Review of "Real Church" Larry Crabb's New Book

In his newest book Real Church: Does It Exist? Can I Find It?, author Larry Crabb recalls a moment when he was attending church and found himself bored, disillusioned and drifting off. He took a pen and wrote a note in the margins of his bulletin: I think I might have to give up Christianity in order to follow Christ. He later decided that Churchianity would have better described what he was feeling. And so, Real Church essentially begins with Crabb’s own honest admission that he has lost interest in attending the sort of church that seems to dominate the North American landscape. He then declares that he does want to be part of a church that is “real.” What follows is an often provocative and thought-provoking manifesto (of sorts) for those weary, church-going North Americans Crabb believes join him in the search for “real church.” Real Church also offers Crabb’s critiques of both the conservative evangelical as well as the emergent, missional and socially/theologically liberal approaches to understanding and being the Church--doing so in a way that is constructive and not mean-spirited. Real Church is a great read that offers a clear way forward for the 21st-century Church.