Culture of Honor: Sustaining a Supernatural Environment by Danny Silk

Culture of Honor: Sustaining a Supernatural Environment Reviews

• 
  Gabe

  I found this book to be okay and that is a averaged out assessment. The first half of the book that describes the biblical foundation and expression of Bethel Church in Redding California, and the supposed "key" to this "Culture of Honor" was erroneous and contradictive at best. The author, whom has a great heart, is not a good Bible teacher by any means. This probably stems from the disregard that Bethel's staff places on the importance of teaching as a gift and contributing member within the framework of Bethel's leadership structure as stated in this book. Apostles are the top dogs with the prophets coming into a close second, but unfortunately other gifts are mentioned with borderline disrespect towards pastors and teachers. Therefore I did not like it at all and I hope no one takes the words too seriously.
  
  The second half of the book actually speaking of the specific culture at Bethel Church was inspiring. The attitude that is encouraged is amazing and convicting at the same time. A community that encourages taking responsibility for actions and attitudes all the while extending grace and compassion with seemingly limitless measure, is almost unheard of in the American church and even more so in my life. If the picture that is painted from the stories mentioned in the book are fractionally true, we could learn a lot from Bethel and their enormous loving hearts. This part I liked.
  
  Thus the review of this book being just "okay". I would, without question, hang out and spend time with Danny Silk. However, I would not be quick to accept anything he has to say about The Bible or Attributes and character of God.
• 
  Hailey Whitman

  So I loved this book, Danny Silk: two for two.
  
  The principle of honor states that accurately acknowledging who people are will position us to give them what they deserve and to receive the gift of who they are in our lives.
  
  I fell for “Culture of Honor” in the first chapter, when Danny Silk illustrated a supernatural culture (and creating a safe space) by sharing a conversation had between himself, two students in school at Bethel, and their overseeing pastors. This conversation both astounded and challenged me (you’ll have to read it to know what I’m talking about.)
  
  “Shame is removed through love.” Shame will try to keep people trapped, never letting them move away from their mistakes, and will leave them feeling powerless. Love casts out fear and makes them powerful people again, who can love fearlessly. It’s a heaven to earth perspective.
• 
  Chuck Ammons

  Unbelievable! Incredible. A great read not only for ministry, but for finding how to cultivate an environment where the honor and dignity God placed in every person is recognized, celebrated, and sharpened. Great for parents and kids, spouses, friends, and especially difficult people or those struggling under destructive patterns. Highly recommended!
• 
  Macayla Fryc

  I had picked Culture of Honor up after hearing a conversation where one person was liking the book, and the other person was very disenchanted with what she saw playing out in environments that tried to implement the Culture of Honor.
  
  So naturally I began reading. First and foremost, the concept in the book is great (and actually provided me not one, but TWO whole new ways of looking at how we as Christians live out the Gospel). After digging into it and understanding what Culture of Honor truly meant, I decided I was a proponent for it. The teaching itself really is Heaven-based. But I also can see how the earthly forms of church government can screw up implementing it, which is exactly what Culture of Honor is trying to bring to light (that the way we govern our churches is based on our earthly governing method of justice, fear, and punishment, which is the opposite of the Heaven-based approach of restoration, freedom, trust, and grace).
  
  Since main principles of theological books are always so hard to convey in writing (at least for me), I'll refrain from trying to do it, and just sum up that the Culture of Honor presented a lot of truths that my human self needs to wrestle with, but it prompted growing pains rather than berate-ment, and - win for the book! - that's a founding principle in cultivating a Culture of Honor.
  
  Even though I approached it with a critical eye, Culture of Honor turned my head and earned its way onto my "re-read" and "to share" bookshelves.
• 
  María Fernanda

  El honor un valor imprescindible a la hora de establecer relaciones seguras y de confianza, porque lo hacemos de acuerdo a lo que Dios hizo primero en cada persona.
  Muy importante a la hora de liderar y al entrar en situaciones de confrontación.
  Danny Silk da ejemplos increíbles en donde pone en practica este valor, ahora el desafío es ponerlos en practica en nuestros ambientes para ver la realidad del cielo en medio de nuestras relaciones.
• 
  Joshua

  This won't say what many reviewers haven't said before...
  
