Divine Intention:
How God’s Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today
by Larry Shallenberger

I opened up Divine Intention, thinking that I was going to get a rant on “what’s wrong with church.” Those types of books seem popular nowadays; I’ve even thought of writing one myself. Nonetheless, I was surprised by Shallenberger’s discussion of church, personal piety, and how we as Christians engage a culture that is increasingly more post-Christian every day.

The form was a little too much like a sermon. He quotes Blue Like Jazz and uses the Message paraphrase of the Bible, but it still begins with a scripture passage, an anecdote (albeit fictional), and finishes with a theological discourse on the topic of the chapter. The book ends without definite resolution, which is disappointing, since the majority of the book has this kind of “old church,” modernist appeal to it, dressed up in postmodern lingo.

Shallenberger’s treatment of the Book of Acts, especially concerning the history of the early Church, was the strongest part of the book. As he recreates what life was like for early Christ-followers, the reader is caught up in another time and place. I found myself saying at times, “I didn’t know that!” He should have concentrated more on what he could have taught us about Paul and his travels than trying to be “relevant.”

I appreciated the author’s humility in sharing how he discerns God’s voice, makes faith-based decisions, and doesn’t always get it right. I admired his defense of the Christian life as one that is not based on formulas or rules, but on a relationship with Jesus. He paints a picture of the church as a wonderfully flawed vehicle that demonstrates God’s relational character on earth.

However, Shallenberger writes under the general assumption that we have gotten church right in America. He delves very little into the contrasts between the early and modern churches and seems to suggest that the current model we have is adequate and effective. He gives us plenty of gracious reasons to hope in the modern church, but doesn’t satisfy the curious question: “Couldn’t it be different?”

Lastly, I wasn’t sure of the intention of Divine Intention. Although he uses the phrase divine intention a lot, it seems to have multiple meanings in the book. Shallenberger tells great personal stories, reveals incredible socio-historical insights, and unravels interesting melodrama between his three allegorical Christian characters, but I was left at the end of the book much as I was at the beginning, wondering what the purpose was. All in all, it was a bit of a scattered attempt to address some real concerns about Christianity in America and placing the burden for redemption of the church where it should be – on the shoulders of the individual believer.

Rating: 3/5
To order Larry's book online or read more reviews, go to Amazon.com

Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Wrecked. He lives in Nashville, TN and is eagerly waiting to get married.