Unless God Builds It

A Proposal for the Church

This week I officially started writing my next book, titled Unless God Builds It: A Proposal to Radically Rethink the Church.

The title and the thrust of the book come from a scripture that God has used to shape my life and ministry — Psalm 127:1-2.

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

To the tune of this scripture, I believe there is much activity in the church that is, more or less, in vain — not only unfruitful but sometimes even counterproductive to the ends that we’re trying to achieve. In my book, I hope to expose where this may be the case, as well as to offer some very practical suggestions as to how the church can begin to rely on the Lord in all that we do. At the end of the day, I want to see a church that only God can build, not one that man is capable of building without God.

As many of you know, over 5 years ago, I left my vocational ministry as a pastor at a fairly large church to start a church in my home. It’s worth saying, as always, that I have nothing but love and respect for my former church, and that God used my time there as a congregant and a staff member to shape me in many ways. That being said, when I was there, my conviction began to grow that I was called to lead in a different way — to discover a way of operating as the Body of Christ that could serve as an example for others to follow and emulate.

Since starting the church in my home in 2019, my life and ministry have changed in so many ways for the better — more fruitful, more restful, more life-giving, more meaningful fellowship, more clarity and understanding, etc. It would be hard to overstate the impact that this decision has had on my life, and I am eager to share much of what the Lord has taught us during this time.

To be clear, the goal of the book isn’t to convince people to start a house church (although I won’t be shy about explaining the very practical reasons that I have chosen this way of doing things). The goal is, as the subtitle suggests, to invite Christians to radically rethink how we are to function as the Body of Christ, and then to equip them to exercise whatever convictions that may come out of it.

I am sharing all this with you to ask for your prayers as I begin working on the manuscript. I have great hope that God will use this book, just like No Longer I, to mightily bless the church, but it does not matter how “well” I write if God doesn’t give me the words to say, open the ears of the readers, and disseminate it himself. So, PLEASE PRAY WITH ME!

Lastly, as I complete sections of the book, I am toying with the idea of posting some of its excerpts here (in blog form) as a way of keeping you guys up to date on what I’m writing and thinking about. It’s also a great way, if you like what I’m writing, to share the content with others and help me get this important stuff into the hands of more people!

My ideal timeline for the book is to have the first draft complete by November 30 and to publish in March 2026. Now it’s in writing, so you can hold me to it!

Peace and blessings!

Jake