  There were some really cool nuggets of truth found in this book. However, the author is so set on talking about what he thinks about apostles and prophets, it seems like that overcrowds a book about creating honor among the members. He seemingly takes one verse and creates a hierarchy that can't be argued with - saying little to nothing about how we're to honor the parts deemed weaker or less honorable (1 Corinthians 12:21). (Which, whatever - we're all entitled to our opinions. I'm not even saying he's wrong. I'm just saying it felt like a very narrow application when I thought a book about honor in the body would be a huge topic).
  
  I felt like he could have fleshed this out a lot better, and brought lowliness and humility into a culture that esteems others as better than self. I am so thankful that God gifts people differently - and I need to do a better job of recognizing how they contribute - even and especially when they don't act like me or how I would personally like them to.
  
  Anyway, there's some other good stuff about not being afraid of sin and about confrontation amongst believers. But every year I read about five books that I tell everyone else to read - this isn't one of them. Okay, but not great.
• 
  Paul Van buren

  I believe I was able to grasp and accept this book better because I had read his parenting and relationship books previously. There are things contained here that will challenge a few of your sacred cows. I hope you can join the BBQ after.
• 
  Preben Hafnor

  Wow, this is a must read! Read it!
• 
  Augusto Blasi

  Este es un buen libro, especialmente la segunda parte. Nuestra tendencia a la hora de construir relaciones, o construir a las personas que tenemos cerca, es utilizar las herramientas equivocadas. Nos convertimos en personas llenas de temor que intentan controlar a otros, eso es lo que define nuestras acciones al enfocarnos en los errores del otro, en vez de sacar a la superficie su verdadera identidad.Nos da una mirada reveladora acerca de la confrontación con base en la confianza, el honor y la libertad como expresiones máximas del amor, y con bases sólidas en la Biblia y fundamentalmente en las enseñanzas de Jesús.
  
  Le quité 1 estrella debido a la primer parte que a mi gusto se tornó tediosa y no agrega demasiado valor al libro, sin embargo lo recomiendo y creo que marcará un antes y un después en la manera que construyes tus vínculos de amor.
• 
  Mitch Bedzyk

  
  Read the full review here
  
  In this book, Danny Silk sets out to explain the beliefs and practices needed to create a “culture of honor” in the local church. This paradigm-shifting environment—practiced and promoted by Bethel Church where Silk serves as a senior leader—is created as a church learns to discern and receive people in their God-given identities and roles (26). It is based on Bethel’s principle of honor, which says, “Accurately acknowledging who people are will position us to give them what they deserve and to receive the gift of who they are in our lives” (25). A popular and pithy quote by Bill Johnson of Bethel Church says it best: “A culture of honor is celebrating who a person is without stumbling over who they’re not.”
  
  In this culture of honor, however, the church recognizes not only teachers, pastors, and evangelists, but also modern-day apostles and prophets to provide the foundation for leadership in the local church. When a church embraces all five of these roles, a “funnel” is created that brings the “focus and priorities of Heaven to earth” (26-27). Silk explains that this culture has enabled Bethel Church to establish relationships and roles that “attract and sustain the outpouring of God’s presence and power in [their] midst” (27).
  
  The challenge of reviewing this book is that it is worthy of both commendation and criticism. For example, while Silk’s principle of honor is surely a biblical and necessary component of a healthy gospel culture in the local church, the expression of that principle through the recognition of modern-day apostles and prophets is not. In other words, the problem is not with the principle of honor (cf. 1 Pet. 2:17; Rom. 12:10; 13:7), or with “honor” as a core value of a church, but with its implementation. The problem is expanding the principle of honor to include recognition of, and submission to, modern-day apostles and prophets.
  
