Don Carson on Five Troubling Trends In The Church

ACTS 29 Blog:

If you ever want to feel like you have the intelligence of a NASCAR fan that just finished off a six-pack (I think it's a Red Neck law), then listen to D.A. Carson talk about, well, anything. Don is fluent in something like 7 languages and has written over 45 books. He is the esteemed Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School near Chicago. For instance, Carson said in his talk to us, "To be a non-perspectivalist is to be omniscient." Nobody in the room was smart enough to argue with him over that.

Don spoke at a luncheon at Bethlehem Baptist Church (John Piper) on Friday September 26, 2008 just before the Desiring God Conference. I attended this lunch with about 40 other church leaders. Don spoke for an hour about five trends in the American church that are troubling to him.

Five Trends in the Church Today

1. It is important to observe contradictory trends.

2. Current evangelical fragments are moving into a new phase -- into polarized "clumps."

3. The most dangerous trends in any age are the trends that most people do not see.

4. There is a trend in our churches to be consumed by social concern.

5. There is a trend in our churches to emphasize discipleship over the gospel.

Click here to read comments on these five points.