Seven ‘vital signs’ are hot button topics
Reviewed by Russ Stevenson, June 21, 2010
When I first received this book for review, I put it in a loose leaf binder, and out of curiosity began to read just the first few pages. I couldn’t put it down ’til I finished the chapter. Honestly. David Swanson has an easy style. He’s funny. And he has great illustrations. I’ll bet his style of preaching is just as conversational.
But more than that, the content of this book is wonderful. When I finished it last night I found myself asking: Should I get a copy for each of our four daughters? Should I use it in our weekly staff meetings (there are two of us) as a discussion focus? Should I make it the preparation book for our fall Church Visioning Conference? It is an eminently practical and useful book. Really solid. And really accessible.
It is about the Christian life and is divided into three parts. Part One is about the sickness of the church and the cause behind it: we are all sick. We are all broken people. There’s nothing like starting with reality! Is there hope? Yes there is. Swanson starts with the gospel, with the necessity of Christian community for a vital Christian life, and with the affirmation that only Jesus Christ is in charge of a real church, a real Christian community. In effect Part One is about sin. And if you 
Vital Signs
By David Swanson, pastor
of First Presbyterian
Church in Orlando, Fla.
200 pages
Conversant Media Group
Huntington Beach, Calif.
can write about sin and be funny, winsome, and interesting you’ve accomplished something. Swanson does that.
Part Two is the main section of the book. In it the author describes the seven “Vital Signs” of the Christian Life which are the subject of the book. They are, in just one or two words: worship, truth, mission, forgiveness, community, generosity (giving), and influence with outsiders. It’s hard to say something fresh and new on any of these subjects. But Swanson does it. Here are some examples.
On worship: you know Christian worship by the fact that outsiders come and sense the presence of God. On truth: truth is a non-negotiable. If a church becomes so relevant it gets swallowed up
by the values of the surrounding culture, you know that somehow the truth is no longer there. On forgiveness: “we take our wounds and disappointments, and the corresponding anger we feel, and we make friends with them.” On community: “We are designed to be in community and we cannot experience the fullness of God’s grace if we are not living as a part of the body of Christ.” On generosity: a great story on shrimp dipped in caviar and curtain rods. On Christian influence: you’ve got to have good non-Christian friends or you have no influence with outsiders.
Part Three is entitled “Staying Healthy” and has some excellent advice on what he calls “preventative care.”
This book is an easy read, but surprises one with its depth. David Swanson is the master of homegrown illustrations, and they really fit; they really illustrate; they are not just charming stories.
It is a book which I think is of particular interest to ministers. The seven “vital signs” are hot-button topics for all of us, which we think about all the time. But it is of special interest too to any Christian who just wants to grow and live a deeply devoted Christian life. As he comments on the original conception of the book, Swanson says:
“What I found to be true in my own life is what I believe haunts many of us: we are surviving, but we are not growing. We are void of any spiritual vital signs. We’re breathing but the heart beat is faint.”
How many of us have found that describes us in many periods of our lives! One way to get started again is to pick up this book. I think you will find as I did that it’s hard to put down. It’s not the kind of book you sit down at a desk to read. It’s a book you can curl up with in front of the fireplace.
Stevenson is pastor of River Church South, in Gonzales, La.