Book Review: The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation by Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks

Abstract

by consumerism. The book is helpful for church leaders and lay members looking for a fresh perspective on what it means to be the church. Each essay presents a biblically based ecclesiology from an evangelical perspective and presents new ways of thinking about the church that are worth reflecting on, evaluating, and learning from. Each ecclesiology offers something that contributes to a fuller picture of the church and how it can engage its local context. Since this book focuses on the two major issues of ecclesiology (the church’s nature and mission), it challenges readers to focus on the central issues of the church rather than get bogged down with secondary issues that have historically divided the church. While this book presents diverse perspectives on the nature and mission of the church that were birthed in diverse cultural contexts, it does not directly address an ecclesiology for a multicultural local church. In an increasingly globalized world with an increasing level of migration, diverse cultures are brought together to live in the same location. What kind of ecclesiology would emerge in a context where there is great cultural diversity within the local church? It is likely that fresh insights about the nature and mission of the church would emerge in such a multicultural context.