Restoring All Things: God's Audacious Plan to Change the World through Everyday People

by Warren Cole Smith, John Stonestreet, Jim Daly (Foreward)

God is at work--and He invites you to join Him

It's easy to get discouraged by the headlines. It can often feel as if God has left the building and we are on our own. This soul-stirring book cuts through the chaos and uncertainty to show you how God is powerfully active and intensely engaged in fulfilling His promise to restore all things. Through inspiring real-life stories of justice, mercy, love, and forgiveness in our communities and neighborhoods, you'll encounter a God who is intimately involved in His creation and using His church to work out the redemption of this world..

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Faith, Theology, Nonfiction, Religion, Christianity

234 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2015

Reviews

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need to stop asking people to memorize pi to the 10th decimal point and start telling them stories that in the end will allow them to see the world more like it really is. We need to get better at telling stories if we want our message to be heard. The strategy of this book is to tell stories. As we learn of the great work God is doing through His people in the world, not only will we be inspired to embrace the redemptive responsibility the church as in the world, we will be inspired to join in. And as well tell these stories to others, we may find a lost world regaining familiarity with the truths of Christianity, and more importantly, being drawn to Christ, the Storyteller they need to know.

Restoration is about stories and they make the best type of stories. I have been redeemed and you can too! We are broken and our world shows it. How do we share the restoration of the Lord? We come along side and share the hope of restoration.

Each of the following 15 chapters shares a story and application to be a part of the story.

1.) Great News-The church is alive and well and is at work in the world.
2.) Helping That Helps-Not all help is helpful and the Christian Church has learned much it can teach the world about caring for the poor.
3.) Capitalism for the Common Good-God is worker, and we are created in His image. Therefore our work, when rightly understood and engaged , can bring good to the world.
4.) This will Stop in Our Lifetime. –Christians across America and around the world have heroically saved babies and helped women by offering compassionate alternatives to abortion.
5.) Women at the Well-Christians have led the way in rescuing women and girls from prostitution and human trafficking.
6.) Coloring Outside the Lines-Throughout history, Christians have championed education and education reform.
7.) Justice That Restores-Societies struggle with how to handle those convicted of crime. Christians are leading in returning restored citizens to our communities.
8.) Forgiveness Heals, Time Doesn’t-Radical Reconciliation must be more than a buzz phrase. Many churches are taking it seriously and offering strategies for healing and progress.
9.) Loving God with All Your Mind-Confronting ideological intolerance, Christian professors are refusing to choose between their faith and their scholarship.
10.) It Does’nt Define You-Christians are living proof that one’s sexuality isn’t their deepest identity.
11.) Not the Least of These-Through a heroic perservance and strong faith, Christians can show the world how to handle suffering and disability.
12.) Giving Marriage to the World, Once Again.-Christians are, once again offering the good gift of marriage as a healing institution to a sexually exhausted culture.
13.) Suffer the Little Children-Christians have proclaimed the dignity of all life by taking seriously the exhortation in James to care for orphans.
14.) In the Beginning, God Created-God is creator and we are made to create too.
15.) The Authors personal stories.

If restoration pulls at your heart, you will be encouraged by the stories and the progress that is being made in the name of Christ. We can pit truth against Grace and we can pit Grace against Truth however, when we have the balance of both, we can have the Gospel of restoration. Salvation at its core is restoration. Where justice and mercy meet and love over flows. Where there is more of Christ and less of me with my insecurities that I am found secure in Christ.

A Special Thank you to Baker Books and Netgalley for ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Becca Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciate that this book covered such a broad vision for how Christians are answering these four questions: What is good in our culture that we can promote, protect, and celebrate? What is missing in our culture that we can creatively contribute? What is evil in our culture that we can stop? What is broken in our culture that we can restore?

As I read about cultural issues such as protecting the vulnerability of people (born and unborn) with Down Syndrome, creating beautiful art and displaying it in the church and in the public, restoring public schools, telling the truth about beautiful life long marriages, etc., it filled my heart with hope.

