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The Vanishing Church: Searching for Significance in the 21st Century

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Pearle, Bob. The Vanishing Church: Searching for Significance in the 21st Century. Foreword by Paige Patterson. Garland, TX: Hannibal Books, 2009. 144 pp. $14.95.

The first decade of the twenty-first century has included a renaissance among Southern Baptists in the area of ecclesiology. It is too early to determine whether this renaissance will outpace competing factors to become the defining mark of Southern Baptist life at the beginning of this millennium, or even whether it will emerge from its infancy to become a powerful influence in the life of our churches, but at this moment more Southern Baptist authors and pastors are writing more, preaching more, and doing more to shore up our ecclesiology than at any point in my lifetime, the lifetime of my parents, and the lifetime of my grandparents. The genre has included works written by and for the academy, such as John Hammett, Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches; and Thomas White, Jason Duesing, and Malcolm B. Yarnell III, Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches. Works such as R. Stanton Norman, The Baptist Way: Distinctives of a Baptist Church, have represented efforts by members of academia to provide primers on ecclesiology to those outside their guild. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has hosted a conference regarding "The Mission of Today's Church," resulting in a book by that title, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is now hosting annual conferences on Baptist Identity for theologians of both the professional and the armchair variety. Any discussion of this category would be remiss in passing over the works of Mark Dever, whose ministry and writings are both academically rigorous and practically oriented.

As important as it is, academic work alone will never succeed in restoring vigor to Baptist ecclesiology. Ecclesiology is, after all, the doctrine of the church, not the doctrine of the seminary, and in a Southern Baptist church the coin of the realm is good preaching. For our churches to find their way back to a biblical concept of the church, their pastors must learn to see the doctrine of the church in the Bible and learn to preach it with conviction and power.

Enter Bob Pearle and The Vanishing Church. The book decidedly has the tone of a collection of sermons, and with good reason--Pearle first developed this material to preach at Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and then adapted the sermons into this monograph. Adaptation did occur--these really are now chapters rather than sermons--but the strongest use of this book will be as a resource to develop good preaching on ecclesiology. The resulting sermons will carry forward the thesis of the book: "Churches that have lost their doctrinal core are struggling with an identity crisis. . . . The effectiveness of a church's ministry is largely dependent upon knowing her confessional identity and staying true to her original purpose."

The book groups the chapters into three sections. "Looking Inward" posits a turbulent world in desperate need of receiving God's loving truth from churches, too many of whom at this very moment of crisis are succumbing to lies that counterfeit the truth. "Looking Backward" provides biblical and historical rationales for sound Baptist ecclesiology, including defenses of the concept of church membership and baptism. "Looking Forward" challenges seeker-oriented ecclesiologies, asserting that the key to tapping the power of the gospel lies in allowing the gospel appropriately to set the church apart from the culture rather than in churches' sidling up to culture. Pearle favorably quotes David Wells: "It is surely ironic that those who seek to promote the church have adopted strategies that deliberately obscure its essence." Likewise he brings forward anew the words of Charles Spurgeon, "Put your finger on any prosperous page in the church's history, and I will find a little marginal note reading thus: `In this age men could readily see where the church began and where the world ended.'" The key to looking forward into the twenty-first century and liking what we see there, asserts Pearle, lies in the look backward provided in the center of the book.

In this book the reader will find good guidance as to the content of sound sermons on ecclesiology, as well as a number of strong illustrations and well-phrased points. But the pressing need of the hour is that we be not merely hearers of the word, nor even merely preachers of the word, but faithful doers of the word in heeding the biblical teachings that Pearle has highlighted and transforming this budding renaissance into a reformation and a revival.

My personal experience has relevance to my review of Pastor Pearle's book, so I will begin with some preliminaries. I wandered in search of Christ for many years because of the disintegration of the Episcopal Church in which I was raised. The leadership of the Episcopal Church decided that she had to change if she was going to remain relevant in a changing world. In the 1970s, the Episcopal Church (USA) determined that it had to decouple from the fundamental truths specified in the Bible because, well, it was just too exclusive and intolerant.

