Customer Reviews

This Little Church Went to Market: The Church in the Age of Modern Entertainment

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Simply an excellent work, practical and not a difficult read.

Mr. Gilley hits the nail on the head and if your church is all of sudden enamored with the philosophies of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels or Lee Strobel, spend the money and buy this book. Unfortunately, this book will not get this circulation it deserves.

The evangelical church of today is surrounding itself with man-centered philosophies and teachers that are presenting softened gospel-lite messages for itching ears. (2 Tim 4:3-5) Basically, the message of Mr. Gilley is that today's church is giving the unbelieving visitor a non-threatening environment where they can be entertained and fed pop psychology sprinkled with Christian terminology. Doctrines of holiness, judgment, and hell are never taught; only that God is love and wants to answer your selfish Jabez-like prayer for more and more worldly possessions.

Well, this heresy is resulting in the dumbing-down of Christians. Yes, there is nothing wrong with preaching of God's love and forgiveness; however, when other clearly taught doctrines are conveniently ignored because they would reduce attendance and cash inflows, we have the state of the modern megachurch in America today. (Mark 8:36??)

Mr. Gilley successfuly argues that music and entertainment are also killing the gospel message in the modern church. Too much of christian music today is nothing more than "7-11" songs.... seven words repeated eleven times over. We are attracting too many people to the entertainment and the true message gets watered down because the "cross is a hindrance to the unbeliever." (See 1 Cor 1)

I believe the marketing gurus in these churchs are probably sincere. Their plan is to spring the true gospel on these unchurched people after they have made them comfortable walking through the front door. But how often does this really occur? Only God knows.

Mr. Gilley argues that today's churches need to return to preaching the Gospel and praying that the Holy Spirit will stir and convict the unbeliever. The marketing philosophy removes the Spirit by emphasizing that music, entertainment and a non-threatening environment will cause them to make that decision.

Excellent work and should be read if your church is pushed to study the works of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, etc.

God bless you in your studies.

Though I have never met him, Garry Gilley has had a signficant impact on my life. He was one of two people who was most influential in my decision to begin to review books. His many book reviews were very helpful to me and made me realize that if he could review books and post them on the web, I could too. I have long wanted to read his books and just recently was given a copy of This Little Church Went to Market.

This book is a damning indictment of the market-driven churches that are so popular today. Having extensively studied the issues Gilley writes about in this book, I am comfortable saying that this is the best introduction to "the church in the age of entertainment" that I have read. Gilley contends that the church has sold out to our culture so that the influences of the culture have become the influences in the church. The most significant forces pressing against the church are entertainment, market driven philosophies and psychology. These three are largely absent from the Bible, yet are startlingly prevalent in evangelical churches. The leaders and issues he concentrates on most are Rick Warren and his book The Purpose Driven Church, Bill Hybels and Lee Strobel.

Having discussed the forces that are impacting the church, the author spends several chapters examining how these forces have impacted evangelical churches. He quotes extensively throughout the book from other believers who have covered this topic such as John MacArthur, Os Guinness and Michael Horton as well as from unbelievers such as Neal Postman. Finally he concludes that churches built on seeker sensitive model will be built on the wrong foundation, will teach the wrong message, will focus on the wrong need and will misunderstand preaching and worship. In other words, these churches will bear little resemblance to a New Testament, Christian church.

Through this book Gilley manages to approach the topics in a rational manner and never comes across as being obnoxious or blinded to the heart of the issues. He truly does understand both the New Testament model and the new evangelical model and is able to adequately compare them. The back cover tells us that the book "is a call for the Church to return to its scriptural roots" and that is right on the mark. This book examines contemporay issues and calls the church to return to the source to discover what God would have us be. I highly recommend this one.

Down here in Australia the Market Growth driven church has started to take a foothold like many have found in the US. When Purpose Driven Life was rolled in our church followed by Willow Creek material, I couldn't help but notice something was wrong. Gary's Book "This little church went to market" put the finger on exactly what was wrong. For anyone concerned about biblical truth above Church numbers this is a book worth reading. Gary takes a Biblically based stand and shows where many of our megachurches have missed the mark.

