Description:

God Is Looking For A Church To Bless
God wants to transform his church into a people of power, joy, and peace Jim Cymbala reminds us that Christianity is only as strong as the local church and that God wants to bless our churches in ways we can't possibly imagine. It doesn't matter whether a church is alive and growing or barely surviving on life support. God has a plan for it. It doesn't matter whether a church is facing financial challenges, internal divisions, or strife among its leaders. God has a plan for it. God is able to deal with any problem a church will ever face--as long as his people earnestly seek him.
As the pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle, Cymbala knows that God's blessing and grace is available to us today just as much as it was in the early church, when thousands of people became believers despite the fact that the church lacked everything we consider vital: church buildings, seminaries, printed materials, sound systems, choirs, and money. None of these things mattered. What mattered was that God's hand was on the church, working through his people to build the kingdom. Then, as now, God chose the church to manifest his presence to the world.
In this companion book to The Life God Blesses, Cymbala describes the kind of church God wants to bless and use. Based on the Word of God and personal experience, The Church God Blesses describes the key elements found in a vitally alive church and offers church leaders and individual Christians a fresh and invigorating look at what God intends the church to be. The church God blesses is not necessarily the largest, newest, or loudest church in town. Instead, it's a place where believers:
Receive solid spiritual nourishment
Can trust in God's protection
Engage in vital praise and worship
Become effective in ministry
*Learn that confession of sin is the channel to God's power

From Publishers Weekly

Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle and author of previous Christian blockbusters such as Fresh Faith and Fresh Power, and Sorenson, editor and head of Sorenson Communications, offer a refreshing return to some fundamental values of Christianity. Church leaders are reminded to "put on" the clothes of righteousness from Colossians 3:12-14 (compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience) and wear them outwardly. Cymbala examines the message, method and motivation of the Apostle Paul, as an early church leader obviously blessed by God. However, Cymbala provides no clear definition of the term "blessing" that would place it in a context for the modern church. References to Satan as a "ceaseless adversary" and to spiritual attack are frequent. Not only is the terminology evangelical, but so is the general tone, including judgmentalism about "the extreme sexuality common in much of the fashion industry" and the "self-centered, comfort-zone lifestyle." The text is comprised mainly of examination of Scripture passages and exhortation, but lacks significant interpretation and uses some cliches of the pastoral trade (e.g., "fleshly" instincts and "breakout" power). Intermixed with this are memorable personal stories from Cymbala's experience, including demon-possessed squatters, an addict who was sexually victimized at a boarding school and an African missionary whose blood led to the conversion of a resistant tribe. Although this is not up to the standard of his earlier works, Cymbala's message is encouraging and uplifting, including answers for spiritual hunger and demand for honest Christian examination.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle and author of previous Christian blockbusters such as Fresh Faith and Fresh Power, and Sorenson, editor and head of Sorenson Communications, offer a refreshing return to some fundamental values of Christianity. Church leaders are reminded to 'put on' the clothes of righteousness from Colossians 3:12--14 (compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience) and wear them outwardly. Cymbala examines the message, method and motivation of the Apostle Paul, as an early church leader obviously blessed by God. However, Cymbala provides no clear definition of the term 'blessing' that would place it in a context for the modern church. References to Satan as a 'ceaseless adversary' and to spiritual attack are frequent. Not only is the terminology evangelical, but so is the general tone, including judgmentalism about 'the extreme sexuality common in much of the fashion industry' and the 'self-centered, comfort-zone lifestyle.' The text is comprised mainly of examination of Scripture passages and exhortation, but lacks significant interpretation and uses some cliches of the pastoral trade (e.g., 'fleshly' instincts and 'breakout' power). Intermixed with this are memorable personal stories from Cymbala's experience, including demon-possessed squatters, an addict who was sexually victimized at a boarding school and an African missionary whose blood led to the conversion of a resistant tribe. Although this is not up to the standard of his earlier works, Cymbala's message is encouraging and uplifting, including answers for spiritual hunger and demand for honest Christian examination. (Mar.) -- Publisher's Weekly