This was my final book to read for the Colson Fellows program. Finishing this book, I am resolved to fill my home and my girls' hearts and minds with ways that they can realize their calling as women who were designed uniquely by a Creator who wants them to image Himself by creating and restoring shalom. As we pause on Wednesday mornings to pray together for my mother-in-law as she counsels abortion-minded women... or as I drop off my 13 yr old at a widow's home so she can read aloud to her and have stimulating conversation... or as I listen to hours of music practice and chauffeur my girls to music lessons again and again... or as we spend time reading aloud a long novel and discussing it... or as we gather at the dinner table and discuss current events... as we love our special needs family members... as we bring a meal to a huting family... we are restoring shalom through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's not a rat race; it's a Holy Calling.

[Lisa Gravely · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an encouraging read! Inspiring, convicting, and motivating to live for the glory of God. “Anyone who is in Christ can and should seek to glorify God wherever they are.” The many stories of faithfulness included in this book are examples of doing just that in a multitude of ways. Amen!

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you lost hope that the Kingdom has come? Have you lost courage to stand up and do something for the Kingdom today? Have you been battle weary in the fight? Have you held a conviction to do something passionately to restore this earth and this Kingdom today and still coming?

This book revives hope. Countless stories about people, companies, organizations, and causes fill these pages of how they’re impacting today’s world for the Kingdom presently and for coming glory.

It will spur you to move to be an active participant in the restorative plan God has for our lives.

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels like the optimistic sequel to "The Tragedy of American Compassion," telling real-world stories of how everyday Jesus followers are carrying out the "ministry of reconciliation" and bringing light to the darkness. Practical, inspiring, and thought-provoking, the book invites the reader to participate in what God is already doing in the world.

[Keith Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book full of encouragement, with stories of people seeking to renew the culture.

[Jerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! Full of stories of faithful men and women! I will keep this book in my forever library!!

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy stories of restoration and want to be encouraged to serve Jesus in your sphere of influence, this is the book for you!

[Evan Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a 9th grade boy, I thought this book was a very good book. When I look around my class I see a huge variety of books. Some similar and lots different, but when I found this book I thought it was great, it wasn't like any book I had read before. This book talked about very significant and important news in this post-Christian time, as well as uplifting and inspiring stories of Jesus Christ, miracles, and faith.

In this book, it talks about lots of stories, stories like Truett Cathy and
Chick-Fil-a, or the transformation of the old Atlanta stockade, and many more stories. These stories were amazing to read not only informational and entertaining, but also faith strengthening. This book talks about miracles, but it also talks about the things this world that is the complete opposite. Things like poverty, abortion, sexual identity struggles, and much more. In every one of these heartbreaking topics, it shows how the Christians of this time are helping lots of people, through the power of Jesus Christ. This is why I enjoyed Restoring All Things by Warren Smith and John Stonestreet.

[Nile · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love seeing how sometimes small steps lead to very big and impactful changes. Problems can seem daunting and beyond help, but starting with something small in front of you, that God placed in your influence “in your going” can lead to something great. Additionally, this book really showed how the body of Christ does great work. No individual can tackle all the injustices, evils, and needs in the world. However, if we are each faithful in our calling, together we can. Very encouraging, Biblical, and easy to read. It is filled with stories, examples, and encouragement to join in the work God calls each of us to do with action steps and recommended reading to go deeper in a topic at the end of each chapter.

[John Rossitto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope for a Suffering World

We often are taken up in the negativity that surrounds us by the way the US has and now quickly is moving. This is a book of change and hope. Each chapter talks about an area of potential ministry, stories of those areas and a call to action on how to work in that particular area. After reading each chapter I get excited about trying to fill that need. Yet I can encourage others in what God has called them to do and find one area of ministry to chase. If you need and want encouragement and a challenge take the time to read this book and get absorbed in the call of one chapter and watch what God can do.

