Renovation of the Church

Walt Mueller:

In the past, I've been accused of being critical of the seeker-sensitive, seeker-driven, and seeker-centered approaches to what some people call "doing church." That's accurate. I have been. My motivation - I hope - has not been driven by anything other than an effort to stand back and examine the contemporary church in light of contemporary culture. I don't pastor a church so I can't be angry at or jealous of others who are leading at places where numerical growth is lateral (people coming from one church to another). Rather, my critique has come from my understanding of the Scriptures, how the Scriptures define the life of discipleship, and trends in contemporary Western culture. Overall, I've increasingly been unsettled by and lamented the fact that attractional methods are sought and employed - with good intentions, by the way - to draw in the greatest number of people so that they might hear and respond to the Gospel. In the end, I wonder if that does more harm than good to the cause of the Gospel and spiritual growth.

I love the church. CPYU exists to serve the church. And, we are always working to promote deep spiritual growth in Christ in a world that promotes consumerism. So, when we see things that might be troubling and that need to be considered, we've worked to raise those issues directly, but with sensitivity. Until now, my company in concern over the market-driven approach to church has been traditionalists and friends in the emerging church movement. . . who tend to recoil against what has been mainstream consumer-oriented Evangelicalism. But over the weekend, I read a very refreshing and thoughtful book from a couple of pastors who passionately and single-mindedly lived on the inside of a movement that they are now trying to convince people to move out of, and into deeper things.

Renovation of the Church: What Happens When A Seeker Church Discovers Spiritual Formation, by Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken (IVP, 2011) captures so much of what I've been thinking and wrestling with for years. . . all thought out and framed in ways that states a case beyond what I could ever come up with. These guys had a wrestling match with their deeply-held convictions and their honesty and transparency is refreshing.

This book is so rich, especially in its critique, that I could never do it justice by rehashing its basic message. You have to read this for yourself. And by the way, I want to encourage all - ALL - of friends in youth ministry (young and old alike) to read this book. It's that timely, necessary, and even prophetic. Go at it with your defenses down and a heart prayerfully open to what God might just tell you. Seriously.

Read the rest.