Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality - eBook

During the years when he was blogging as the Internet Monk (www.internetmonk.com), Michael Spencer was followed by hundreds of thousands of readers. He offered a lifeline to the spiritually dispossessed in his speaking, teaching, and writing. Michael graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College and earned a master’s degree in theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. For seventeen years, he taught Bible and served as campus minister at a Christian school in Kentucky. Michael passed away in April 2010.

“This is a book you’ll treasure and go back to over and over again. It’s convicting, funny, and wise. And even if you wince, it’s profoundly biblical. Meet the real Jesus and you’ll never be the same. And not only that, you’ll rise up and call me blessed for having told you about it.”
—Steve Brown
Professor at Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando), author, and teacher on the Key Life radio program

“There is an anxious question in the air: does church contribute anything positive to following Jesus? If you are asking this question, the late Michael Spencer is someone who felt your pain. If you have left the church to follow Jesus, and if you find him, Jesus will lead you to a community of fellow followers—call it what you will. Mere Churchianity will guide you along this path.”
—Bishop Todd Hunter
Holy Trinity Anglican Church, author of Giving Church Another Chance

“Michael Spencer was a self-described ‘post-evangelical’ Christian. He pointed out what already was obvious to many: that too often, churches practice ‘moralistic, culture-war religion.’ And sadly, their members are ‘church-shaped’ rather than Jesus-shaped. Almost prophetic in his railing against the prosperity gospel and efforts to turn God into a ‘convenient vending machine,’ Spencer’s book offers a timely and difficult reimagining of what living as a person of faith really means.”
—Jennifer Grant
journalist, columnist for the Chicago Tribune

“Mere Churchianity expresses a brilliant empathy for those who are disillusioned with—and distant from—what evangelicalism has become. At the same time, Michael’s writing is a clarion call to evangelicals to stop obscuring Jesus and his gospel. This book asks the most challenging question of all: does the body of Christ resemble Jesus?”
— Jared C. Wilson
Pastor, Author of Your Jesus Is Too Safe

“If you are satisfied with the way the church does Christianity in America, then you should back slowly away. However, if you are willing to be challenged, and maybe even infuriated, by Michael Spencer’s analysis of evangelicalism, then read this book. You may or may not agree with him, but you will be forced to think and hopefully pray about how we engage those who have left our churches.”
—Dave Burchett
Author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People

“Every Christian, regardless if they’re engaged in church or not, needs to read, discuss, and reread Mere Churchianity. Reading this book is like the best of Brennan Manning, Anne Lamott, and Philip Yancey all rolled into one literary experience. This is the best, most easily relatable book about following Jesus that I’ve read in at least ten years. What Michael left behind in words is nothing short of a gift.”
—Matthew Paul Turner
Author of Churched and Hear No Evil

“In this highly anticipated manifesto, Michael Spencer wrote for a generation that is struggling to figure out what it means to live out Jesus-shaped spirituality. Michael was familiar with the burdens of the dominating religious, political, and cultural norms that suffocate our everyday existence. Mere Churchianity delivers, and its message will live on through people who can’t help but be changed by it.”
—Andrew Marin
Author of Love Is an Orientation, President of The Marin Foundation

“As someone who has been writing for years on the supremacy of Jesus Christ and its relationship to his church, I found the Christ-centeredness of this book to be profoundly refreshing. We have lost a choice servant of God in Michael, but heaven is the richer. I’m thankful that he left us this excellent contribution.”
—Frank Viola
Author of A Jesus Manifesto, Reimagining Church, and Finding Organic Church

“You will look far and wide before you find another Christian who speaks with as much honesty, insight, and foresight as Michael Spencer. I am very careful about the Christian books I recommend, but this one definitely makes the list. I am excited to have a book I can give my non-Christian friends that accurately portrays Jesus.”
—Jim Henderson
Author of Evangelism without Additives, Jim and Casper Go to Church, and The Outsider Interviews

In Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer, the self-proclaimed "Internet Monk" writes to address the culture of what Christianity has become, a seeming devotion to doing more, being better, and looking good for God's sake (p. 5) and confront that culture with how the Bible portrays the Christian life. The perceived culture, which he brands as "Churchianity," is compared and contrasted with the teachings of Scripture.

In a series of essays covering various topics of the Christian life, Spencer outlines what he believes Scripture teaches and then makes applications based on those conclusions. His style is masterful, his knowledge is far-reaching, and his conclusions are pointed and challenging. The disconnect between the business-oriented church and the biblically-oriented church is very quickly and clearly seen.

