The small Christian community movement is a living, dynamic organism. Because it is a movement - indeed, the movement of the Holy Spirit, as Ian Fraser often reminds us - it has a certain spontaneity, which means that it takes on different shapes and hues in different contexts. This compendium gives us a collection of interviews and stories from all parts of the globe. We begin in Fraser's own Scotland, but quickly travel back and forth, visiting Africa, Latin America, the Philippines, USA, and Western Europe. Local readers will be pleased to see the stories of a number of Australian communities. The accounts of communities in Eastern Europe, especially Hungary and the Czech Republic are particularly interesting and shed much light on these countries and the faith of the people.
The reader will be struck by the diversity of experiences and types of communities: some came into being as bible study groups; some became an alternative to the normal parish; some were integrated into a parish or diocese; some were family groups; and some were residential communities. Yet despite this diversity there are elements that bind the communities together. These include such things as the kingdom of God, worship, and a concern for the mission of the church.
Fraser describes the book as a compendium. It is the sort of book that you dip into rather than read through. Fraser himself does not offer a lot of analysis or comment - he allows the communities to speak for themselves - but his careful questions and relatively brief introductions to chapters give some coherence to the collection. It is a shame, however, that there is not a good index, which would have helped the reader or enquirer to make the best use of the book by being able to find relevant issues or communities.
Two very clear questions are raised constantly throughout the book. The first concerns the "institutionalising" of BCCs. This is a significant question at this moment in their development.