I appreciate this book, as well as Ashamed of the Gospel by MacArthur. As a person who attended a market-driven, pop-psychology sermonized, "fun," and "hip" church, I became increasingly starved for the Word of God to be preached. These books put words to the frustration and sadness I was feeling. This trend is everywhere and seriously watering down the message of the gospel, so as not to be confrontive or controversial. We need books such as this one to speak out against these dangerous practices.

As a seeker looks upon the recent track record of the church, they may have the perception that the church has never been more relevant than ever before. Churches are growing to incredible proportions, religious paraphernalia is sold in droves and people are having experiences that amaze them at a personal level unprecedented in modern times. In "This Little Church Went to Market" Gary Gilley asks a very pointed question on the front cover of the book. Is the modern church reaching out or selling out?

The model churches he uses to answer this question are two of the largest new-paradigm churches in the USA, Saddleback Church and Willow Creek, and they are used not only for their errant display of a gospel not found in the Bible but also because many churches seek to emulate their practices to bring in visitors with a message that Jesus will fulfill whatever felt need you may have. If the leadership of these churches had not actively sought to be the authority in such matters, this angle would have come across negatively, but since they are actively trying to reproduce their ways across the landscape of the church they are fair game.

Gilley sets the tone right off the bat as he discusses the American craving for entertainment over substantive truth, amusement over serious thought. Using many examples on our culture, he shows that this is true in many forums. Sesame Street, for example, has altered the way schools instruct students because these students expect to be entertained if their attention is to be maintained. In a similar manner, many churches have responded to the cultural demand to not be subjected to boredom by livening up their services. While no church should take steps to put people to sleep, we have no business removing the true excitement of the gospel from our services.

The market-driven philosophy chapter begins where the entertainment chapter leaves off by displaying the inevitable results of our idolatry to entertainment. As long as the consumer is king and as long as that consumer is the unbeliever who may be uncomfortable sitting through a exposition of the word, churches that seek to follow in the footsteps of the new-paradigm churches will avoid anything that reveals the discomfort of their target audience. Just as any business wanting to be successful will seek out new products to sell, the church seeks to conform to the wishes of the culture. As I look out at the events that have embarrassed the church in recent years, this practice has caused much ridicule, second only to rogue "pastors" who try to assume the roles of elected leaders.

As Gilley discussed the shift from theology to philosophy, he pointed out some general resumptions of philosophy that do not agree with the Bible. Included among these are the concept that man is either inherently good and that we are victims of our environments rather than sinners. As churches seek to fill roles not granted her by God, we will lose sight of the gospel, making it into whatever the felt needs of the visitor may be. God does promise to be the father to the fatherless and the protector to the widow (Psalm 68:5), but the comforts of God are not to be the reasons one turns to Him. We are to turn to Him as sinners in need of forgiveness and the righteousness of God. Faith and repentance is what is promised, not fulfillment and self-esteem.

As I have come to expect of Gilley through his newsletter, Think on These Things, he does not waste any time delving into the heart of the matter nor does he mince words. Like a doctor, he diagnoses the issues facing the new-paradigm methods and the message that results. He then takes the rest of the book to explain the implications of this progression and prescribes a method of treatment (Luke 5:31-32) from the infallible words of the Bible.

This book is not meant to be the definitive book on how to "do church" but serves a warning to anyone who is seeking a church for their own defined needs to be met. I highly recommend this book, perhaps to be read in conjunction with The Deliberate Church or as a counter point to The Purpose Driven Church.

I have greatly enjoyed reading Gary Gilley's book THIS LITTLE CHURCH WENT TO MARKET: THE CHURCH IN THE AGE OF MODERN ENTERTAINMENT. Having been a big reader of Charles Spugeon and John MacArthur, I have seen the problems with the modern church and how we need to return to the authority of the Bible alone and not the fads of our time.

