Citizen by Rob Peabody

As a young mega-church pastor in the Dallas suburbs, Peabody had an epiphany: “God was giving me a vision for His church, a vision that later came to be known as The Awaken Movement.” (19) He and his staff looked into the needs and injustices in their community.

Peabody and his family moved to London, an experience that made him rethink the meaning of citizenship. We are to live primarily as citizens of the Kingdom of God. It is a lens through which we are to see our lives and the world.

Peabody is a storyteller and he tells lots of them. He illustrates his teaching points with long personal stories. Maybe its a guy thing, telling the stories. For me, the four page account of him and a friend sneaking into the Texas capitol building did nothing for me. The only stories I found valuable were those relating to living as a citizen in the Kingdom of God.

The important point I received from this book is that we must be intentional Christians. “Our culture disciples us,” he writes. (127) If we are not intentional about our Christian life, our Western culture will drown us out.

Peabody also reminds us that God works through people. We are His plan for His Kingdom project here on earth. (182) It's time to end the apathy and live as citizens.

Food for thought: “Jesus is calling us to live with abandon for Him – to live in our communities in a manner that represents heaven on earth.” (99-100)

There is no study guide in the book but if you purchase a copy at the Awaken store website, you can get a free digital study guide. You can find out more about the book at http://www.citizenthebook.com/ and the Awaken Movement at http://www.awakenmovement.com/home.

Previously the lead campus pastor at an American mega-church, Rob Peabody is now director of the Awaken Movement who left his church in the Texan Bible-belt to start and lead a Fresh Expression of church seeking to engage unreached 20′s and 30′s in northeast London.

Monarch Books (distributed in the U.S. by Kregel Books), 192 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kregel Books for the purpose of an independent and honest review.