The Author attempts to explain why so many Christians still remain faithful yet dissatisfied and disconnected from the established church. The case histories of those included in the book were insightful, poignant and revealing. Julia Duin explores factors that are causing a shift in why people are leaving churches. The data is impressive. She delves into trends and fads like: house-churches, emergent congregations and postmodernism. This book is not convincing when it presented these options as opposed to traditional churches.
In her statistical data she shows how 78 million protestants don’t go to church, and states in her research that people are simply not being pastured. She writes about her own experience of being churchless and her struggle to find a church from her Charismatic background. Unfortunately she endorses charismatic- extremist teachers from the signs and wonders movement as good models in the book, which we didn’t find helpful.
Her conclusions and remedy for the problems given at the end of the book--she suggests going back to the ’covenant community movement’ like in the 70’s, to which she was a part of. She writes favorably of the house-church movement. This isn’t the best answer for the situation, especially from what has already been well-documented of the past record of the (Shepherding discipleship Movement) blunders and abuses that occurred in the 70‘s and 80‘s, and still would be troublesome today if it’s practices were repeated in today’s church. Two such books that document these movements are ‘Drift into Deception’, and also see the book ‘Damaged Disciples’).
Publisher Baker Books
ISBN: 0801072271
Reading / Review Date: January 2009