[Lauren Terwilliger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was included as our capstone reading assignment from the Colson Fellows Program. It was a great encouragement for believers to see progress that has been made to advance the kingdom in many areas of life outside of the church itself. I was so inspired by the stories I read and found many organizations that I would like to look into for sharing with others and personally supporting or volunteering at myself in the future.

I would highly recommend this book to believers who need encouragement about the good that is being championed in the world in the name of Christ.

[Christel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings a fresh, relevant, and practical perspective to applying biblical worldview to every area of life and culture. I plan to use this book as material for a small group Bible study. The stories and examples leap off the page, and the specific ideas about how to live out biblical worldview are helpful and inspiring. A must-read for those who are interested in going beyond the philosophical talk of what biblical worldview is, to putting it into practice.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

charity more responsible crowded out by govt, education with purpose and educated villains of last century, to give honor and glory to God, restorative justice for crime, silence in face of evil is evil, racial reconciliation book, ivory tower of babel book, this is Providence, sinners in need of redemption, media message reflects media beliefs only, too many children too many flowers, 300k churches 100k foster children, movie of Beethoven missed abortion, aim small miss small.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone Makes a Difference for God

John & Warren walk us through various aspects of culture and provides practical, real life examples of the impact of Christians. Bottom line, your vocation or what God has put in your heart need not be grand. Every one of us has a burning need to make a difference, to bring restoration to this crazy world, until God returns and completes what we have begun.

[Shauna Trotzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smith and Stonestreet write a phenomenal book on what is right in this world. Rather than continue to focus on all the evil and wrongs, they choose to highlight the good works that are being done from saving babies from being aborted to communities revitalizing a high school to strengthening and supporting marriages. This book is an easy read and will motivate you to see where you can make a difference in your corner of the world.

[Ronald J. Pauleus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a rich and challenging book. I appreciated how much the author magnified and lifted the grace of God and His power to restore before my eyes. This book has good biblical theology!

“So the Bible is not, or not merely, a book about how to have a better life or how to handle life’s problems. It is a book that explains the universe and how God is in the process of redeeming and restoring it to its original good, true, and beautiful state.”

[James Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a book to encourage, challenge and just get you motivated to do something special for someone else, this is it. This book provides a glimpse into the many creative ways to serve others with proofs that these efforts are making a difference. I recommend it for anyone with a desire to bring change into their world.

[Sarah Baab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that summarizes the purpose of the Colson Program well. This book is full of stories of people's faithfulness in the mundane, showing how God uses us in both the good and the bad, if only we are willing to serve Him. I appreciate the authors' emphasis on storytelling and the impact stories have on all who hear them.

[Wesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most recent book I received from Baker Books was Restoring All Things: God's Audacious Plan to Change the World Through Everyday People (2015) by Warren Cole Smith and John Stonestreet. Smith is the vice president o WORLD News Group and Stonestreet is a public speaker and fellow with the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview and appears on two radio commentaries BreakPoint (with Eric Metaxas) and The Point.

In the interest of fairness and an overwhelming feeling of charity, I always try and include some things I like before I talk about the things I didn't like in my book reviews.

The Good

This is a book that takes some solid biblical truths and tries to make them compatible with conservative political philosophy. While the conservative political philosophy it pushes certainly has some issues, the authors come from a good place.

One thing I do like is their emphasis on the doctrine of vocation. They rightfully see humans as God's stewards on this earth and as a result, we should make a difference in our vocations (or spheres of influence). This is an important lesson Christians need to learn, especially in the context of American Christianity where the emphasis is on being the next "big" thing. You don't have to be a Chris Tomlin, Steven Furtick, etc. to make an impact for the kingdom of God. You just need to be a good parent, school teacher, husband/wife, plumber, dog owner, grandparent, etc. That's how we bring the Gospel into our daily lives.