In this book Gilley takes on the entire Church Growth movement of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, C. Peter Wagner, and George Barna. He does a graceful job of presenting both the weaknesses and the postives that Christians can learn from these men. Gilley doesn't question their hearts or motives but rather he simply calls the Church to base everything on the teachings of Scripture and nothing else.

The book reveals who modern evangelicals are moving away from sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16; Titus 2:1) for experience or for a more pragmatic approach to ministry and life. He doesn't just pick fights with the Church Growth "experts" but he goes directly to the Scriptures to show what God has to say about the issues at hand. His book is filled with the extensive end notes with many coming directly from quotes of popular Church Growth authors and teachers.

I highly recommend this book for all disciples of Jesus (John 8:31-32). I believe Gilley is a voice crying in the wilderness. We need more men willing to stand up for truth in the midst of our intolerant age of tolerance.

I am a mother of many children and have grown up in a Reformed church where God and what He wants has always been at the centre of the Church's worship and beliefs...but the pressure is on from every side. "Time for change" they all say.
The cultural analysis and its effects on the Church world discussed in this book were encouraging and timely. Gary Gilley has ably exposed the philosophy of our age in a similar way to Francis Schaeffer in the previous generation but with the superior strength that Gilley is not just concerned to expose the errors but also to build the church of God expressed as the local worshipping body of believers under Christ the King. I believe God will honour this emphasis.
I would recommend this book to all concerned Christian parents and all young Christians seeking a true church in which to build their lives.

The book presents a case that there is a danger in churches focusing more on marketing than God. He has a valid concern, but he offers no real alternatives. He quotes and takes so much material from O S Guinness, John Macarthur, David Wells, and G A Pritchard that you might as well read those sources as opposed to his. His main focus is on the entertainment aspects of some churches. He uses Willow Creek and Saddleback as the objects of his arguments. He fails to mention many other mega churches that have used marketing for years. Liberty Baptist and Jerry Falwell is an example of a church and minister using marketing to gain attendance. He seems to believe that preaching and ministering to peoples needs is wrong. In their day D L Moody and Charles Spurgeon were known for looking to people's needs, "marketing" themselves, and considered entertainment.

Reading the book, I got the distinct impression that Gilley believes that having fun or being entertained while at church is unscriptural and bad. If you are entertaining people at church then you are doing a disservice to those in attendance. He makes valid arguments that churches that follow a marketing/entertainment model are not making disciples or teaching the scriptures. There does appear to be a serious problem in some mega and non-mega churches not teaching the word and producing mature Christian.

He is against psychology as well. As someone trained as a psychologist and a licensed counselor, I find his arguments poor. It appears he has never studied those who have noetic theories, that is, those who include the spiritual realm. Jay Adams comes to mind as a counselor who believes many problems have as their root cause sin.

He spends time decrying the evils of preaching that fulfils peoples needs or results in the fulfillment any ones emotional or psychological needs. According to Gilley, fufillment and being entertained at a worship service is wrong, that is, not worshiping in spirit and truth.

The book does sound a caution note about the lack of strong biblical teachings. I have the same concerns that strong, biblically based preaching and teaching is greatly needed. I would urge all to people to return to exegesis of the bible, and not to the Fundamentals of Truth.

The style of his writing was positively annoying, but I could get past that. There seemed to be nothing substantial for the first... half(?) of the book. Thereafter, however, the annoying style was eclipsed by illogical arguments. You'll have to read it yourself if you want actual details of what I'm talking about, but the author misrepresented persons he quoted, he committed strawman and hasty generalization fallacies, he drove a hard line between worship and life (when our lives are supposed to be worship), he drew false conclusions based on unsupported premises, and in all honesty, I despised reading the book. Here's the sad thing: I agree with his major point, the modern church is sacrificing truth for entertainment. I could not, however, disagree more with the way he exposited that point.

Gilley proves through and through why the "Market Driven Church" will endanger the future status of Christianity in America. This movement led by such Apostates as Warren and Hybels is more dangerous than the Charismatic movement and is causing destruction in american churches.