  Any book about the church that begins with the author challenging “what many understand to be true” and messing with “long-standing paradigms” should be a warning to the reader to proceed with caution, especially when the paradigms being challenged are, in fact, biblical. According to Silk, the culture of honor is a “contest to those long held approaches and core values one can easily find in the historic and contemporary Christian culture” and is “reforming and confronting what we’ve come to know about church leadership, authority, and church discipline for literally centuries” (23). That is fine and often needed when the approaches and values found in the church are unbiblical and in direct opposition to God’s Word. However, the paradigm Silk winds up rejecting—churches led by elders and deacons—is neither unbiblical nor ineffective. Silk sets up several straw-man arguments, presenting all churches led by elders as legalistic, divisive, ineffective, devoid of honor, grace, and the supernatural (i.e., the Spirit). Once he has caricatured and painted all pastoral environments with the same large brush, he is able to present the apostolic culture of honor as the true form of church government that brings heaven to earth, unleashes the supernatural, and helps believers grow as God intends.
  
  Despite its helpful emphasis on grace and honor, the culture of honor proposed in this book is founded upon several glaring misinterpretations of Scripture. To reject the God-ordained offices of elder and deacon, and replace them with modern-day apostles and prophets, is to be at odds with God’s own word. To consider pastor-teachers as ineffective, harmful, and useful insofar as they submit to modern-day apostles and prophets is to misunderstand their role, importance, and permanence in the church. To replace evangelism with “treasure hunting,” and to shift the goal of evangelism away from preaching the gospel to simply creating “God encounters” is to be disobedient to our risen Lord and the task he has given his church.
  
  The principle of honor, as defined by Silk, is an excellent principle to live by and promote in the local church. We should always strive to acknowledge the gifts and callings of other believers. We should seek to create an environment where the inherent dignity of every person is recognized and celebrated. Our churches must be safe places where conflict can be dealt with and believers can discover who they are and why they exist. We must cultivate an “environment of grace,” where confrontation is aimed at restoration. But we do not need to adopt an unbiblical form of government to do so.
  
• 
  Taís Vieira

  Bom!
• 
  Matt

  I first heard about this on a retreat, and the person who recommended it said so in such a vehement manner that I immediately picked it up. Well, I've finally got around to reading it, and while I believe Danny Silk, and to a greater extent the folks at Bethel, are doing some amazing things, this book just didn't hold its weight. Then again, he's got Bill Johnson to contend with, never an easy chore. Still, Silk does bring a lot to the table. I believe his enlightened views of how to create a safe church atmosphere, and especially his tactics on confrontation are exquisitely laid-out. The one problem I had though, was his blueprint for a successful church community. Being that I attend a charismatic-oriented church, I agree that there is certainly a need for the apostolic and prophetic, but to create a hierarchy of sorts is just wrong, in my opinion. In my estimation, we're all on equal ground. Silk, seems to be taking a piece of scripture and molding to a specific goal, and it just doesn't fit completely.
  
  Even though I found some problems, I think the overall value of this book is learning from one who is part of a successful community, and how they are handling situations and creating as he puts it "Culture of Honor".
• 
  maggie

  I'm an Oswald Chambers, 'service as worship' (and thus obviously middle class) kind of girl who probably would feel fidgety in a Bethel meeting.
  I felt that maybe Silk has taken some good anecdotes and writings on various topics and organised them to construct this book. Some of the most useful material was obviously informed by his social work background. But there are some holes for me. So the paedophile who repents goes to jail but the long term adulterer gets to stay on as worship leader. What's the thinking behind that?
  I liked being provoked into thinking bigger about God. I found the socio-economic link to how we relate to God fascinating. The model for dealing with confrontation was helpful. BUT. The general tone of this book was so 'Bethel is the correct model' with anyone outside their network basically 'getting it wrong'. Along with his counter-mainstream definitions of the fivefold ministries, Silk's message for me became a little undermined.
  