I left home for a military career at about the same time that the Episcopal Church began its sojourn to self destruction. Over the years, I would seek out the Lord's Word at the local churches where I was stationed; I was typically very disappointed. So I started to attend Baptist churches, and was well rewarded with that for which I was thirsting--preachers who were willing to preach the Word as specified in the Bible. It was much the same when I finished my career and moved back to Texas. As it turned out, I found myself at Birchman Baptist Church where Brother Bob Pearle is the pastor.

It did not take me long to realize that Pastor Pearle was a true believer, and, therefore, a man of true, unwavering conviction that Christ is Lord, and that through Him is the only way to salvation. I have heard his sermons for years, and they are always doctrinally accurate. He has a way with words that connects with people. He comes across as a strong, Christian man who knows his responsibility to Christ as a church pastor and all that that entails. He is the epitome of what a Christian warrior looks like and acts like--he leads by example.

Now, after all of those preliminary comments, in his book, The Vanishing Church, Pastor Pearle, tackles some of the key issues that are facing the church, including, believer's baptism, what defines a biblical church, the duties and responsibilities of the local church, what is expected of the church membership, why a person should become a member of a local church, the definition of marriage, the natural yearning of people to hear the unabridged word of Christ, the inevitable persecution of those who adhere to the teachings of Christ, the great commission, the danger of preaching that which is not doctrinally sound, the need for people to test teachings against the scriptures, that there is right and wrong in the Bible, social justice, multi-culturalism, the dangers of certain "new" interpretations of the Bible and how some churches are selling out (my words, not his) in order to compete for membership; a sort of church-light because certain teachings of the Bible are so harsh, and so much more.

As a layman, this book was very uplifting for me because in explaining certain aspects of church doctrine, it does not deviate from the truths that are in the Bible; Pearle cites the Bible extensively and relies on the original Greek translation in many cases. It is refreshing for me to be able to read Pearle's words and find that there are no contradictions of the Word, the ease of understanding his arguments, and that he doesn't embed any hidden agendas in what he writes.

Pastor Bob wrote, "Churches would be better served by pastors who believe and preach, without apology, the whole counsel of God." I translate his words to mean that we require fewer milquetoast pastors and more men of conviction in our church pulpits that are willing to preach the Word, and not worry about whom they might offend. After all, the Word of God is immutable and timeless. In case you have not figured it out, I recommend this book very strongly--it is a must read.

In a church market flooded by influential books with pragmatism as their premise and cultural acceptance of the local church as their objective, this book has sound doctrine as its premise and a New Testament church as its objective. Many have already begun to observe the inherent danger of modern church strategies. Bob Pearle has plotted a clear, concise and biblically substantiated course back to the fundamentals of a New Testament church.

Over the course of three sections, twelve chapters and just 131 pages, this book systematically and thoughtfully addresses a variety of issues facing the local church today including: how to stay true to her Scriptural roots in the face of mounting pressure to cater to a secular culture; why church membership still matters; the always damaging intellectualism shrouded in false humility that can be found in the pew of every church; the damage done to a church when individualism overwhelms the church body. These are just some of the issues dealt with in the book; issues every evangelical church in America is facing.

As a long tenured pastor of a thriving church as well as a bible scholar, Bob Pearle is able to keep a pulse on the current issues of the local church and deal with them effectively. I have personally seen his church ministry and interacted with this author in a variety of settings and he is a trusted leader.

Whether a pastor is looking for a way to provide continuing education to his leadership and himself, or a church is searching for a tool to assess their biblical standing or a Christ follower is desiring to learn more about the doctrine of the church, this book will not disappoint. This is the rare book on the doctrine of the church written with the reader's comprehension in mind rather than to showcase the knowledge of the author. I plan for my church staff to read through this book together.

Bob Pearle has written a well-researched, readable, and impassioned book about the church. He addresses the traditional, defining doctrines of the church as one who sees this significant institution under fire in our modern culture. He is correct in that evaluation.

Some readers will quarrel with a few of his examples as he describes problems such as confusion in worship or the abandonment of biblical preaching, but his points are well made. One of the virtues of Pearle's style is his plain spokenness.

It's not a lengthy book and the chapters read like sermons. His use of Scripture alone provides food for thought for anyone who wants to think seriously about the body of Christ in the world today.

