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Throughout the busy schedule of the last few months, I have been meaning to get back into reviewing some of the great books I have been reading. Top of that list is “Jim & Casper Go To Church” by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper. Here is the Amazon.com description:

Jim Henderson pays people to go to church. In fact, he made national news when he “rented” a soul for $504 on E-Bay after its owner offered an “open mind” to the highest bidder. In Jim & Casper Go to Church, Hendrson hires another atheist–Matt Casper–to visit ten leading churches with him and give the “first impression” perspective of a non-believer. What follows is a startling dialogue between an atheist and a believer seeing church anew through the eyes of a skeptic, and the development of an amazing relationship between two men with diametrically opposing views of the world who agree to respect each others’ space.

This is a tough book for me to review. While there is a significant amount of good that the book has to offer, I was frequently frustrated by other aspects of it. I am glad that I read it, however, so despite the critiques, I think it would be a worthwhile read (though perhaps worth waiting for a less expensive paperback version).

The book is a quick and enjoyable read, not only for it’s size (it’s a smaller book with about 170 pages of generously spaced large print), but also for it’s engaging, conversational tone. Most of the book is a the dynamic back and forth dialogue between Jim & Casper, allowing the reader to feel like the were sitting in on both the conversation and their experiences at each church. These guys are obviously friends who respect each other enough to be able to discuss and disagree on important issues without every becoming combatant.

Provocative without being offensive, the questions and observations surfaced in the book are healthy ones for all Christians to consider, especially those in leadership. Even where I felt they were not entirely fair (which happened now and then throughout the book), I never had the sense of them being intentionally underhanded or condescending in their critiques.

Perhaps most valuable was being able to hear the input of someone like Casper. It will take some readers a little time to mentally adjust to reacting to those things they disagree with, remembering that, fair or not, they were his genuine reactions and reflect what many others have, do or will experience in our churches. The book is not attempting to say that Casper is right, but rather that what he says is important regardless. Frankly, he is right more often than might be comfortable for some.

However, there are many aspects of the book that I found frustrating. The very conversational tone that made it so enjoyable to read also meant that only a very quick exploration of the ideas was possible. The book might have benefited from some more detailed conversation about the content, even if it had been after the fact.

Of the 12 churches visited I had heard of 10 of them. If this book was seeking to give a fair look at Chrisitian/church culture in America, it would be been better to mix in a few churches that represented the vast majority of the congregations around the country. Coming from a small town originally, I believe at least one rural church would have been helpful. Much of the critiques offered as though they were relevant to churches in general were largely pertinent only to these “famous” churches. More than half of the churches were megachurches, which seemed to distract from the main thesis of the book. (In their defense, I am sure that the marketability of the book was hinged on the locations chosen.) I was also somewhat put out that they didn’t always even stay for the entire service. One visit is hardly enough to make a fair critique, but at the very least they should have committed to experiencing the whole thing (including the pre- and post- church culture that is often as important to the church as the service itself).

I believe that Jim & Casper offer something valuable to the church despite these short-comings. While I am not a fan of church rating, at least not as Matt has developed it, aspects of it are very creative and helpful- even necessary. This book will be beneficial to anyone who is involved in church ministry, raising important question if not providing all the answers. While, I might hesitate recommending this book to young Christians who are disillusioned and wounded by the church, as it could unintentionally add fuel to that fire, it is nothing that some conversation and understand couldn’t over come.

Anyone else read this and want to weigh in?