547 - Christian Churches at the Crossroads! A Layman Speaks Out

Christian Churches at the Crossroads!
A Layman Speaks Out
By Benjamin Coe
William Carey, 1980. 135 pp. $7.95 (paper).

This book tries to establish a correlation between the churches' faithfulness to their original purpose and biblical heritage with yearly figures of growth or decline. Detailed comparisons of membership gains or losses are given for eight denominations, ranging from the Assemblies of God to the United Church of Christ, with historical comments on events, significant controversies, and actions of central judicatories and national staffs. Similar patterns are traced among the churches of the Presbytery of San Francisco, and for the author's own congregation in Menlo Park.

A chapter lists "Influential Factors," including sociological and demographic ones along with failures of seminaries, family life, and national leadership. The author depends heavily upon reports from Christianity Today and The Presbyterian Layman. And the conclusions resemble those familiar from "church growth" thinking of Donald McGavran (who wrote a foreword) and his Pasadena associates.

The heavy dependence on statistics suggests that other authors might demonstrate the superiority of charismatic churches, the "electronic" church, etc.

Howard C. Blake
The Servant Society
Santa Barbara, Calif.