October 20, 2005
Two new landmark books
During the last month my ministry activities have consisted mostly of meetings. As important as those meetings were (and I really appreciate those of you who prayed for our final Alliance board meeting), they're pretty boring events to blog about.
So, instead of blogging about meetings, I want to share with you my interest in two books that have been released this fall. They are Revolution by George Barna and Neil Cole's Organic Church.
Being in Budapest unfortunately means that I haven't read either of them, but I'm familiar with the concepts. It's no coincidence, in my opinion, that these books have been published at essentially the same time.
Barna's book describes a phenomenon that most Evangelicals in the US haven't yet noticed . . . Christians are leaving the 'conventional church' in significant numbers. Barna estimates that in 20 years only 30% of Evangelicals will attend the 'Sunday-go-to-meeting' kind of church we typically think of.
Cole's work describes what they could be leaving for . . . church that happens where community happens. What are the advantages of 'Organic Church'? Lots. For one, these kinds of churches look a lot more like the churches of the first century when faith in Christ exploded through the known world. Next, they don't require the huge amount of resources that the conventional church requires because facilities, programs and professional clergy are not emphasized. But most importantly these bodies of believers form where real life takes place. Accordingly they are much more attractive to those who don't know Christ.
I encourage you to check these out . . . and incidentally they're on my Amazon wish list too ;o)
