Product Description

David Wells has uttered a cry of the heart in summoning the evangelical church to renewal and escape from the cultural captivity he fears is overtaking it. His sweeping analysis examines the collapse of theology in the church, in the academy, and in modern culture, raising profound questions about the future of conservative Protestant faith.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109017 in Books
• Published on: 1993-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 330 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780802807472
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews

A Real Eye-opener.
Wells's assessment of the modern evangelical church is a real eye-opener. Unfortunately, I think he is on target in many respects. This book begins by describing the history of the Christian Church over the last several hundred years. Wells then delineates what he thinks has happened in a slow spiral decline of the church that has lead to some of the more pervasive problems that are occurring today. For example, Wells describes the collapse of theological issues that have slowly crept into the fabric of the Church and he discusses how these trends may be changed. He touches on the movements in culture that have affected the theology of the church (i.e. modernity to postmodernity trends, romanticism, enlightenment, deconstructionism etc.). He also describes the political atmosphere of the U.S. in the last 200 years and explains those changing trends that have had an impact upon Christianity in America. Wells ends the work with a plea to return to traditional roots. Not that he is resistant to any change at all, but that he believes (and I agree) that we should be more discerning as Christian and not be so quickly moved by every whim of teaching or idea. Christians need to become more serious about the issues of truth and theology and how these things affect not only our worship but our Churches. Unfortunately, these (truth and theology) are the two things that are the first to go in the Church's "gung-ho" attitude to embrace anything that will work (pragmatism). This book will challenge you to think about issues which perhaps would not otherwise be considered.

Brutally frank critique of modern evangelical church
In this brutally frank critique of modern evangelicalism, Wells demonstrates how the quest for "cultural relevance" in the evangelical church has in fact led to the church being co-opted by the some of the worst aspects of modern secular culture. Wells pulls no punches here. For instance, he characterizes the current vogue of "servant leadership" as simply being a crutch for pastors with no vision or ideas of their own, who must depend upon their congregations (or "audience") for direction. Although Wells seems a bit pessimistic in his overall view of modern society and culture, he is on target as far as the effects that modern culture has had on the evangelical church. Wells does an excellent job of describing the problem and tracing its origins, but he offers only some very general solutions - apparently he offers more in the way of answers in the companion volume to this book, God in the Wasteland. Proponents of the current models of "church growth" will probably find much to disagree with in this book; however, for those evangelicals who find themselves trying to make sense out of the changes that have swept the church in the past decade, this book is an excellent place to start.

This book is for your heart!
The people of God need to stop and to consider the path that they have been walking in the world. To become a relevant people, without losing a deep fidelity to the Scriptures, it has been the big challenge of those that profess to believe in Jesus Christ. In this book you will be invited to reflect on which type of Christianity you profess. About which kind of God you say: I believe in him. You will be invited to escape of the religions teachings and to immerse in the Bible, looking for the God who Lord Jesus preached and who He obeyed until his death on the cross. If you are feeling that nobody around you knows what is right or what is wrong, this book is for you. Fantastic book is this! Don't lose it!