The Vanishing Church is well worth your time.

In his book, Dr. Pearle argues for a reclamation of a biblical church by using Scripture as the foundation of his argument that is buttressed with pertinent examples (good and bad) from church history to the present day. I enthusiastically recommend this book to pastors, theologians, church leaders and layman alike. Every committed follower of Christ that seeks to be part of a biblically based church should read this book.

Dr. Pearle deals with an issue dear to me: ecumenism within our Southern Baptist Convention and the need to recover our Baptist distinctives. Pearle rightly points out that "The antidote for Baptists to not travel the same path of Evangelicalism is to remain true to their doctrinal distinctives. Celebrate them and adhere to them, or the same fate of Evangelicalism will be ours." p. 115.

We are currently living in an age where we are witnessing a movement by Baptist theologians and pastors who want to forget the many sacrifices of our Baptist forefathers and relegate them to a martyrdom that was for naught. They desire to abandon biblical fidelity by widening the definition of what it means to be Baptist. Dr. Pearle argues that the churches today are choosing pragmatism over truth.

Dr. Pearle's book is a clarion call for the church to be faithful and vigilant to obey the commands of Christ rather than the latest culturally driven trendy church growth fad.

Finishing up a quick-read of the book entitled unChristian by authors, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, their working assumption is revealed by this tacit admission:

"Using the lens of the careful scientific research we conducted, I invite you to see what Christianity looks like from the outside. In fact, the title of this book, unchristian, reflects outsiders' most common reaction to the faith: they think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind, that Christianity in our society is not what it was meant to be...After thousands of interviews and countless hours studying non-Christians, I believe outsiders would want this book titled unchristian."

Though he was not speaking directly to this work, Dr. Bob Pearle, in his latest book, The Vanishing Church: Searching for Significance in the 21st Century, very well could have. He writes:

"This method sounds appealing to get more people into churches, but it is fatally flawed. Who is setting the agenda for the church? Who is dictating the format for worship? None other than the lost and unchurched are! This scheme may build a crowd, but it does not build a church" (p.23).

Dr. Pearle is pastor of Birchman Baptist Church in Ft Worth, Texas and his latest book is published by Hannibal Books in Garland, Texas.

The Vanishing Church is a much needed antidote to the poisoned ecclesiology so often found flowing through the contaminated bloodstream of trendy new ways in doing church. The unwritten subtext beneath the seductive statistics cited as evidence that the church needs to change, lies the old pollster principle for church growth--market-driven ministry. Is not Kinnaman and Lyons' conclusion indicative of Barna's failed attempts beginning in the 80's to remake the church in the image of secular-culture?

Never mind the Lord promised the gates of hell are just not equipped to prevail against the Lord's church, if today's church is to survive, our pollster-preachers insist, we must listen to the godless, the unchurched, the unregenerate...what the Apostle called somewhere, the "natural man." Indeed since the natural man constitutes the customer base for the church's future, we must give the customer what they want.

Hence, the church must go through the fires of a holistic overhaul, a massive PR campaign, a seductive face-lift to please the insatiable postmodern quest for the "real," the "geniune," the "authentic Jesus community" with which they are so wonderfully in love.

Barna et al may be good pollsters, accurate pollsters, needed pollsters. But pollsters do not make prophets. The natural man put the church's Lord to death. And, now the skewed logic from pollsters is, to hand to the same lynching mob the fate of the Lord's church? Did not Jesus mention something like, if they hate Me, they'll hate you too?

Enter Bob Pearle's metaphor, the vanishing church. In his book, Dr. Pearle takes us on a sightseeing journey, examining the terrain upon which Christ built his church. On the first journey --Section One: Looking Inward --he starts with today, examining where we are, painfully watching the church slowly disappear. Pearle wonders if we, like the sons of Issachar, understand the times we're living in (chapter 1), and the subtle deceptions seducing the church (chapter 2).

Among those deceptions include intellectualism with it's committed side-kick, pragmatism (pp.19-23); included also are connectionalism (p.24)and mysticism (p.27). Pastor Pearle concluding,

"When beliefs are not right worship will not be right... The errors that are infiltrating the churches, perverting sound doctrine, sapping the church of her spiritual health and robbing Christ of his Glory are rooted in bankrupt philosophy. The answer is..." (p.30).

