I was expecting more from this book. I'd heard the phrase `liquid church' bandied around in discussions about church for the 21st century: variously castigated and upheld as the way forward. So when I eventually got round to reading it I was expecting something fresh and radical.
Maybe it is if you haven't previously encountered stuff about church for postmodern culture, emerging church etc., but much of this book felt like a rehearsal of the now familiar explanations of `solid' modernism and its more fluid successor which Ward likes to refer to as `liquid modernism'. And maybe that's a reflection of the fact that it is now five years old; it was perhaps a significant stepping stone in helping the church negotiate its way across uncharted waters, but the conversation has moved on. Having said that, I realise there are significant swathes of the church that haven't even understood there is a conversation.
So, if you are new to considering questions of church for a new kind of world, you could do worse than start with Liquid Church, not least because it's a pretty quick, easy read. But if you're looking to be inspired, you'll need to look elsewhere, because Pete Ward's style is rather plodding. I also found the book a bit light when it came to developing some of the ideas - a few additional pages may have helped.