Called to Rebuild by Bob Emery

Of course, when I first heard about this book I was immediately attracted to the title. We named this website, The Rebuilders, because God had given us a vision of the restoration of the Old Testament temple as a representation of his restoring the New Testament Church in our day. Turns out, this book is a fairly comprehensive look at how the rebuilding of the temple corresponds with God's rebuilding process for the Church.

It's obvious to me that the author of this book has written from his experiences and isn't just some armchair theorist. Bob has had some genuine organic church life experience and it shows up in his insightful comments about the need for this kind of life today.

He skillfully takes the reader through the story of the rebuilding of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. There were many historical facts that perked up my attention that I had never known. One example of this is the story of the cruelty shown by the Babylonians when they marched off the Jews to captivity. They had them march 700 miles in the nude to Babylon. The Babylonians gave them new names and many of the children starved to death on the way. And many of the women were raped.

The description of the shadow (the rebuilding of the temple) is great, but my favorite part of the book is the description of the reality! As he is telling the story of the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple, Bob masterfully weaves his insights of genuine organic church life into the book. His conclusions are "right on" as far as this reviewer is concerned and I recommend this book to anyone who is seeking a deeper understanding of the true and free expression of the church.

Bob Emery is President and Founder of Global Opportunities for Christ, a non-profit organization that raises support for indigenous Christian ministries around the world. He also services as consultant for Strategic Resource Group.

Bob has known the Lord for forty years and traveled extensively researching Christian ministries, cultivating relationships with Christian leaders, and teaching at churches, conferences, and Bible schools. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife, Sandra. They have two grown daughters.

You can order this book by clicking here.