MWSA Review
A Church More Like Christ explores why churches today are broken and how they might do better at their missions in truly following Christ by worshipping, praying, teaching, living, and loving more like Christ. While the author Gray Rinehart’s purpose focuses on churches, he also speaks to individuals and reminds readers how they could be more like Christ.
Rinehart brings this complicated subject to an understandable level for readers. The following passage is one example of how he cleverly accomplishes this.
“One temptation for the church, it seems to me, is to focus so much of its attention on its congregation that it loses sight of the wider world. Like an autofocus camera trained on a busy scene, one part of the image is clear while the rest blurs out.”
Another good example is Rinehart’s line by line interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer. He breaks down biblical and religious concepts and provides interpretations based on his own thoughts, historical research, and scripture.
The book ends with “The Gift Fellowship Proposal,” of “Gift Church,” a prescription of ideas of how to create a church or fellowship that follows the tenets he espouses throughout the work. It is a plan, for those who are interested, that they may apply to their own parishes. The author honestly admits that many may not agree with his thoughts in the book, but he felt the subject was important enough that someone had to write this book. Readers who appreciate deep self-discovery and exploration of religious concepts will appreciate that this author took a chance and wrote this unique book.
Review by Valerie Ormond (July 2025)
Author's Synopsis
A church like Christ would
· Teach like Jesus
· Worship like Jesus
· Pray and live and love like Jesus
Is your church a force for good, a light in the darkness, an outpost of God's kingdom in the world? Do the wounded find comfort and healing in your church? Do the broken find repair and restoration? Do the vulnerable find help and hope? Does your church offer refuge for the oppressed, a hand up to the beaten-down, and recognition to the unseen? If so, this book may not be for you.
If not—if your church is divided against itself, or focused only on itself, or more judgmental than caring—it may be that the church is not as much like Christ as it could be. A Church More Like Christ can help you examine how Christlike your church is, and give you new ways to think about what it means for a church to live out the faith it practices.
If the church were quicker to comfort than to condemn, quicker to heal rather than harm, quicker to love than to hate, disparage, or ignore, perhaps it would be a greater source of inspiration, strength, and change in people's lives—and in the world. If so, it would be, in effect, more like Christ.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Other—Religious/Spiritual
Number of Pages: 116
Word Count: 30,000