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Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture
Jesus called us to 'serve the least' as a way of life. Yet we often reduce serving to a once a month program or seasonal event. Whether you are a pastor or a layperson, here you will find simple, reproducible strategies that will move your church from good intentions to compassionate action.
ebook, 208 pages
Published
November 1st 2011
by Zondervan
(first published October 18th 2011)
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Barefoot Church refreshed my soul unlike few books could. Having expressed many of the sentiments, nearly word for word, that Hatmaker does, the book strengthened my courage and gave me hope about the potential future for the church. I especially appreciated Hatmaker's perspective as a pastor. His honesty about the transformation and conviction God brought about was wonderful to read. The adjustments and transitions to whole-heartedly serving the least is highly valuable for any pastor going thr...more
It's a bit of a trendy topic in Christian circles right now, the idea that the church is somehow missing the mark of what God's designed it to be. Scores of books are arguing about organic vs. traditional, megachurch vs. house church, individual vs. community. But this book crosses those boundaries and shows how we can incorporate the principles of missional servanthood normally seen more within organic church contexts, into the context of the organized church.
I liked the way Hatmaker shared so...more
I liked the way Hatmaker shared so...more
Hatmaker tells his story of starting ANC (Austin New Church) and how he grew closer to God's heart for the poor and hurting. I am moved by stories and this book does a great job of telling the story and pushing home the message that we need to be serving the poor and needy - not out of obligation but because of our relationship with Christ. Hatmaker's points come mainly from his work at his church - it is how they did it, how it worked and what they learned. He even challenges his readers at the...more
Hatmaker tells his story of starting ANC (Austin New Church) and how he grew closer to God's heart for the poor and hurting. I am moved by stories and this book does a great job of telling the story and pushing home the message that we need to be serving the poor and needy - not out of obligation but because of our relationship with Christ. Hatmaker's points come mainly from his work at his church - it is how they did it, how it worked and what they learned. He even challenges his readers at the...more
I have very mixed feelings about this book. Brandon Hatmaker has a wonderful church and ministry that is mission centered. My problem is motivation which he addresses in this book but I felt that it was conflicting. In the beginning of the book he laid out that Hollywood does more for the poor than the church. This really hit wrong. There is so much that we don't know. Some christians are very quiet about what they do for the kingdom. However, Hollywood likes to toot their horn. So should our mo...more
Barefoot Church, in my humble opinion, is a manifesto for the church to embrace its identity as the Church. If we claim to be followers of Jesus there comes with that a certain look, attitude, and action. Brandon Hatmaker helps to lay forth the blueprint for what that ought to look like. The beauty in how he accomplishes this however, is that it's not done in a you-copy-me sort of way. Rather, it's accomplished through extensive Scriptural backing and by telling his story (and the story of Austi...more
I wanted this book to be much radical than it was. Hatmaker had a couple of fresh ideas: spending part of Sunday "church time" in active hands on interaction with needs in our communities, specific targeting of single moms as a needy demographic, etc. but new thoughts were sparse and lots of what he had to say was uninspired re-hash: Christians should be loving, the root of the problem is insufficient Bible reading and prayer, the poor matter, church is not a cozy social club and so on...
The author thought he had the dream job: pastoring a megachurch. But an encounter with a homeless man who wanted his Texan boots changed all that. That sparked the beginning of a journey of discovery of what it means for the Church of Jesus Christ to be missional. Maybe I should let the author speak for himself about that: "Barefoot Church is not about attractional, seeker-sensitive, culturally relevant, or other models. It is not a church growth strategy or new style of church. Contrary to popu...more
A good challenge to be a church of both belief and practice. This books stirs a lot of questions and moves a person to seek steps toward being missional and live the life Jesus called us to live. I love his challenge to join others in meeting community needs and to do it In a way of truly serving and not to meet our own agenda's. This is a book I would love our core leadership to read and study together.
Fantastic book. I applaud Brandon for writing such a heart felt message. This book has a great concept on the idea of the church and missional culture. I highly recommend that all Christians and church leaders read this book and be challenged by the truth in it.
Written from an evangelical Christian context, but with ideas and principles that can be embraced across the traditions—a useful conversation partner for churches seeking to grow in service.
Read the Kindle sample chapter to decide whether I would read the whole thing, and I think not. Addressed to leaders in megachurches and people who discuss 'missional' versus 'attractional' church structure. This is not where I come from.
Nov 30, 2012
Stephanie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
missional-reads,
church
This is one of the best mission related books I've ever read. He perfectly combines real life story telling with relatable situations to loving all for Christ.
Really enjoyed this book! Considering buying it so I can go back and highlight things that really stood out to me. Challenges me to consider what I need to be doing.
Great book - I'll be buying copies and handing them out.
Really reflects a lot of our values as a church, but puts it in an easily digestible form - I hope that discussions about this book will sharpen the point of the spear for us!
Really reflects a lot of our values as a church, but puts it in an easily digestible form - I hope that discussions about this book will sharpen the point of the spear for us!
This book inspired my family and my church small group to serve the poor and marginalized more.
Amazing and super challenging and inspiring book. I can't say enough good about it.
A challenging read. The author reminds us as followers of Jesus to DO, to ACT. Take your faith and be a light to the world around you. Show love and benevolence. This book gives some ideas and suggestions on how to do that in church as a group and individually.
So important for all church-goers to read.
Good-got some ideas for Church Without Walls.
Loved it!
great book about being the church with some ideas on how to actually put boots on the ground.
Sometimes you can't just "review" a book. Sometimes as is the case here, the message is bigger than the words on the page. Sometimes, the message takes hold of your heart. That happened with this book for me. Brandon's story is compelling, thoughtful and will provoke a heart respone - one that's greatly needed in today's culture, especially our church culture. Read it. Pray through it. And talk about it with your friends.
FABULOUS! Needed greatly!
This book is chewing it's way through my mind right now.
A mostly easy read, but there were some parts in it that took a while to get through. It serves as part call to serve and part the reason why we should serve. A very good book. Highly recommended. It can help to possibly read Tangible Kingdom first, although it's not completely necessary.
One of the very best books I have read on what church can and should look like. I think I highlighted 2/3 of the book. A must read for church leadership ... and for the rest of us who are wondering how to serve like Christ. Be prepared though, this book will stomp on your toes!
Some chapters I really liked, and other chapters impressed me with what he had done in Austin, Texas, but didn't translate to what I could do. A passionate challenge for the church to make Gospel a verb, to put flesh on it and aggresively serve the needs of our communities.
very similar content to most of the books in the exponential series, but it's still a great reminder of or a solid introduction to missional living.
Every Christian should read this book as a reminder that we as a Church are here to be Christ's hands and feet in service to "the least of these".
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May 08, 2012 01:28pm