Book review - Concrete Faith (by Matt Wilson)

What does it take to “do” urban ministry? It’s a question many of us ask and it seems that in many ways The Eden Network may have cracked it. Matt Wilson’s book tells the story of 15 years with the Eden Network – moving into the roughest part of town and seeing God do His work.

It is an intriguing book because Wilson contends that the Eden model is scalable and repeatable and could form a pattern on a much bigger scale. I want to believe this, and I’m sure everyone who picks up this book will feel the same. But wanting to believe something is not the same as it actually being true.

As I read the heart-warming vignettes I suppose I had that feeling of wanting more evidence that this really is a sustainable big idea, rather than a wonderful idea. The constant breaks for mini-stories break the flow and it isn’t the greatest piece of Christian literature ever produced.

This book raises as many questions as it answers – about the nature of urban ministry, of Christian community, of mission and of the value of chasing after the new. Anyone who has a heart for the places everyone else has given up on, should read this, but with an enquiring mind.

by Steve Morris.