A Book Review of “Letter to the American Church” by Eric Metaxas
Scripture:
Revelation 2:4-5 (ESV)
4 But I have this against you, that
you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you
have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to
you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent
Review
I do not usually use my blog as a
vehicle to do book reviews. However, this weekend I came across a new book by
Eric Metaxas by the title of Letter to the American Church that
I found to be very engaging. (I read it in one sitting. It is only 146 pages
long.) As the title suggests it is an open letter to the church in America in
which the author pleads with the American Christian community to do what the
apostle John urges the church at Ephesus to do in the scripture quoted above.
The author uses his deep knowledge
of the German church in the 1930’s to draw some disturbing similarities between
the situation of that church and our own American church today. The author is a
scholar of D. Bonhoeffer. His knowledge in this field is impeccable. His
comparisons of the two churches is nuanced and credible. The author acknowledges
that no two eras of time are exactly alike, but he finds enough similarities
between what happened in Nazi Germany and what is happening now in America that
we should find them remarkable and troubling.
If you are looking for a book that
will excoriate your political opponents in the current culture wars raging in
the United States, you will be disappointed. In fact, the names of the two political
parties are conspicuously absent from the text. You will find only scant
mentions of the terms liberal and conservative. What you will find is a well-reasoned
argument comparing the inaction of the German church in prewar Germany to the
seeming paralysis of the American church in the late 20th and early
21st centuries.
Whether or not you agree with all of
the author’s conclusions about the causes and cures for what ails us as a
church, you will find a well-documented expose on the state of the American
church in the current era. The author’s call to action is hopefully more than
just thought provoking. I hope it will indeed lead to a revitalization of the
church in the United States. Spurring us on to avoid the fatal mistakes that led
to the ineffectiveness of the German church in the face of Hitler’s rise to
power and sidelining of the church in Germany.
I urge all Christians to pick up a
copy of this book and pour over its pages. If you are not currently that
concerned with the state of the church, I am convinced this book will change
your mind. If you are already concerned about the American church in this hour
reading this book will hopefully spur you on to greater involvement in the
fight for our religious freedoms which are under such attack at the present moment.
Let us close with a brief prayer that God may use this book to point us in the
right direction to take as a church for the good of the nation.
Prayer:
Lord open our hearts to hear your
call to us in these perilous times. Let us follow Christ’s example of love for
our fellow man to engage with a culture that has already lost respect and trust
in large swaths of the church in America. Call us to be men and women who can
discern the times we are in and take meaningful action to change the course of
the church and the country as a whole. May you be glorified by your church as
never before. In Jesus precious name, Amen.
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