I was meant to read this book, it was definitely placed in my lap, or Kindle, by God. I have never read a book about the church that I found instantly relatable and could be immediately to practice. Jonathan not only points out the problems, but gives proven solutions.

This entire book was so easy and wonderful to read. It should be read by everyone, not just those in ministry, but believers and unbelievers alike. So much can be gained by a mutual understanding of the situations addressed in this book.

I cannot sufficiently express how much I learned from this book. I look forward to seeing what more Jonathan writes and how much more he improves his community and the church as a whole. ( )

The story of the author's work in ministry in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, described in terms of Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Jeremiah 29.

The author sets forth his story in a compelling way: a child of the area who moved out and yet came back and found himself the pastor of a local church, and how he has grown and developed to understand the area better, to love the people, to work effectively with and among the people, and to produce meaningful change in the community.

The author's goal is to encourage Christians, wherever they are, to be present in their communities. He encourages them to participate in community efforts, to not consider themselves as better than or greater than the community, but to seek their community's welfare, just like Jeremiah encouraged the Israelites to do while in Babylonian exile. He encourages cooperation with local organizations doing good work, and does not expect the church to do all that work itself, which was refreshing and valuable. He demonstrates through his own example how one can come to love an area generally unloved and considered unlovable by many, and how important it is to get past the pretense and prejudice and find and love people where they are.

While there are many, many books in this "X Church" or "Church X" genre, and it's easy to just gloss over them or think they're all just variations on a theme, this one has a lot of power and value and is worth consideration. Highly recommended.

**--galley originally received as part of early review program, although I read the final edition which I purchased ( )