As would be expected from a Christian musician who combines depth of experience with theological training, Michael Card balances devotional and scholarly insights. Motivated by his experiences among African American churches and their moving tendency to address Jesus as Master, Card uses both personal anecdotes and stories from the history of American slavery as a lens through which to take the reader on a journey through the old and new testament worlds of slavery, and particularly to draw out the new testament theme of Christian life being deliverance from one slavery, that of the world, into the freedom that comes only from setting apart Jesus as a new Master. The book is divided into three main parts, each of which engages the reader at the level of the imagination to allow stories of African American slavery to help illuminate Biblical contexts. The first and shortest articulates the beginning of Card’s aforementioned journey, namely among African American communities, and the inspiration from the early church that, in the words of Ignatius, a ‘better freedom’ comes only through setting apart Christ as Lord. He also describes something of the three contexts of Old Testament, New Testament and African American slavery. The first is dealt with somewhat swiftly (and one suspects potentially idealistically) and is not really mentioned after this brief treatment. The latter two he sees as similarly brutal and demeaning, and it is the New Testament witness, illustrated with African American stories, that he focuses on in the rest of the book.

The second, much lengthier, part of the book deals with the life and teaching of the apostle Paul and his emphasis on Christian discipleship as characterised by being a ‘slave of Christ’. Card’s focus on the theme is illuminating and the reader is struck by the sheer extent of such teaching and references to slavery throughout Paul’s life and writings. Of particular note is his insight that the Pauline words used to describe three of the greatest gifts of grace, namely justification, redemption and reconciliation, all come to us from the world of slavery. Being a slave of Christ, however, is not like the slavery to the world that oppresses people in captivity, but Christian disciples are freed from such an old life and freed to a discipleship that involves pleasing our Master, healing divisions through our common identity, and a life of service. Card admirably does not shy away from difficult questions and points out that although Paul was not ostensibly an abolitionist, this was because his main emphasis was that all Christians, slave or free, were to find their identity not in their literal freedom, or lack of it, but rather in their common identity of having Jesus as Master. Nevertheless, if they could, they should take their opportunity for freedom.

Toby Jones is a former Moderator of the Presbytery of Mackinac, who parted ways with the Presbyterian denomination in order to found Living Vision, a community attempting to offer an “authentic path to those seeking an apprenticeship in the Way of Jesus.” Jones encourages the creation of communities based on the seven practices he identifies as vital for such a community: open theology, authentic discipleship, embracing risk, radical inclusiveness, ‘Service. Period!’, no paid leader, and intentional homelessness in terms of a church building. These seven practices form the backbone to the book’s main chapters and each is illustrated by a discussion of a community visited by Jones which demonstrates the principles. The core chapters end with a number of helpful discussion questions, reminding the reader of the issues raised and meaning the book could be used as a resource for group study.

Jones challenges much traditional church thought and practice, and readers may well find themselves both heartily agreeing at one moment, then sharply disagreeing at the next. In particular Jones does not have the most optimistic outlook for the so-called ‘institutional church’ as hinted in the title with its mention of the ensuing ‘Post-Church Age.’ Jones, however, sees church decline as an opportunity for authentic community, as the institutional church has often actually hindered discipleship. The opening chapter seeks to highlight that the Greek verb pisteo should be properly translated and interpreted as an action verb that denotes a dynamic sense of following, including nuances such as clinging to, pouring oneself into, and putting absolute trust in. He seeks to contrast a risk-taking ‘pisteuw faith’ with more traditional, static translations of the Greek, which focus solely on the belief aspect. This focus on action naturally flows into the second chapter on discipleship, where Jones helpfully discusses some inspiring stories, notably that of the well known speaker Shane Claiborne, who in an attempt at radical discipleship ended up founding The Simple Way community through ministry among and support of a homeless community,

The chapters on embracing risk and radical inclusiveness are full of insight on how to avoid settling into complacency, although not everyone will be content with some of Jones’ conclusions on various controversial issues, including the place of homosexuality within the church. Similarly the dichotomy he presents between an inward looking church that emphasises holiness, and an outward focussed yet accepting church, perhaps does not adequately allow for the possibility of both an emphasis on holiness and outreach: Jesus after all called people to repent and follow him. His chapter entitled ‘service.Period,’ where he highlights the transformative power of merely serving the poor and vulnerable, rather than tying this to verbal evangelism, is moving and resonates with reality, however Jones perhaps ought to acknowledge that the gospels portray Jesus as both proclaiming the kingdom and enacting it. The final two chapters highlight the financial and spiritual gains both of avoiding the focus on church buildings, and of ministers fostering tent-making skills. These reflections constitute the most challenging and thought provoking of Jones’ insights given trends in church decline and troubled economic times. He points out that with no church building to maintain or pastor to pay, the church will have vastly greater resources to channel into practical ministry.