Dr. John M. Perkins, Author, Let Justice Roll Down and Beyond Charity

I've been losing sleep because of this book!

Not since Ray Stedman wrote the book Body Life nearly fifty years ago has a book on the church caused me to lose as much sleep as this book. Dennis McCallum has brought a living picture of the struggle to release the people of God to be the true body of Christ. As one who has visited Xenos a number of times, I know they actually practice the principles in this book. People there are excited about their home church rather than the big building. As an outsider, I see Xenos as biblically and theologically correct, and they have struggled to live that out.

Dr. Ben Witherington, III, Amos Professor of NT for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
Doctoral Faculty St. Mary's College, St. Andrews University, Scotland

What should a real Christian community look l ike?  What should its ethos be, and how in particular should it function?  What should its leadership structure be l ike, and how does one discern God's vision for such a body of believers?  If you are interested in these kind of questions, and you've been curious about how house churches or in fact any sort of body of believers can and ought to work, then Dennis McCallum's Members of One Another: How to Build a Biblical Ethos into any local Body is the book for you.

Todd Stewart, Pastor of New Hope Church, Manhattan, KS

For all of these past 7+ years, I have regularly mourned that there was not a book that summarized the biblical principles and practical applications that I have discovered both through observing Xenos and continuing my own study of the New Testament. Praise God, now we have the book!!!

Dennis has done a tremendous job unpacking the Scriptures, shedding light on some of the perils of our modern culture, and inspiring our hearts to truly live out the reality that we are members of one another in Christ. Our church and my home group are teaching and seeking to live out the principles outlined in this book within our context. Lives are changing! People are coming to Christ! Sleepy Christians are waking up and engaging in Christ’s mission! Cynical Christians are stepping down from their seats of judgment and getting in the game! New leaders are developing! Home groups are growing and beginning to multiply!

Finally, two words of warning are in order. First, this book is not about the latest greatest church growth model. Rather, these principles are grounded in the New Testament and must be fleshed out in your particular ministry context. Second, if you take these principles seriously and begin to apply them they really will change your life and your church. However, this will not be without tremendous cost and sacrifice.

I challenge you to do what I and several of our church leaders are doing – Read this book with one eye. Read the New Testament (especially the book of Acts) with the other. And then let your mind and heart dream of what God could do through you as you live as members of one another advancing the Gospel in your context and to the very ends of the earth.

Patrick Schwenk, Teaching Pastor, NorthPoint Church, Toledo, OH

Dennis McCallum’s most recent book, Members of One Another, is not a pharisaical firebomb being thrown at the church. It reflects a pastor’s heart that doesn’t want to beat up the church, but rather, wants to see the church built up.  As a pastor, I was both challenged and convicted.  This is a must read for the church and for every church leader. 

Pastor Ken MacGillivray, Hopevale Church. Saginaw, MI

Members of One Another isn't like most books on the church because its author keeps together what too many of us put asunder these days - a faithful biblical theology of the church and loads of church experience. Dennis McCallum studies like a scholar and serves as a shepherd. If you've spent time at his church, Xenos Christian Fellowship, you've seen the fruit of his work: authentic and passionate followers of Christ. Read this book and go to the Xenos Summer Institute for your next church conference. The Lord will encourage you that New Testament church is possible, and He'll give you biblical and practical ideas for building a biblical ethos into your church.

Dr. Dave Early, Director of the Lovett Center for Ministry Training, Director and Chair of Pastoral Leadership and Church Planting, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Finally! To the best of my knowledge, there has not been a strong book written on what it really means to be members together in decades. Now there is.

Thanks Dennis for putting it all down for us in a way we can apply it.

Craig A. Steffen, Elder, Apex Community Church, Dayton, OH

If you're serious about being an agent of change for the Kingdom of God, this book will provide you with the practical insight and wisdom of a community of Jesus followers who have been engaged in disciple-making -- not for months, but for several decades.  A truly unique and valuable perspective.

Vaughn Thurman – Home Church Ministry Team Leader
New Life Foursquare Church, Frederick, MD

Have you ever felt that something was missing from the way we do Christianity and church life today? Have you felt like standing up and shouting “We are going the wrong way”? If you have, you probably had to wonder… Will we know where to go next? This inspiring book, built upon a rich foundation of in-context scriptural references, is like a forgotten chart for ships lost in a sea of empty Christianity. From the inspiring vision that I can personally attest to being real and attainable, to the practical how-to, it is all in there. Dennis McCallum’s humble and loving challenge is the clarion call of our time.

I intend to give a copy of this to every fellow leader and serious disciple I know.

Our senior Pastor and I went to visit Dennis and his church to see if this book was just another rant against the modern church or a chart from a friend who had found the way and quite honestly, we were blown away! The body-wide focus on service and evangelism, and the accelerated and meaningful spiritual growth I saw through discipleship going on everywhere around me was the most refreshing and inspiring spiritual drink I have had in many years.

Leonard Rusli, Amazon reader
Our Indonesian student fellowship underwent a slow but awesome paradigm shift over the past 7-8 years. Among the very important paradigm shift is the view the ministry is defined as investing in someone's life, as opposed to reducing ministry to some program-based activity you do once a week in an organization. We learn this new ministry paradigm and many other principles much from Dennis (his class material, which now becomes this great book) and the Xenos Church in general. The change takes a lot of persistence and God's intervention, but well worth the journey. We forget many things in life, but we don't forget seeing people's lives changed forever by God through each member building up each other in love and truth.

The principles laid out in this book can very easily be dismissed by the way we do church for many years, or temptation to please the crowd. But if you're willing to take time to read with a clean slate and go back to the Bible as authority, you'll find this book makes you question much of the status quo. Let's build God's church HIS way, not our way.

M. Hickman-Romine, Amazon Reader

I recently read David Platt's "Radical: Taking back your faith from the American Dream" and it was white-hot. This book makes an excellent companion piece. While Platt provides a vivid examination of so-called American Christianity and calls for a return to authentic Biblical faith, he encourages people to participate in a real fellowship of believing Christians who want to live out the life of Christ. I fear that there are not very many churches who are offering deep, true fellowship to their attendees. This book breaks down the biblical vision for the life of the church and offers sound pratical advice for how to build it over time into your existing church structure or how to start it from scratch.
McCallum's tone is practical, saturated in biblical wisdom and personal experience. It is readable, concise, and highly useful to anyone--be they pastors, elders, home church leaders, or regular church members wanting to improve the body life of their church.
If you want to participate in the real life of God, shoulder to shoulder with your brothers and sisters in Christ, I recommend this book.

Joseph Botti, Amazon Reader

This is a must read for all pastors and missionaries who believe in and want authentic Christian body life for their flock.

Catherine Downs, Amazon Reader

I have been in many churches - raised in one for 19 years - and even when I did not know Jesus, I longed to have friends within the church - friends I could talk to and share my deep feelings, and friends who cared about what I did. This book, Members of One Another, shows the kind of church that makes that possible. It is well written and makes Christianity attractive.

I know there are many people who feel lonely even as they sit in a pew at church. I know they see people with problems that they won't share because of fear of being condemned. I know some churches privately talk to a priest or pastor that they don't know and who doesn't know them, hoping to get answers about what God thinks. This book draws out the picture of what a church should be like. McCallum talks about how to walk with God in grace and truth. It is bliblical, and both encouraging and convicting.