A Brief Review of
Green Church: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rejoice!
Rebekah Simon-Peter.
Paperback: Abingdon Press, 2010.
Buy Now: [ ChristianBook.com ]
Reviewed by Angela Rogers.
“Is being earth-friendly just a secular movement or a political agenda, or does environmental stewardship have a place in our life with God?” This is the primary question addressed in Rebekah Simon-Peter’s book Green Church.
Simon-Peter is an ordained Methodist pastor and also has a degree in environmental studies. Her background as an acid-rain researcher and a volunteer naturalist mixed with her calling into ministry makes Green Church not your average “go green” self-help book. Drawing on scripture as well as scientific evidence, she encourages us to change the way we live and to change the way our churches operate, taking the focus from the individual Christian to the responsibility of the body of believers.
Green Church includes a myriad of ideas for green living but encourages the reader to take those ideas and implement them on a personal and communal scale. Do not just start recycling at home, encourage your church to start recycling or switching to energy-efficient light bulbs in your home and encouraging the church to do the same.
The information regarding the current state of our planet, as described by Simon-Peter, is staggering; glaciers melting, polar bears losing their environment, seasons starting at different times, coral reefs loosing color, not to mention all the weather-related changes the planet is experiencing (31). We are responsible to take care of and treat with respect the earth because it is God’s creation. In Genesis 2:15 God told Adam to “till and keep” the land, in the Hebrew, meaning to serve and guard the land, a point that Simon-Peter makes often.
While Simon-Peter engages the scriptures and scriptural concepts to support going green, sometimes this is done in a way that takes certain scriptures out of context. For example, Simon-Peter uses the text from Genesis 3:5-7 referencing the fall of man and the deception of the Serpent on Eve to demonstrate good things that we get from the land, such as wisdom. In actuality, we do not get wisdom from the land just as Eve did not get true wisdom from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Overall, I believe that if you are fully in support of going green you will be encouraged of spread the green-gospel to your family, friends, and church. If you have not cared much about your role in taking care of the planet, that view may change as you experience conviction regarding your involvement in the degradation of the planet. The only warning I would offer is that you keep your Bible nearby while reading this book. Simon-Peter believes that going green is at the heart of Christianity, but we need to remember that it is only a part. This view does not negate the necessity to take care of the environment and fulfill the command God gave us but encourages us to incorporate it into the whole of Christianity.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
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