It was also good to see a fairly thoughtful argument against abortion. Too often, Christians forget our best strategy is incremental changes (and this is working, by the way, as abortion rates have been on the down swing). This isn't to say the big picture is not important. But this is a political and legal battle so it's more complicated than merely voting for the right candidate once every 4 years.


The Bad

My main problem(s) with this book aren't really the theological framework the authors utilize. In fact, I was really excited to read the rest of the book after the introduction because I thought their logic was sound. That said, I was sorely disappointed with how they attempted to apply that theology to our modern context.

To begin with, Stonestreet and Smith utilize the work of Charles Murray and Marvin Olasky. Charles Murray is a "social scientist" (I use that term lightly) and author of books like The Bell Curve which are not only rejected by most sociologists but also are extremely racist and anti-poor (that doesn't stop people like Paul Ryan from looking up to him though). Olasky is a "journalist" (I also use that term lightly) who parrots the ideas of Murray. Basically, Smith and Stonestreet buy these arguments but try and put a friendly face on their arguments.

When it came to applying their arguments, there are 2 places where Stonestreet and Smith fail: capitalism and race.

"God cares deeply for the poor" they argue as they argue for capitalism which is dependent on greed. Their methodology for "caring for the poor" is really a justification for continuing conservative policies which increase wealth inequality and slash social social programs. They argue that the Church should do charity because they're good at it but they get crowded out by the government (despite the fact that there are legitimate policy reasons for welfare programs from a governmental perspective). In their proposed solution they list 3 elements of "truly helpful help." While the other two are arguably decent standards, the second is that poverty is not a financial problem, it's a spiritual one. This may be true in some situations but that's hardly the case in all situations.They also argue that we should reject solutions to solving poverty that objectify people (clearly talking about government programs) while pushing for capitalism which seeks to reduce our identities to producer/consumer (not to mention where laborers are treated as cogs in the machine).

Chapter 7 is titles "Justice that Restores" which begins in the right direction by critiquing the very fundamental basis of our broken criminal justice system. They accurately note that the US has more prisoners per capita than any other nation in the world. But things aren't really getting that much better. And we're really not that much safer. That said, they miss the larger problem here: RACE (lack of education/work opportunities, disparity in pay, racial profiling, disparity in sentencing, etc.). To be fair, in the following chapter, they lay out a pretty good argument about race. It was very nice to see them say, "those in a dominant population tend to see problems at an individual level...but overlook problems that persist at the systemic level." This is something I completely agree with but I do have to ask, "Does this happen to them in their writing?" To which the answer seems to be yes.

Conclusion

This was a disappointing book. It doesn't add much to the substantive discussion of social policy. It just regurgitates broken political philosophies while trying to synthesize them with Christianity and give it a friendly face. The good points it does make are overshadowed by their ridiculous reasoning.

[Emily Wydo · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book came into my life at a time where all I could see was the brokenness, and chaos of the world. It's a breath of fresh air to know God is still at work even in the midst of the fall and in average people like me.

[Aaron Carlberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit dated today, but the information is still pretty good. Some chapters are better than others and sometimes the case studies are a bit unnecessary, but they are trying to show how everyday people are making a difference and so can we.

[John Irvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a great read to end our training with Colson Fellows. I love stories, redemptive stories. We (I) need to be better storytellers sharing God's redemptive and restorative work in our lives and around us.

[Theresa Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the many we read in the Colson Fellows program. It was the last one I read, and it was the perfect ending to the program filled with many encouraging and inspiring stories. I wish they would put out an updated version.

[Warren Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grateful for the positive reviews....

[David King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful questions for reflection at the end of each chapter

[Damon Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Very informative and inspiring! A must read for every Christian.

[Joshua Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really encouraging work on how the church can make a difference in the world.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uplifting read about how God is at work in all areas of life across the world.

[Kevin Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book that makes excellent points about the purpose of every disciple of Jesus. It gives instruction and examples to lead the way that are very helpful.