Lessons from the East by Bob Roberts Jr. - REVIEWED

About the Book:
"What if our Western view of church isn't God's view of church?" That's the disruptive question church planter, Bob Roberts Jr. wrestled with while connecting with top church planters and pastors from around the world. Over time, his global experiences convinced him that Western believers would benefit from:

--taking their faith beyond Sunday to every dimension of life;
--shifting from a Christian worldview to looking at life through a Jesus prism; and
--transforming from religious leaders to disciple leaders.

My Thoughts:

“Too often, our emphasis in missions has been more about creating a separate domain than equipping people to enter the existing domains in those communities to shine as lights and love people the way Jesus loved.” (p. 53)

Bob Roberts, Jr. comes back to this foundational truth throughout his book, Lessons from the East.  He has learned valuable lessons from pastors that lead congregations in the Eastern culture who live most of their days willing to live for and die for Christ and His precious gospel.  He  speaks again and again about how our faith and our ministry are present in every part of our lives instead of being only a part of our weekly check list of duties we perform out of obligation.  Roberts talks about relationship and familial ties among ministers of the gospel that serve as a foundation  from which they draw strength and purpose.  He looks at every part of Western “religion” and  highlights the profound differences between disciples and ministers serving in Eastern culture versus their Western counterparts.

I was both encouraged and challenged by every chapter in this book.  I was also excited to find that the church I currently attend – although very large – incorporates most all of the principles Roberts discusses.  It really makes all the difference in the world when we do ministry from the bottom up instead of the top down! 

I encourage everyone who is a believer to examine this book and your heart as it relates to the call of God on your life.  If you belong to Christ, you  have a call to serve Him in every area of your life every day of your life.  Each chapter ends with thought provoking questions that will help you examine your heart before God and to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of His Word as it relates to ministry of every kind! 

About the Author:
Bob Roberts Jr. is the founding pastor of NorthWood Church in the Dallas / Fort Worth area who has been involved in helping plant over 200 churches. His church and the other Western churches Bob has helped start have done global engagement in Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Vietnam, Belize, Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, Mexico, and Nepal. He is a graduate of Fuller Seminary (D.Min.). Bob and his wife have two children.