Book Review: “Christ Made Flesh: The Church as God’s Witness to the World” by R. P. Kennedy

How did I get this book?

This book was a gift from my friend Pastor Howard Volz of The Rock Church in Saint Petersburg. This is a book that his pastor, Rob Kennedy wrote.

I love reading books from local pastors! I think more pastors should write and publish books.

What is it about?

It’s about the church, and how the church is the body of Christ in the world. Dr. Kennedy explores all the different ways that Jesus is to be reflected in the world through the actions of believers in Jesus.

His outline follows the Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:11, in how “God gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” to build up the body of Christ and equip her for ministry. The chapters of the book are:

• The Apostolic Church

• The Prophetic Church

• The Evangelistic Church

• The Shepherding Church

• The Teaching Church

In each of those chapters, he further details various ways that the particular office is designed to be a demonstration of the character and nature of Jesus. For instance, in the chapter about “The Apostolic Church” he further subdivides into “The Apostolic Church is: One Church, A Holy Church, A Sent Church, A Faithful Church, A Pentecostal Church, A Generational Church,“

Throughout the book, Dr. Kennedy is teaching and casting vision for what the church should be and do. His exploration is far-reaching into the nooks and crannies and places that we often don’t think of. He often starts with the characteristic of Jesus and then thinks through how that characteristic would be manifested in His body, the church. The theme is repeated throughout of “Christ Made Flesh.”

He concludes the book by explaining why he didn’t give any illustrations. He wanted his reader to leave the application up to the Holy Spirit. He writes:

“You may not be able to bring the world to Christ, but you can bring Christ to the world. Be the application! Be Christ made flesh, be God’s witness to the world.”

What did I think?

First, I just want to be an encouragement to every pastor that embarks on a writing project. In my opinion we need more of that. We are far too homogenized. And, so, I commend Pastor Kennedy for doing this. It’s a lot of work, and he’s done a masterful job of exploring the subject.

His opening analogy was brilliant:

“Many assume the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost, but in reality, she was born from the pierced side of Christ just as Eve was formed from the rib of Adam, the church - the bride of Christ - was born from his side when it was pierced, and water and blood came forth.”

He has several more good insights.

I think he picked a killer painting to adorn the cover.

It appears to be a self-published book. I wish it didn’t have to be that way. There’s a few areas that an editor may have helped him say what he wanted to say in a more effective way. But, I’m being nit-picky!

The typesetting is excellent, the layout is solid, the colours are attractive and the content is interesting and well-balanced. I hope he continues to write. I can tell that he’s a preacher and an evangelist and that he’s had the blessing of formal education.

Conclusion:

More local pastors, even bi-vocational pastors, should write books. They have something to say, something to contribute to the wider body of Christ. There’s wonderful things the Lord has showed them, revealed to them, allowed them to go through that the rest of us would benefit from.

That passion needs to come out. I’m glad Pastor Rob took the time to write it all out and publish it. Maybe you could let him know.

soon!

andy