But I think there is a need for a more general book. The Other Half of the Church talks briefly about how spiritual practices are part of developing character but does not go into any details. One of the problems is that this book is written for Evangelicals, and many Evangelicals do not have a connection to the history of spiritual disciplines outside of those that may have been connected to Richard Foster or Renovaré. Part of what I think should be avoided in a book on spiritual disciplines and neuroscience is to think that we are rediscovering ancient practices as if the church hadn’t been doing them all along, or that it evaluates them solely on modern science. For instance, I think that The Prayer of Examen is a personal exercise that fits in with the understanding of corporate character development presented in The Other Half of the Church. When done in the traditional we invite God to help us, we reflect on our actions. This will include time to “metabolize shame,” as discussed here, and then we pray for grace to move forward as a new person. My experience is that Catholic presentations of the Prayer of Examen are much more oriented toward grace and less oriented toward “do better” framings than Evangelical presentations of the Prayer of Examen that I have seen. Mindfulness and contemplative prayer, as presented in The Cloud of Unknowing, are also examples of Christian spiritual disciplines which long predate modern understandings of neuroscience but which are doing things that neuroscience confirms as being helpful to maturity in Christ.

This was originally posted on my blog at: https://bookwi.se/the-other-half-of-t...

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. Puts into words things I’ve been thinking about the last few months regarding church.

[Bryan Eberl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very generic book. First couple chapters were intriguing, but when he overemphasized Dallas Woodard as a prophet, I became much more skeptical. It didn’t reveal any new concepts, just basic ones of seeking joy, and wanted to dig into emotions to build up this perfect church goer. It never dug deep or even gave practical examples of how to do that. The Bible passages also had a sense of confirmation bias towards the generalize points they were making.

I read this book because coming from a medical background, I want to learn more from medical counselors and church leaders. This flopped.

[Sarah Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a thought provoking read. It basically argues against over emphasizing the logic/“truth” of the church to the neglect of the relational aspects of the church. I.e. intellectualizing the truth.

For the large part it was Biblically based and drew its principles from Scripture, and shows how those continue to be supported by brain science that’s discovered, and how that brain science can help give us strategies to implement scriptural principles.

Especially having been raised in a very “intellectual” church with leaders that had narcissistic tendencies (a big part of the book is making the case that not growing in Christ-like character and over emphasizing the logic side of the church results in narcissism - defined more distinctly in the book than the clinical dx). I also have tendencies myself to intellectualize faith, so this spoke to that as well.

What this book did well for me is reframe a lot of things.
It gave a different perspective on some Biblical principles that have become white noise to me.
At times the principles and advice in the book seem a little iffy, but I think some of that is just reframing.

It refers to a lot of scripture and bases its principles on scriptural principles, but at the same time doesn’t emphasize Scripture as a main component. I think that’s mainly because the thesis of this book is looking at the relational side vs that intellectual/logic side, not because it’s truly neglecting that Biblical foundation.

He provides strategies and practices that could be useful to implement scriptural principles, but that are not specifically biblical themselves - which is fine, as long as discernment is used there. I’m not exceptionally inclined to implement all of them, but they still provoke thought about how I pursue a life of Christ-like character.

In the last chapter he addresses the format of the church and seems to suggest it should be overhauled. I don’t doubt there’s some merit to what he’s saying. The irony in my experience though, is the model of church he seems to be suggesting (more of a home church model with downplayed leadership) is precisely where I came from and where I experienced widespread narcissism.

It’s true that the modern traditional church model can fall prey to narcissist leadership, if it’s not careful. But if you say “well let’s not make a big deal of leaders then, let’s give everyone a chance to play an important role and to teach/share” that just opens a can of worms and feeds all the more people with the notions that lead to narcissism, allowing it to grow among all the more people.

That aside, his call for church leaders (and all believers) to be humble and accountable is so needed in the church today. I may just disagree with how exactly that looks in practice. I found the parts on authentic and meaningful accountability with other believers to be really helpful and encouraging. It would’ve been nice to see illustrations of that shown in more vulnerable interpersonal contexts, but sadly it’s typical in modern Christian lit to give rather surfacey, simplified illustrations to “keep things light” - even if that doesn’t hit most people where they really struggle in areas like relationships. It’s a start, nonetheless, and gives me things to mull over!

