The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity Written by Os Guinness What shapes the message of the church? The Bible and Spirit or society and culture? Os Guinness points out perils of compromise in the church growth movement. Critiquing the worst excesses of the movement while desiring for the growth of God’s kingdom, this work provides a much needed antidote for the idea that God cares only about the size of an individual church. Quotes from the book: “In short, the argument is that the megachurch movement is flirting dangerously with modernity. Or, more prosaically, that church growth on the basis of the church-growth movement’s ‘new ground’ is no answer to the crisis of modernity because the use of the ‘new ground’ itself is an uncritical accommodation to modernity. Far from leading to an exodus, modern church growth often uses the ideology and tools of Egypt to make the life of the people of God more comfortable in captivity.” (Page 21) “The impact of modernity in the United States means that the Christian faith has lost much of its integrity and effectiveness in shaping the lives of believers. The statistical indicators of faith are still high, but its social influence is down. A central fact of modern times is faith’s search for its own lost authority. A central challenge of modern times is faith’s need to recover its integrity and effectiveness.” (Page 16) “In this final area, which is the focus of this critique, proponents use tools from the fields of management, marketing, psychology, and communications as they seek to ‘grow churches.’ Viewed in this broader way, the church-growth movement is a ‘back to basics’ movement with a special modern twist.” (Page 13) “The symbolism was perfect: Modern megachurches have been built on the philosophical and structural pattern of America’s recent shopping malls, which, in turn, have long been described as ‘cathedrals of consumption.’” (Page 12) “Compared with the past, faith today influences culture less. Compared with the past, culture today influences faith more.” (Page 16) Paperback, 116 pages, notes, questions for discussion
