Positively Irritating

Embracing a Post-Christian World to Form a More Faithful and Innovative Church

By: Jon Ritner

Narrated by: Jon Ritner

The Western church finds itself in the midst of a seismic cultural shift, as secular paradigms threaten to remove any spiritual explanation for life, and Christianity is often viewed with skepticism and cynicism.

Rather than perceiving these ongoing challenges as irritants to expel, it’s time to see them as opportunities to embrace, so that we might effectively serve the world around us and form a more robust and Christlike church.

Jon Ritner invites you on his journey across two continents, as he moves away from a disciplemaking strategy relying on centralized property, programs, and professionals to one that empowers all the people of God to join his mission and make disciples in the everyday spaces of life.

©2020 Jon Ritner (P)2021 Jon Ritner

Evolutionary thinking for a revolutionary time

Ritner’s thoughtful approach to challenging ministry methods for a new paradigm is engaging and thought-provoking.

Go ahead and listen, at minimal your own faith may be revived to help lead a new reformation.

Very interesting

Wow, this was a great book! It opened my mind to many possibilities of our our small church can work together with others to make a difference in our neighborhoods & the world around us.

Grateful

As a new faith community planter, this book has helped guide us and not be so afraid to fail. Highly recommend

Essential. A book every pastor needs to listen to.

Don't read this if you aren't truly open to being flexible for God, putting your current church model on the altar. This book is transformative. Jon has key insights into what effective, authentic, missional church should look like going forward. Forget just getting your sermon online and sprucing up your website as a response to COVID. There is so much more! Sunday morning church for so many churches has been a bright, shiny, happy facade for too long. Chapter 11 is particularly powerful with a blueprint for "Food Truck" churches, how to empower your church members to be missional, to be sent, to bring the Kingdom to the people instead of your church just experiencing transfer growth from other churches down the street to come to a once a week experience. Putting these principles in to practice will be radical, but it will make your ministry impenetrable to government restrictions, the whims of what's popular, consumer churchgoer mindsets you may have contributed to. For what it's worth, I am a former missionary, participated in traveling itinerant music ministry, worship leader, have shared my Gospel story through radio and books and have worked with churches and ministries all over the country for decades as a consultant and communicator.

Phenomenal

Phenomenal book. INCREDIBLY forward thinking, innovative, and not theoretical, but the essence of practicality. Truly the way forward for the Body of Christ in the 21st Century and beyond. It is also excellently read by the author. HIGHLY recommended!