Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Testing the Claims of Church Growth
My denomination, the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, is in the midst of internal conflict. This time around, the issue is a philosophy called church growth. You see, as Christians, we've been commanded by Jesus to "go and make disciples of all nations." The liberal dudes in the LCMS would measure that by numbers: if your church is increasing in membership, then you are doing the right thing. The conservative dudes, known as confessionals (the liberal side hasn't been assigned a label), would measure the disciple making process by how well the members know and live the Bible's teachings. If that means that some people reject the church and the numbers dwindle, so be it. This book is written by a confessional pastor who also had a first career in marketing. He defines and examines the aspects of the church growth movement. As for myself, I'm sort of on the fence with the whole controversy, so I find it hard to evaluate how well he's done it. I found the book interesting and informative, and it certainly made me more sympathetic to the confessional side. But this controversy, like any real world conflict of values, touches on more than just mere theology. There are also issues of control and tradition which have muddied the central controversy. Rev. Zwonitzer doesn't really deal with these secondary problems, nor does he really address the shortcomings (real or perceived) of the confessional practice. If I were to wrestle more with this, I'd like to read something from the other side. Of course, for me, this is so muddy, I'd just as soon tell both sides to take a hike. Still, the book is a nice, short challenge to the church growth movement. While it wouldn't be of interest to the general public, Missouri Synners and other interested parties should definitely check it out.
Labels: CheckItOut
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