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So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore

An Unexpected Journey into the Reality of the Fathers Family
By Jake Colsen (aka Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman)
Life Stream Press
ISBN: 978-0-9647292-2-3

Review by R. Cody Smith     

 Warning, proceed at your own risk!

The material in this book could ruin you for “church” as you now know it. 

     If, however you find yourself in a religious routine that is not contributing substantially to your desire to know God better, then by all means, read on. 

     The author’s name, Jake Colsen, is actually a pseudonym for two long time friends, Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman who collaborated to write this book based on their combined and common experiences.  A work of fiction, this novel presents two key characters; our hero Jake a successful but highly frustrated pastor of a large congregation, and the mysterious John who spontaneously shows up in Jake’s life, in this, his time of greatest need.

     John immediately gets Jake’s attention by asking him some really tough questions that begin expose his church’s well-intended but misdirected agenda, which as it turns out, does not actually set people free, but instead attempts to make them captives to a religious system. Jake knows things are not what they should be, but he has been part of the system for so long that he has lost perspective.

“No prison is as strong as religious obligation. 
It takes us captive even while we’re patting ourselves on the back.”
   

     John’s mentoring style evokes that of another well known saint of the same name, he never really tells Jake what to do, but by authority of his own personal authenticity he becomes a sounding board and mentor to Jake in his pursuit of a new kind of Christian walk. By making courageous decisions through trials and tribulations, and at great personal cost, Jake perseveres and discovers a newfound freedom in Christ, and a life that he had only been able to imagine before.

“When we only ascribe the term ‘church’ to week-end gatherings 
or institutions that have organized themselves as ‘churches’ 
we miss out on what it means to live as Christ’s body.” 
 

One of the most significant ideas that I have personally taken away from this read still continues to reform my thinking.  

The key is not found in how much I love him, 
but how much he loves me… 
It is my security in that love that will change me 
(and I need changing) 
not my struggle to try and earn it.

 Cody


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