• 
  Jim Waddell

  This book is awesome. It challenges the western church's emphasis on teachers and pastors and argues for a more balanced view of apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists; the five fold ministries. Silk explains that we need to hold these five ministries with equal validity rather than placing an emphasis on teachers or pastors as the western church has mostly done. This is crucial to our understanding and practice of church leadership. Conservatives will struggle with this view as teaching is heralded as the holy grail in such churches. However, it is vital that we return to a kingdom minded approach to the gospel and this is what Danny Silk is encouraging. You must read this book if your are interested in church leadership.
• 
  EagleRose

  I love the "Culture of Honor" that Danny Silk describes, and his philosophy that confrontation is not for punishment but for healing. Most of us (not all) are acutely aware of our failings and when we mess up, we dread the condemnation and judgement that is so prevalent and even accepted in the church -- after all, we messed up. But in the school of ministry where Mr. Silk is teaching, he uses mistakes to help people find the root of the reason they went wrong. Once the root is discovered than it can be dealt with by the person and they can receive the healing God is so ready to give. All of this is done in a way that they don't feel condemnation but love and safety which can only inspire a stronger desire to repent. I do understand that some don't want repentance and I am curious how Mr. Silk would deal with that. I was also encouraged that he teaches about the five fold ministry, which I have seldom heard taught but is truly the Biblical form. I would be curious to visit Bethel and see how it is walked out. I only gave it three stars because, while I feel he did a great job with some parts of the book, other parts felt like he was trying to teach someone else's message. I wish he would have expounded more on the things God has taught him about confrontation, and the different branches of ministry. I will say it was worth the read, but I probably won't read it again.
• 
  Steph Clayton

  The ideas in the book are ones that I was taught about 10 years ago and have been trying to keep in practice that long. However, as I'm no longer near the people who taught and lived this book out with me, it was an excellent experience to read and be reminded of the power of freedom.
  
  I have long agreed with those who say that our focus and emphasis in the church is on the wrong thing. I didn't know what exactly was wrong with it for so long until I encountered the freedom that this book speaks of. Starting from a "safe place" to learn, discover, and make mistakes makes all the difference in a church setting. No longer is being a Christian about proving yourself or performing for God and the elders, but it's about truly experiencing and living out grace -- a word we throw around so much, but has almost lost its real meaning.
  
  If you have ever felt God nudge you towards something more in your Christian life, then this is a great place to start. If you're ready to look beyond the rules of scripture and maybe turn your life upside down a little I highly suggest this read -- the change you'll experience will be an awesome miracle in and of itself.
• 
  Lee Murray

  It must first be understood that this is not the ramblings of a seminary professor or theoretical exposition by a biblical scholar. This is actual working model for 8,000 member Bethel Church in Redding, CA. By their claim, this model of church government is an experiment and changing as needed.
  
  It must also be understood that this book is an overview, not a handbook of policies and procedures. The book has 8 chapters describing Bethel’s vision of Church culture.
  
  In addition, to my understand there is no real New Testament model or description of church government. The Bible is silent on that matter. Furthermore, there are no real definitions or job descriptions of the roles of the 5-fold ministry of the church.
  
  In the book, the 5-fold gifts are called “anointing” rather than gifts. The descriptions and definitions of the 4-fold ministries are encouraging. The role of apostle and prophet have been been neglected or invisible and this work is an attempt to redefine those roles.
  
  There are some difficulties with the book. The chapter on “wealth” is problematic and some of the support comes the work of Dr. Ruby Payne, which has been widely criticized as being stereotypical and the main concepts of Dr. Ruby’s concepts are lacking in fundamental verifiable support.
  
  One chapter in particular is worthy of careful study—the chapter on confrontation. The modern church is far to concerned with punishment rather than restoration. The chapter is vague on what merits confrontation. Not all readers are pleased with the concept that offenders may not necessarily be removed from positions of authority or influence. The key statement is “Make as big a mess as you are willing to clean up.” This requires a great deal of trust and maturity of the congregation, and tremendous trust in leadership.
  
