17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Questioning Our Cheeseburgers, February 24, 2009
This review is from: Franchising McChurch: Feeding Our Obsession with Easy Christianity (Paperback)
I have decidedly mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the authors describe in gory detail how a consumer mentality has invaded and deeply damaged the American church. Almost every pastor I know would probably agree with that assessment. We are all dealing with the fallout of our culture's self obsession.
But I'm not entirely convinced that White and Yeats have chosen the proper boogeyman. They point fingers at the seeker sensitive, the megachurches and especially at the increasing numbers of churches choosing multi-campus church options. While the overwhelming majority of their concerns are completely justified and well worth sober consideration, there isn't enough recognition of the value these churches bring to the overall Gospel conversation. While I share the deep concerns expressed in this book, I also recognize many of my bigger church brothers and sisters offer great benefits to the church. I used to speak very disparagingly of a local megachurch in my ministry area until I had a chance to review their Adult Bible Fellowships brochure. Their offerings were both biblically deep and spiritually solid; I would have profited from any of them. I still don't want to be part of their church, but I'm not ready to toss out the baby just yet.
The real problem we're all facing is me. I'm selfish. I'm sinful. I want my church like I want everything else in life; according to my own definition, taste and comfort zone. Scratch me and, underneath, even though as an experienced pastor I especially should know better, I'm just as selfish, superficial and sinful as the next person sitting in any church. While I deeply agree we're seeing a consumerism in America and in the church that is truly demonic and troubling, I believe we must deal with the issue personally first. The big picture church issues will take care of themselves (especially in a consumer society!) if the consumers have a change of heart. I believe religious consumers like me need an epic change of heart.
May God give us a true hunger for only the best things! May God give us a genuine change of heart!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent overview of consumerism's impact on the church, February 24, 2009
This review is from: Franchising McChurch: Feeding Our Obsession with Easy Christianity (Paperback)
What an excellent book on consumerism's impact on the church. This is a tough read, because it brings the reader face-to-face with just how mired in the spirit of the age the evangelical church really is. But the book is also positive, because it points the way to how churches can be truly evangelistic while keeping the mission and health of the church at the center.
At times I wish the authors could have given a bit more depth in their analysis of the problem of consumerism and popular culture and its impact on the church--like Marva Dawn and Michael Horton and David F. Wells have done in their ecclesiological interactions with the culture of modernity. Yet, having said that, this book might serve as a gateway to books by authors like those, as well as Ken Myers and secular authors such as Neil Postman (whom the authors approvingly cite), Chistopher Lasch, etc.
Thus, this book would be great to give friends who are somewhat mezmerized by the contemporary/consumer church movement(s) because they have a positive zeal to see unbelievers come to faith in Christ and think it's the only way (or they just really like pop music), yet they are starting to think a little more deeply about the nature and mission of the church. This book has enough of a "light touch" and would not scare them off. And if they liked it, they probably would be open to books by some of the authors above that have greater depth.
It's exciting to see someone who cares enough about ecclesiology actually voicing concerns about the multi-site church phenomenon. Questioning multiple services? What audacity! And it's amazing to see a publisher other than Baker/Brazos or Eerdmans who will actually publish such theoloigcally based concerns (because of the evangelical tendency to see "the fundamentals" or people making initial professions of faith as the end-all, be-all--and we dare not question anybody who supports those things unless we have a Bible proof text to back ourselves up).
I have been waiting for someone to put into print the notion that multi-site churches are really nothing other than dioceses with bishops overseeing local presbyters. The authors do this masterfully. Again, however, someone has to think ecclesiology matters at all to be swayed by that argument. Episcopalians and Baptists care about matters such as this, but bland American evangelicals, alas, too often do not.
But, as these authors stress, ecclesial matters--as all churches have believed over millennia--are not just arcane matters without gospel significance, but rather deeply affect the fabric of our lives together as the people of God, and our missional impact on people and cultures around us.
Every evangelical pastor needs to read this. If every contemporary church pastor would read this book, we would be surprised at how many would, for the first time, ask themselves critical questions about the techniques they are pouring their lives into.
I hope there are a lot of young, twenty-something Episcopalians, Baptists, Emerging Church types, and other younger evangelicals who think there is more to church life and missionality than their favorite musical styles, videos, and mood lighting who will somehow read this book and launch out in a daring new movement of evangelical faithfulness and missionality for the twenty-first century.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looking for what matters instead of "what's next", January 26, 2009
This review is from: Franchising McChurch: Feeding Our Obsession with Easy Christianity (Paperback)
This book caused me to do some self-examination about being a spiritual consumer. I've known all along that it isn't right to come together and expect to be entertained. McChurch raises important questions about the church in this techno-savvy, sight and sound generation... onstage stunts, video pastors, internet church... have we strayed from what matters? One of the main topics of McChurch is the discussion of multi-campus churches and whether this is a biblical way to grow the church. After listening to the arguments (and after being in a multi-campus church), I have to agree with the authors... planting autonomous churches is more in line with the Bible. One subcontext of the book that really spoke to me addresses the issue of dividing the congregation by age group. Rather than corporate worship with something for everyone, churches across America are offering customized worship styles according to the audience. This ignores the biblical admonition for older (and wiser) Christians to mentor the younger. Not only are we missing a blessing, we're ignoring scriptural instruction. I appreciate all the research, insight and leading of the Spirit that brought this book together. I hope every leader in my church and in churches across the nation will pick up this book and take its message to heart.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
