Oh gosh, this book. RetroChristianity is one of the reasons I ended up studying at Dallas Theological Seminary, and yes, my copy is signed by Dr. Svigel himself. I first read it while attending another seminary, before transferring to DTS, and it gave me language for something I had already been sensing.
Svigel critiques the tendency of modern evangelicalism to reinvent the church and makes the case for retrieving historic Christian beliefs and practices. Drawing from early church history and theology, he asks what it might look like to recover what is enduring while still ministering faithfully in the present.
There is much that is good in the modern church, but not every needed change requires a new program, strategy, or innovation. Sometimes what we need is retrieval: a thoughtful return to the beliefs and practices of the early church in a way that remains biblically rooted and relevant today. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy are only part of the conversation. This book helped me understand why I felt something was missing and, more importantly, helped me begin to name what that something was.