But Spencer does not throw out the baby (church) with the bathwater (churchianity). He merely points out where disconnects occur, shows how they occur, suggests ways to reconnect and allows the reader to make their own conclusions. Some of his statements seem to be harsh or hyperbolic, such as "developing a Christianity Jesus would recognize" (Chapter 4's title) but he develops those thoughts very precisely so that what once draw you with thoughts of disagreeing leaves you nodding your head in approval saying "he's right on topic there.'

Far from being a diatribe against the church or organized religion, Mere Churchianity seeks to invite believers and non-believers into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ that allows Him to define the parameters, rather than looking to traditions or men's teachings to do so.

Granted, not everything espoused in the book rings as clearly as Spencer would have you believe. There are some places where the suggestion is made that perhaps leaving an organized church is the most spiritual decision one can make. The casual reader might see this as permission to abandon church and worship in a style of his own choosing; but that is not Spencer's point. This is a book that calls for a careful reading!

A sequel to this book would be great – seeing how these ideas are continuing to transform and develop in the lives of those introduced in this book. However, that sequel will not occur. Michael Spencer graduated to glory prior to the release of this book. It is my opinion that his gain of glory in heaven left us with the loss of a great communicator and thinker. I would recommend this book to those seeking to discover what it means to follow Christ in a 21st century mindset. – Pastor Charles Eldred, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

Praise for
Mere Churchianity

"This is a book you’ll treasure and go back to over and over again. It’s convicting, funny, and wise. And even if you wince, it’s profoundly biblical. Meet the real Jesus and you’ll never be the same. And not only that, you’ll rise up and call me blessed for having told you about it."
—Steve Brown, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando), author, and teacher on the Key Life radio program

"There is an anxious question in the air: does church contribute anything positive to following Jesus? If you are asking this question, the late Michael Spencer is someone who felt your pain. If you have left the church to follow Jesus, and if you find him, Jesus will lead you to a community of fellow followers—call it what you will. Mere Churchianity will guide you along this path."
—Bishop Todd Hunter, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, author of Giving Church Another Chance

"Michael Spencer was a self-described ’post-evangelical’ Christian. He pointed out what already was obvious to many: that too often, churches practice ’moralistic, culture-war religion.’ And sadly, their members are ’church-shaped’ rather than Jesus-shaped. Almost prophetic in his railing against the prosperity gospel and efforts to turn God into a ’convenient vending machine,’ Spencer’s book offers a timely and difficult reimagining of what living as a person of faith really means."
—Jennifer Grant, journalist, columnist for The Chicago Tribune

"Mere Churchianity expresses a brilliant empathy for those who are disillusioned with—and distant from—what evangelicalism has become. At the same time, Michael’s writing is a clarion call to evangelicals to stop obscuring Jesus and his gospel. This book asks the most challenging question of all: does the body of Christ resemble Jesus?"
—Jared C. Wilson, pastor, author of Your Jesus Is Too Safe

"If you are satisfied with the way the church does Christianity in America, then you should back slowly away. However, if you are willing to be challenged, and maybe even infuriated, by Michael Spencer’s analysis of evangelicalism, then read this book. You may or may not agree with him, but you will be forced to think and hopefully pray about how we engage those who have left our churches."
—Dave Burchett, author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People

"Every Christian, regardless if they’re engaged in church or not, needs to read, discuss, and reread Mere Churchianity. Reading this book is like the best of Brennan Manning, Anne Lamott, and Philip Yancey all rolled into one literary experience. This is the best, most easily relatable book about following Jesus that I’ve read in at least ten years. What Michael left behind in words is nothing short of a gift."
—Matthew Paul Turner, author of Churched and Hear No Evil

"In this highly anticipated manifesto, Michael Spencer wrote for a generation that is struggling to figure out what it means to live out Jesus-shaped spirituality. Michael was familiar with the burdens of the dominating religious, political, and cultural norms that suffocate our everyday existence. Mere Churchianity delivers, and its message will live on through people who can’t help but be changed by it."
—Andrew Marin, author of Love Is an Orientation, president of The Marin Foundation

"As someone who has been writing for years on the supremacy of Jesus Christ and its relationship to his church, I found the Christ-centeredness of this book to be profoundly refreshing. We have lost a choice servant of God in Michael, but heaven is the richer. I’m thankful that he left us this excellent contribution."
—Frank Viola, author of Jesus Manifesto, Reimagining Church, and Finding Organic Church

"You will look far and wide before you find another Christian who speaks with as much honesty, insight, and foresight as Michael Spencer. I am very careful about the Christian books I recommend, but this one definitely makes the list. I am excited to have a book I can give my non-Christian friends that accurately portrays Jesus."
—Jim Henderson, author of Evangelism without Additives, Jim and Casper Go to Church, and The Outsider Interviews