Radical Renewal: The Problem of Wineskins Today

Rating:
Summary: This book radically changed my understanding of church
Review: I read the first edition of this book when it came out in 1975. I got it by accident--the card I returned to my book club evidently went astray in the mail. When I got this book, not having ordered it, I was intrigued enough that I opened it, being careful not to crack the spine as I intended to return it. I ended up reading the whole book that way. Then I couldn't bring myself to return it. I was hooked.

I think this book more than any other (except the Bible) has shaped my understanding of the church--and as a church consultant and a writer/editor specializing in church renewal I have read hundreds of books on the church.

It was this book (chapter 3) that first told me that my deep inner longing to minister among the poor was not just some sort of personal idiosyncrasy (or highly individualized call), but an expression of an essential dimension of the biblical gospel.

It was this book that showed me for the first time that biblically the primary structure of the church is not to be the large group (congregation) but the small group (house church or cell). It was this book that gave me the vision for church as community more than institution, a vision that has guided my life and ministry for 24 years now.

It was this book that began my questioning of the traditional clergy and began to point me to a more biblical model of congregational leadership.

If you would rather continue to do church the way you've always done it rather than rediscovering the New Testament principles for doing church, don't read this book; it will scare you. But if you are among those who are looking to find new life for the church today, this is a great starting point--or source of continuing encouragement--for your search.

Rating:
Summary: Challenging and Compelling Reading
Review: In Radical Renewal Howard Snyder endeavors to examine the church from a biblical viewpoint within the context of modern culture. Based on Luke 5:37-39, Snyder sees the wine as the message of the gospel, which is essential and primary. He sees the wine skins as the way in which the church touches the culture with the gospel, which is secondary though necessary and useful. The problem comes when we take the ever-new gospel and try to contain it within the old wineskins of "outmoded traditions, obsolete philosophies, creaking institutions, and old habits." When we do, the powerful and life-changing gospel is constricted and must burst free. Snyder believes it is time for the church to update her wineskins. To remedy the problem, Dr. Snyder recommends a cataclysm that explodes the current church structures and creates new wineskins.

Some of the concepts investigated by "Radical Renewal" include the significance of ministry to the poor, the de-emphasizing of church buildings, the dynamic of Christian community, a Biblical church model, and small groups as the church's basic unit. His chapter devoted to "The Gospel to the Poor" was my favorite and was the most compelling portion of the book. Some of his concepts are presented in a radical and even an absurd way and then they are brought back to a practical and applicable balance. Other "radical" concepts (such as the acknowledging and releasing of spiritual gifts) have become accepted practice in many churches since the original release of the work. The year of its release, "Radical Renewal" would have been ahead of its time. It still contains insights and concepts that are of significant value to today's church.

Rating:
Summary: Good look at the way we do church
Review: Snyder distinguishes between the "wine" of the gospel and the "wineskins" (church structures devised by humans for a particular time and place), as well as between the church, the people of God, and the organizations and structures it uses. He suggests that the institutional church has let structures become hindrances rather than aids to the Gospel, and that Christians need to gather in both small and large groups. This will result, he says, in more personal, less institutional interaction, as well as a more Spirit-led, first century-quality dynamic corporate life. He tackles the do-everything role of the pastor, the wastefulness and rigidity of the church building, the importance of preaching the gospel to the poor, and the role of spiritual gifts in creating an organic, Body-of-Christ type of church. This book is a revision of Snyder's 1975 "The Problem of Wineskins," from which a bit of technophobic, doomsday, 70's dystopian paranoia is preserved in the last chapter. Even so, this book does a great job of outlining the way the church should biblically seek to function. I highly recommend it if you are suspicious of non-traditional means of church organization and operation, or, on the other hand, if you are looking for something outside the imposing brick walls of traditional church structure.