Dr. Pearle's answer is chapter three (pp. 31-38). And, his answer is worth the price, I assure.

On the second journey the pastor leads us backward 2000 years or so (Section Two) beginning with chapter four entitled "The Church of the Living God" (pp.41-49). Contrasting the identity crisis within which today's church finds itself wallowing, Dr. Pearle offers a simple yet profound exposition of the New Testament ekklesia, arguing "Misunderstanding the New Testament concept of the church diminishes the importance of the local church to the individual believer" (p.46).

Consequently, personal accountability vanishes while spiritual growth stymies. Should we, then, be surprised if the church Jesus built fades further and further into the background of relevancy for postmodern purposes?

Pastor Pearle continues to look back at the biblical joists supporting the church structure Jesus designed. While many today raise questions concerning the legitimacy of church membership, Dr. Pearle argues convincingly membership necessity (chapter five, pp.50-57), the membership of which undeniably begins with biblical baptism (chapter six, pp.57-66). He expounds the biblical purpose given to the New Testament church (chapter seven, pp.67-78) with rigor, asking "Could the problem of declining churches be occurring because churches desire more to conform to culture than to be counter-cultural?" (p.68). After dismissing the well-marketed "church growth networks," Pearle explains the singular purpose for which the church of Jesus Christ exists (pp.69-75).

Section Three: Looking Forward is the final journey on which the pastor leads (chapters nine through 12). As in section one, Dr. Pearle begins with our cultural terrain, arguing that the contemporary scene is much like Paul's experience on Mars Hill: "The philosophy of Epicurus sounds much like what is being espoused in all American contemporary society..." (p.83). Furthermore, he writes,

"The contemporary Christian movement with its variegated streams is entertaining its followers with various amusements. The pop culture has invaded the church to amuse worshippers with music videos, mines, dramas, concerts, and a whole host of created worship styles. All are designed to entertain the attendees" (p.84).

Hedonism may have found rich soil within contemporary Christianity, it seems.

While modern ministry pooh-poohs preaching as an outdated means of communicating ancient truth (chapter nine, pp.88-96), modern Evangelicalism's obsession with doctrinal tolerance may be at its most visible form in The Evangelical Theological Society's schizophrenic utopia: "The theology of open theism is flatly rejected as unbiblical, yet the proponents of the unbiblical theology are not censured" (p.93).

In chapter 10, Standing Fast, Dr. Pearle begins leading us on the necessary journey home, where we are anchored to the immovable Rock, Jesus Christ. As we've seen above, dedication to doctrinal stability is slowly disappearing, and as doctrine disappears so does the New Testament church: "The stability of the churches is determined by their adherence to the faith once for all given to the saints...Doctrine does matter..." (p.101).

Make no mistake: Dr. Pearle's remedy earns him bruises from today's fashion crowd, trendy marketers ever looking for new ways to make the church "cool." And, it's statements like these which justify the bruise:

"What seems fashionable today is for Baptists to remake themselves to be more palatable to postmodern people... In this frenzy to find themselves, many have lost their way altogether.... The antidote for Baptists to not travel the same path of Evangelicalism is to remain true to their doctrinal distinctives. Celebrate them and adhere to them, or the same fate of Evangelicalism will be ours" (pp.113-115).

Hence, we have an obligation to be counter-culture Christians (chapter 11) even in the face of a changing culture (chapter 12 ). Yet, "The answer is not "blowing in the wind," but is bound within the Word of God. It involves going back to the basics of our faith to recover the authority of God's Word over every area of life" (p.131).

Perhaps you're an older pastor, struggling to envision a future for the congregation over which God has placed you in ministry. Or, maybe you're a younger pastor flirting with new measures by which to grow the congregation, including both relaxing doctrinal truth and remaking the ministry into the image culture expects, Dr. Pearle's book needs a fair hearing.

Many thanks to Bob Pearle for leading us on a readable yet nonetheless challenging journey to discover significance in the 21st century for God's church.

With that, I am...
Peter Lumpkins