Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit

Lamenting the ways the contemporary church turns “the gospel of liberation into a religion of control,” Galli (Beyond Smells and Bells), senior managing editor of Christianity Today, explores the work of the Holy Spirit (whom he labels “the Mischief Maker”) in the biblical books of Genesis and Acts, and also in the church today. Contrasting God’s unruliness with humanity’s addiction to order, Galli offers intriguing, often humorous interpretations of stories involving Adam, Eve, Abraham, and Sarah, in which humans respond to God’s generous promises with distrust and a desire to take charge. The chapter “A Variety of Religious Oppression” examines the slippery path by which religious leaders become upholders of “order and peace” rather than missionaries of liberation. Skewering the “church growth movement” with its current emphasis on “marketing” rather than witnessing, Galli insists Christians are most faithful when allowing the Spirit to do transformative work, and unfaithful when structuring their lives to avoid intimacy with God. Thoughtful and provocative, this book offers cultural, psychological, and scriptural insights worth pondering for Christian leaders and laity. (Oct.)