OUTCRY: New Voices Speak Out About The Power of This Church on August 9th 2016
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
The OUTCRY Tour brings together over 130,000 people across 12 cities to inspire and galvanize each city’s local churches. This book, OUTCRY, declares that local churches are at the heart of Christianity and you can make a difference in your community.
The OUTCRY tours were born out of a desire to be the lights and sounds of the greatest movement in the world – the local church. While studies and critics may indicate a decline of the local church, Ryan Romeo’s OUTCRY attests that the movement is only increasing. It’s time we band together to empower the local church to influence the surrounding culture. It’s you. It’s us. Stand behind the church Jesus gave His life for. The part you play in your local church matters. You are an integral part of bringing God’s story to all corners of the world. God’s church isn’t finished! Her best days are ahead.
I’m heading out to San Diego later this month to visit my parents. While that in itself is nice, I can’t believe that I was able to pick up a couple of super amazing tickets to the OUTCRY Tour at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista and I can barely wait!
Coincidently (or not so coincidently), I saw there was a Blog Tour for the book OUTCRY: New Voices Speak Out About the Power of the Church by Ryan Romeo, so I signed up thinking the book must have something to do with the concert tour. When the book arrived, I saw that the foreword is written by Kari Jobe and her husband, Cody Carnes, so I then was able to confirm that the music tour and the book are connected. When I read the book, I learned even more.
In this book, the author includes guest contributions from different amazing well known artists in the Christian music industry today including Shane Quick from OUTCRY, David Crowder, Jenn Johnson (Bethel Music), Chris Quilala (Jesus Culture), Pat Barrett (Housefires) and Chris Llewellyn (Rend Collective).
Reading right into the foreword, I knew this was going to be a great book – Cody Carnes says he was halfway through the spring 2016 OUTCRY tour and he opened his Bible app to the verse of the day, which happened to be Romans 15:5-7, which talks about unity – that when we accept one another and love each other the way that Jesus loves us, God is glorified. Cody goes on to say that when he read that it hit him that they are doing OUTCRY to remind people that we are stronger and better together.
In the introduction, the author tells us that OUTCRY is not the next “movement” to join. It’s not the next “big thing” in the church. It is a symptom of what God is already doing. God is pulling us together in this season for a reason, a vision is emerging that isn’t new – it’s to rediscover the ancient and immovable truth about the church. The author is telling us the great news – that the next big thing is here, but that it’s been here for two thousand years – it’s the local church. The OUTCRY tour is part of the reason that God is endorsing and pushing forward to rejuvenate the church.
And then begins Chapter 1, entitled “Does the Church Still Matter?” Romeo introduces us to who he is and how and when he accepted Christ into his life. He then discusses the power of the church today. Romeo talks about how important the church is, even when it isn’t perfect (because it never is). He talks about how our society leans toward the idea that self-sufficiency is greater than relying on others but that is not what God intended for us, and the Bible make sit clear when he talks about the “body of Christ” – the church.
I’ll give you the names of each chapter, but I won’t go chapter by chapter for you.
- Chapter 2 – “Can We Be Proud of the Church?”,
- Chapter 3 – “His Identity to Us”,
- Chapter 4 – “She Is Not Perfect”,
- Chapter 5 – “It Will Get Messy”,
- Chapter 6 – “One Movement”, and,
- Chapter 7 – Our Story.
The book is short and to the point and it provides us with an awesome reminder of God’s desires for us and the church. Romeo’s writing is motivating, powerful, and driven. Romeo shares his heart with readers, and is very encouraging while he guides readers to be able to understand the Scripture and see God’s intentions for us, along with the hope of all involved with the OUTCRY tour. This book, along with the tour itself, gives us hope and inspiration where perhaps previously there was none for some.
Ryan Romeo is an artist, worship leader, writer and speaker. He has a deep passion for the church and all things creative. He is a pastor at his local church and is the Creative Director and cofounder of OUTCRY Tour. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, Blake and their three children, Toby, Adyn and Mae.
Be sure to visit the book’s website at: http://outcrybook.com. To purchase a copy of the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book.
I was provided with a paperback copy of this book as a First Look Blogger for Worthy Publishing without cost in exchange for this, my honest review and unbiased opinion.
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