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

While occasionally a little repetitive, this book has been a catalyst for many discussions at our house. How do people grow? It’s not just by gaining more accurate information, but also by interacting with it in joyful, caring community that is willing to challenge and grow together.

This certainly mirrors my own periods of significant spiritual growth. It also helps me see why I may have experienced stagnation at some points in my life, and how my own priorities have influenced that.

I am intrigued by their surprisingly hopeful view of the possibility of change for narcissistic people. That’s something I hope to investigate more.

Definitely recommend this one.

[Joseph Chung · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that emphasises human methods rather than biblical truth. Seldom see God's dimension; majoring on human's side. For transformation, neuroscience is the key, the Holy Spirit and the truth play little part - You can't even see instructions on thanksgiving in Appendix B in the book, which is a section on how to remain joyful in gratitude! I don't see much in the book talking about believer's relationship with God as a key to personal growth, which is ridiculous.

If you are not not a discerning Christian, this book is not recommended.

[Karla Osorno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.25 stars.

The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation was recommended by a friend in my confessional community group. Since this is a topic I am very interested in I was excited to read this book.

Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks invite Christians to grow relationally, showing God’s design, scripture, and human creation (now supported brain science) as support for why this matters. It all makes sense philosophically. And the content of this book is affirming of struggles I have AND encouraging for making joy, hesed, group identity, and healthy correction real in my life and church.

Hendricks is being led by Wilder. His humility about where he is in the process is refreshing. Wilder’s expertise and guidance adds credibility. The book tells stories and gives an overview of the process. Then offers abundant resources for application. Reading the book is a next step in my journey of growth. I’ll be using the resources to continue the journey alongside some people in my church. I recommend this book and the accompanying podcast, plus the additional resources for anyone who wants to grow in their connection to God and people.

[Alex Gaidai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of the book is not so much rooted in the brain science, but rather illuminated by it.

The main idea is not that revolutionary, but a good reminder: Christian life is relational.

And so is spiritual formation, it was always relational. Not isolating or hiding away from the world, but together in a community that intentionally cultivates joy, love, shared identity and healthy correction.

Jim goes on to explain how all of these are essential to our growth, because that's how the unconscious part of our brain develops. How we can't expect formation to happen if we only approach discipleship from purely "informational" approach. What's needed then is a non-verbal training where we rewire ourselves through some odd exercises.

What's not so clear within the main body of the book, is how to train the group. Too few examples, and the rest is somewhere in the course that you can take.

But the subject itself was good enough, to think more deeply about the discipleship pathway for our church. To evaluate whether we are cultivating the four main ingredients described in the book.

[Matthew Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like to start with the bad and end with the good so I’m starting with the bad first:

Examples the authors used to support or apply their claim (or behavior) for spiritual development i thought were really “softball” in nature. I also found myself just plainly disagreeing with the text at times. Finally, I think the description of the book is slightly misleading and was hoping for more content on how the brain actually works.


That being said, the most important aspect for books like this is being able to implement what you have read in your own life. And for that, this book scores a 10/10. Anyone who picks this up can immediately start trying to practice what they have learned with step by step directions. I even have found myself applying what I have learned already.

Maybe this short rant of a review speaks to my own maturity in spiritual formation. That being said, this book is like going to a average museum. Good to go every once in a while to learn something new that can also be enjoyable. However, you don’t need to come back that often.

A solid 3/5 stars!

[Bradley Fayonsky]

This book applies our cultures our over-reliance on the brain’s left hemisphere, resulting in neglect of the right, which has led to a narrow minded approach to discipleship. The treadmill of learning and applying doesn’t work without love!

As I continue to read The Matter with Things (which is this foundation argument more drawn out, from a secular view), I have been chewing on in how this left-brained thinking in our culture applies to the church. And here comes The Other Half of Church.

I enjoyed how this book contributes to the discussion, but I think it doesn’t completely stick the landing. It feels like it gets off topic and some of its application seems a little disjointed from what it means to use our right brain alongside the left. If it interests you, then I recommend it, but I hope we can continue to learn how we can correct the mistakes this book rightly identifies.

[Adam Bloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some great insights here. I don’t think the situation of a currently half-brained church is as universal as the authors make it out to be, and I’m not sure if all the practices (which were not all covered and those that were were given incredibly short treatments) are as helpful to everyone (although I wouldn’t know because the book didn’t cover them), but the principles and concepts seem very sound and worthwhile. I’d love to learn more about the topic than this brief overview provides.