The Party Crasher by Joshua Ryan Butler Book Review

About the Book:

Have you noticed a deeper level of political division in your community or church? If so, you’re not alone. This powerful, accessible book exposes the religious nature of modern political movements and how they compete with faithfulness to Christ.

Rather than retreat from the political realm, The Party Crasher will help you understand the politics of our age and equip you with the wisdom to faithfully navigate them. Key takeaways include:

• How to develop a Christian posture for political life and promote unity in the church.
• When to be bold.
• How to identify and repent from our political idols.
• How the way we worship can help us avoid division.

This is not a book about putting politics aside, it’s a book about putting politics in their place so that we might be better disciples of Jesus in whichever party or place we find ourselves.

You can watch the book trailer here.

My Review:

Like many, I feel uncomfortable with either major U.S. political party. Butler explains the political creeds and political religions and idols involved. Being devoted to a political ideology competes with allegiance to Christ. “Politics has become the new religion,” he says. (588/3309)

After describing the values driving the political division today, Butler gives suggestions for Christian political involvement, such as being peacemakers. We are to follow the way of Jesus and do justice, show mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Christians can be involved in politics but it is not to be everything. If your side loses, God is still in charge. I really like his distinction between leanings and bowing. We have political leanings but we only bow to God.

There are reflective questions at the end of each chapter and additional Discussion Questions at the end. This would be a good book for a Sunday School class or small group to read and discuss. Here is an example of the thought provoking ideas Butler suggests: Do you pay more attention to political pundits than to the word of Scripture? How about re-prioritizing the reading of Scripture?

Christians are not going to fit into this world system. Jesus wants us to embrace the weirdness of His kingdom. (1745/3309) “Let's keep Christianity weird,” he suggests. (2544/3309) Let's show the world the Christlike people we are becoming.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Joshua Ryan Butler is a pastor and the author of Beautiful Union, The Skeletons in God’s Closet, and The Pursuing God. He and his wife, Holly, along with their three children, live in Portland, Oregon.

Multnomah, 224 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)