The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Early Christianity
J. Michael Matkin
Alpha Books, 2008, 261 pp., $18.95, www.idiotsguide.com
After McDonaldization
John Drane
Baker Academic, 192 pp., $19.99, www.bakeracademic.com
How did we (the church) get here? Here are two wonderfully written books that shed light on the evolving and transforming influences that shape where we (believers) are today, and more importantly, where we (the church) might end up in the future.
Early Christianity is delightfully written in a light, humorous style. Matkin weaves the sociological situations of the early biblical era and how the culture attempted (sometimes poorly) to understand the obligations of following the new and radical teachings of Jesus, the disciples and this new community we call “church.”
McDonaldization is a more serious approach to understanding the impact of our fast-food culture and the trends in mission and ministry. Both of these books are excellent in grasping the reality that Christianity is anything but static, subject to the forces of culture, and even to the whims and needs of human spirituality.
