This could be one of the top five worst books I have ever read. For the record, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, as a part of their “book sneeze” program.
At first, I thought this might be a worthwhile book to read and review. I live in the Cincinnati area and have been to Brian Tome’s church a couple of times. Its always good to know what is going on in ones hometown. I knew there would be some theological differences between us, but I had no idea what I was in store for.
Tome makes a point to put a disclaimer in his book. Within the first few pages he wants us to know he lobbied his publisher for the right to put in some swear words and they didn’t like it. During the same section he pointed out how he does not like having to wear a helmet while riding his motorcycle. Tome is trying to come off as anti-authoritarian. He wants to come off as sounding so “hard core” and only comes off sounding like a spoiled kid. Seriously, the first chapter of the book is a lame manifesto that could have been written by a troubled Jr. High student. I joked with my wife about how he needed a diagnosis out of the DSM.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. One sentence ruined the whole book. Tome writes:
The last thing we need is another book on the Cross…
To be fair, I will put the quote in context. Tome is trying to say we have tons of resources on the Cross, but what he feels we really need is a book on freedom. Hence his writing of Free Book. Let me pick this statement apart. The Cross is where we, as Christians, find the freedom this book is trying to proclaim. Without the Cross, there is no freedom. It is the pivotal event in all human history. Brian Tome ignores the cross for the majority of his book. I think the last thing we need is another book by Brian Tome.
Here are some other things I had problems with:
- Instead of calling them demons, Tome calls them “evil personalities.” (In my notes about this book, I wrote “WTF?”)
- Tome allows people to feel like victims of “evil personalities” but never really calls people to repent of sin.
- On page 103, Tome tells those who have been freed from any kind of demonic oppression they need to fill their lives with hobbies first, and then turn to God…
- He tells us the Holy Spirit equips us but never draws a line between those who have made Jesus Lord, and those who have not. It reads as though the Holy Spirit has equipped everyone, even non-Christians.
I cannot recommend this book. It is about as spiritually deep as The Shack. It preaches freedom by behavior modification, otherwise called “works based righteousness.” This book gets one star from me only because zero is not an option.
-Don-
At a conference last year, I heard a prominent Christian speaker say during a moderated group discussion on how to be more effective church communicators,
"Okay everyone, the Gospel is assumed, what else can we do?" (I'm paraphrasing due to my faulty memory.)
That sentence ruined the whole session for me.
Wow.
What passes for Christianity these days scares me.
I attended his church yesterday (yes, I am aware that I called it his church). He defined repentance for everyone. His definition: change. Really, is that all it is? We can just change the way we do things and it will be all better, eh?
Lame.
His <del>sermon</del> speech was full of behavior modification without calling people to Jesus. While I liked what he had to say about being a man, I was very disappointed in his theological conclusions.
Yea. It is typical Cincinnati style church.
You could compare it to the Cincinnati style chili. No substance and barely worth eating
That's cold.
In all seriousness, this kind of worries me. Is this book related to the citywide series that a bunch of churches are participating in? Because the my church is going to be participating in it… and while I've always found my church to be theologically acceptable in the past, I've also always kept an eye out for the weird stuff that comes with being a "Cincinnati style church" as Don put it. Aesthetically, we resemble a lot of theologically bad churches. It would be really easy for them to take the whole "servant evangelism" and "outward focused" stuff to a "salvation by works" extreme. So far, everything has stayed centered on Jesus and the cross, but I always try to stay cautious of the potential for this sort of thing.
I dont think it is related to anything others are doing, but, I dont know for sure. Dave seems pretty smart, I dont think he would go that way.
Yeah, the way we did at my former church that Don was part of, we stayed pretty close to good theology. But to hear Tome present the series this past Sunday was something entirely different. Freedom did not come from a deliverance from sin by the propitiation of Jesus, but instead freedom comes by breaking away from "all the other churches" who have bogged Christianity down with their "religious" dogma. I never realized how exclusive Crossroads Community (yes, they took away the "Church" in their name) makes themselves.
Even the guy I went with to support his spiritual journey was unaware of his friend's leach-like tendency to keep him in "everything Crossroads" as we talked about attending a Listening for Heaven's sake class at VCC. I felt like
punchingtelling her toshut uprelax.We have several churches in my town that are dancing on the edge of that kind of mentality, and one that isn't even willing to associate with any of the other local churches. I attended a friend's wedding there. No-one but bride and groom's families came forward to talk to me or my son. After the reception was over, asked the kitchen staff if they needed an extra hand cleaning up. The lady turned to me and asked me what church I go to. I answered her. Her response was "Oh, that explains everything." and politely turned me down.
Woh.
A qualified TEXAN…preferably one who can type gooderer than me… *blush*
Denita, I can guarantee you right now that you will not consider "Cincinnati Chili" to be authentic chili. As a matter of fact, you might even burst into an outrage at such a "heretical" form of chili.
You mean it's not spicy? Or that it has nasty furrin stuff in it, like…b…b…buh…BEANS…?
Eugh! *shudders* It's not proper FOOD then!
I hate beans. Really. A lot. More than any other food (I think).
It's all in the manner they're cooked…. I'm VERY picky about my beans.
Hold on now. Skyline is delicious.
They are leaps and bounds better than Goldstar….Sky Fries…mmmmmmm…
Dude. Skyline is pretty tasty. But I will give you the word that it is not "really" chili.
We need a qualified Texas to make an assessment of the local chili. Anyone willing to pay my airfare?
I would like to try some of the infamous Tex Mex Chili's I hear about. I like spicy.
Oh, we can definitely take care of that for you! Oh yes indeedy! And not just merely "spicy," but spice with flavor. Too many Tex-Mex establishments just seem to aim for that "I Just Doused My Tongue In Police Pepper Spray!" effect, and under all the flames the food is actually bland as pabulum.
See now, you're just going to HAVE to come to Texas. We'll even treat you like a native and not force you to ride the mechanical bull…
Jonathan, Crossroads is far from a (exclusion) type church, they are very open to allowing others join in, and invite others to be a part. Example: GO Cincinnati on May 15th, Crossroads, provided over 70% of the volunteers, and pretty much all the funding but our name was not on a SINGLE sign, or t-shirt. So you can not say that the church is all about themselves, that is a falsify. Second just the other weekend the speaker spoke on good works based salvation and how it is counter to the relationship one has with Christ, one full of grace and love. So don't get this thing twisted, if you are happy where you are fine, don't come to Crossroads, or any other "Cincinnati" style churches. After all it is YOUR choice.