Book Club Questions for Letters to the Church

1.Chan frames the book around the image of letters written to churches — echoing Paul and the letters of Revelation. Why do you think he chose this format? What does it suggest about his relationship to the Church and his tone throughout the book?

2.He describes a growing unease he felt even while leading a large, "successful" church. What specific things made him uneasy, and have you ever felt a similar discomfort in a church setting you were part of?

3.Chan uses the phrase "the departure" to describe the distance between the New Testament Church and the modern Western church. In your own words, what are the most significant ways he identifies that gap?

1.Chan opens by asserting that the Church is sacred — set apart, holy, precious to God in a way that nothing else on earth is. How does this land on you? Does the word "sacred" feel like a natural description of your church experience, or does it feel like a stretch?

2.He draws on Ephesians 5 and the image of the Church as Christ's Bride to argue that we cannot treat the Church casually without dishonoring Christ Himself. How does the Bride metaphor change the way you think about church attendance, church commitment, or church criticism?

3.Chan challenges the tendency to church-hop or to treat church like a vendor relationship — going where our preferences are best served. What does he argue is at the root of this tendency, and do you think his diagnosis is fair?

1.Chan draws a sharp contrast between the church as a "gathering of acquaintances" and the church as a true family. What are the practical differences between those two kinds of community? Which more accurately describes what you have experienced?

2.He points to the early church's radical sharing of possessions (Acts 2:44–45; 4:32–35) as evidence that they experienced a family-level bond. Why do you think modern Western churches are so reluctant to go to that level of economic sharing? Is that reluctance a cultural problem, a theological misunderstanding, or something else?

3.Chan challenges the idea that Sunday morning attendance is sufficient for "doing church." What does he argue is missing when community is limited to a weekly gathering?

1.Chan opens this chapter with the haunting question of whether our churches could function just as well without the Holy Spirit — because so much of what we do is explainable by human talent, planning, and resources. How does that question land on you? Is it unfair, or does it hit something real?

2.He references Jesus' warning in John 15 that apart from Him we can do nothing — and draws out the implication that "nothing" means nothing of eternal value. What does genuine Spirit-dependence look like in the daily life of a local church? What would have to change for your church to move toward that?

3.Chan describes his own experience of building something impressive — staff, budget, programs — and slowly realizing that the impressiveness had become a substitute for dependence on God. Have you ever experienced something similar in your own spiritual life? A competence that quietly replaced a need for God?

1.Chan argues that the consumer mentality — coming to church to have your needs met — is fundamentally at odds with the servant posture Jesus modeled and commanded. How did you first arrive at church: as someone coming to give, or someone coming to receive? Has that changed over time?

2.Jesus in Mark 10 turns the world's leadership model upside down: greatness is measured by service, not by status. Why is this principle so easy to affirm intellectually and so difficult to embody practically?

3.Chan challenges the 80/20 rule — the common observation that 20% of the people do 80% of the work in any church. He is not merely asking for more volunteers; he is arguing that non-participation is a spiritual problem. Do you agree? What is the theological basis for his argument?

1.Chan opens with the Ezekiel 34 passage, where God pronounces judgment on Israel's shepherds for feeding themselves rather than the flock. What specific failures does God identify in that passage, and how does Chan argue those same failures appear in contemporary church leadership?

2.Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep by name, lays down His life for them, and refuses to flee when danger comes. What does it look like for a human pastor to model each of those qualities — knowing, sacrifice, and courage?

3.Chan is candid about the temptations that come with pastoral success: the pull toward platform, audience size, and brand-building. Have you observed these temptations in church leaders you have known? How did their response to those temptations affect the health of the community they led?

1.Chan uses the body metaphor of 1 Corinthians 12 to argue that the Church's structure is not a human invention but a divine design. What is the main point of Paul's body metaphor, and why does Chan think the modern church has largely failed to embody it?

2.He challenges the model where a small number of gifted communicators carry virtually all the spiritual weight for a congregation of passive attenders. What does Ephesians 4:11–16 suggest about the intended purpose of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers — and how does that differ from the way those roles typically function?

3.Chan argues that one of the greatest losses in modern church structure is the suppression of every-member ministry — the idea that every believer has a Spirit-given contribution that the body genuinely needs. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you currently exercising them in a meaningful way?

1.Chan argues that the Church was never meant to be primarily a destination — a place people come to — but a movement, a people sent out. How does this reframing challenge the way most churches measure success (attendance, budget, programs)?

2.He tells stories of ordinary believers — not professional missionaries — who stepped out in radical obedience to take the gospel to unreached people. What enabled them to take those steps, and what typically holds Western Christians back from similar obedience?

3.Matthew 28:19 gives the command to "make disciples of all nations." Chan notes that Jesus gave this command to His disciples — ordinary people — not to a professional class. How does that change your sense of personal responsibility for the Great Commission?

1.Chan opens by noting that the early church operated with a level of supernatural power — healings, deliverances, bold proclamation, transformed lives — that most Western Christians have either never witnessed or have given up expecting. Is that a fair description of your own experience? How do you account for the gap?

2.He cites Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 2:1–5 that he came "not with plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." How does this challenge the premium that most modern preaching culture places on eloquence, relevance, and production value?

3.Chan tells stories of miraculous answers to prayer and the power of the Spirit at work in unexpected places. How do you respond to these stories? With faith, with skepticism, with longing? What does your response reveal about your underlying theology of God's activity in the world today?

1.Chan's final letter is one of hope — even amid all the critique and challenge of the preceding chapters. Why do you think he ends this way? What would have been lost if the book had ended with the final challenge chapter without this note of hope?

2.He returns to the image of the Church as the Bride of Christ, moving toward the wedding supper of the Lamb. How does this eschatological vision — the Church's ultimate destiny — change the way you feel about your present, imperfect church community?

3.Ephesians 3:20–21 declares that God is "able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think" — and that His glory is to be displayed through the Church and in Christ Jesus. Does this promise feel real to you right now, given everything Chan has surfaced in this book? Where do you need to let this promise land more deeply?

1.Looking back at all eight chapters (plus the introduction and epilogue), which single chapter or theme had the greatest impact on you — the one that most unsettled, convicted, or inspired you? What was it about that chapter that hit hardest?

2.Before reading this book, how would you have described your vision of "the Church"? How has that vision changed, expanded, or been challenged? What do you now see that you did not see before?

3.Chan writes from a place of love for the Church — not cynicism. Did you receive the book that way throughout, or did you find yourself at any point becoming critical or dismissive rather than responsive? What do you think triggered that reaction?