  This book is an outstanding alternative to modern church organization, which more often resembles a business corporation than a church. The accountability and responsibility of many current mega churches indicates a change is needed and this book may be the recipe for change.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Sandra Gonzalez

  Summed up in one word: PROFOUND
  
  Culture of Honor takes a look at church leadership and the five-fold ministry. It opened my eyes to see how a healthy church should function and how to deal with conflict. It caused me to take a hard look at myself. It helped me understand how to lead from a position of trust and honor instead of fear and control. RESTORATION NOT PUNISHMENT should always be the goal. When you honor people, you will learn, it empowers them to release their gifts to the body. We were all made to be free!
  
  This book is about self control, responsibility, boundaries and confrontation.
  
  The chapter about having a "wealth mindset" will blow your mind. Well, it did mine!
  
  If I had one negative thing to say, it would be about the cover of the book. I don't see how it relates!
• 
  Elise

  Portions of this book really surprised and challenged me. It wasn't what I was expecting based on the title. And yet I was also filled with hope: there is good news in the ways of Jesus! I felt inspired by the ways the Bethel community is living out freedom and experiencing the kingdom of Heaven on earth. I'm intrigued by the idea that we are truly "unpunishable" in Christ and how we can respond to sin in our communities without punishment. I felt the book was a little jumbled, however, and left me with more questions. There's certainly much to be explored here!
• 
  Jonah Daniel

  Danny Silk is a great teacher with profound insights that I’ve come to treasure. However, like his book Loving Our Kids On Purpose, I find that the writing unintentionally distracts from the meat of the message, and it takes me out of what I’m meant to appreciate. I definitely found this book doing that less than LOKOP, but there were two or three chapters that were difficult for me.
  All that said, I highly recommend this book for its teachings, testimonies and guidance into a Culture of Honour.
• 
  Tara

  A thought provoking book, with will, hopefully, change the way I relate to people in a positive way.
  
  I occasionally found it came across as Bethal church has it all sorted, but he can only write about his own experiences. These examples were needed as a practical demonstration of the biblical teaching, I guess he can only write about his own experiences.
  
  I particularly liked the chapter on how we relate to God's blessings depends on the culture or class we come from, very illuminating.
  
  
• 
  Chris Whitehead

  There is a fundamental problem with the American Church's mindset and structure. I have felt it in my spirit for years and this book not only confirms it but addresses how to correct it. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is in church leadership at any level. We must change the way we think and do things if we hope to have a positive and lasting impact both with the Church and for the world around us.
• 
  Michelle Swallow

  It’s difficult to say what I loved about this book as there is so much in it which I really resonated with. For example. how different a godly, biblical way of handling confrontation and difficult issues is which preserves relationship and heart connection when compared with earthly methods.
  
  My takeaways:
  
  Help to ensure that people stay powerful and responsible for their own choices.
  Try and be part of this heavenly pattern in church and in life.
• 
  Ryan Bradley

  I need to start this by saying this is not a book I would have picked for myself. It was a gift from my wife by way of recommendation of a good friend. With that said, I enjoyed this book. Personally it challenged my approach to people and how I view them, especially in terms of confrontation and counseling. It raised some questions but the overall message of the book is one I can get behind.
• 
  Brad Kittle

  Some parts of the book were helpful. Reading this book while reading Francis Chan’s book “Letters to the Church” was very interesting. I have some questions about church discipline. The guy that committed adultery 4 years and kept his ministry position. Just questioning it, not judging it. I’ve got to pray about how we would biblically handle such a situation.
• 
  Andy Febrico Bintoro

  This is a book about practicing apostolic and prophetic in the Bethel Church. How everybody have a role in the community, and how everyone honor each other. The author argue that this kind of environment was a practice of grace and induce supernatural environment, and this practice already done in the author's church.
• 
  Sarah

  Life altering. I wept as I read through the testimonies and my heart burned with hope for the truth and "counter-cultural" view presented in this book. Oh, that God would soften the heart of the church to walk in humility and honor like this. That we would present the full picture of God's heart for the church and the world!