A Book Review: Metamorpha, by Kyle Strobel

Alright, so I will be the first to admit from the beginning that Kyle Strobel is my friend, but this is not a shameless plug.....well it may be a shameless plug, but not because its not a good book. I'm not gonna lie about it-I really appreciated what Kyle had to say in his new book, Metamorpha, (Baker Books, April 2007), and I wanted to share what I took away from it.

In our turbulent church culture, it can often be hard to break the communication barrier between evangelicals and emergent Christians. Kyle seems to have accomplished this task; he begins by describing himself as a "child of the seeker movement", a "child of evangelicalism", and a "child of the emerging church". He offers a variety of down-to-earth reflections on his own experience growing up as an evangelical, while sharing some retrospective critique of the evangelical church without being caustic in the process.

Much of what Kyle does is to offer a description of how we might orient ourselves toward the Bible, the Spirit, and church community as a healthy part of our growth toward holiness. Kyle asserts that we must allow our perspectives and assumptions to be broken down by God in order that God might reconstruct us (worldview deconstruction and reconstruction), and he talks about how each of these three elements specifically play a role in that process. I feel like my description makes it sound "cerebral", but Kyle presents it in a clear and accessible way. Its more than having the right information; its organic; its about a journey where our hearts and minds are being reformed by God. A personal journey where God takes us inward in order that we might have a clear outward perspective toward the world, our own lives, and the kingdom of God.

Kyle does an excellent job in his communicating his message; he makes it accessible and appealing to a wide segment of the church, whether your a mainline evangelical or an emergent Christian who is tired of the status quo. And the best part; it has a thorough biblical grounding!

Out of all the chapters, I most appreciated the chapter on the role of community; Kyle challenges the church to think about this buzz word in some new ways even though it has been talked about endlessly.

Definitely give this book a read, and if you think of it, come back and post your thoughts- I would love to know how you were impacted!