Death of the Church

by Mark Schulz and Mike Regele

Book Overview

"Death of the Church is intended to provoke, although we have been careful to be accurate and responsible in our statement of the issues. We will have failed if you only yawn. You may not like what we say, but you must at least acknowledge the issues, for they are very real. The institutional church in America will look very different twenty-five years from now. Indeed, several denominations may no longer exist. We are sure that there will be hundreds...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310200067
• ISBN13: 9780310200062
• Release Date: February 1996
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.6" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

If you are serious about being the Church today...

The message of this book is critical for the church today. The sooner we cease trying to get the world to see things our way and begin to bring the gospel to them, the better.This is a book that should be revised every ten years or so as we move through the generational and cultural devlopments or our times. It will be enlightening to see how well the generational cycle plays out.It is a book that has plenty of narrative (in the first and last parts) for those who are most helped by that. It also has plenty of statistical analysis for those who appreciate that.The book would be worth having if it were only composed of part three. All worth meditation. Many modern Christians, including a couple of the reviewers here, are unaware of their own cultural conditioning. They think there is something sacred in the western, 19th-20th century institution and outlook that they call the church. They have a hard time seeing that that was a way of 'packaging' the gospel for a particular place and time in history. Disciples in the 21st century are responsible for taking the gospel to the worlds of the 21st century. Regele helps us to realize that this includes our neighbors as well as people around the world.Read this book if you are serious about being an ambassador for Christ. Remember, an ambassador represents his kingdom to other kingdoms. He must make his message understood and attractive to others in order to serve his king.

Important Book

This is one of the most important books for church leaders written in the last few years. I have given away many copies, and I urge every pastor to read it. We are in a time of great social transition, and church leaders had better understand the nature of the changes around us. Mike Regele is not saying that a time is coming when there will be no people of God. What he is saying is that local churches that cannot adapt and penetrate their cultures will die. What would happen if 75% of America's churches would cease to exist in the next 50 years? Change in the culture around us is taking place at such a rapid rate that it could well happen. Thus, change in the church is not optional.

excellent research and analysis of the church's future

I have been reading several books on postmodernism and its implications for the church, but this book goes even further with better research into generational characteristics that rang true in my own life and my family. It is the best book I have read on the need change in the church, and I have read at least five. It also explained why my church has been doing well in that we unwittingly have been ministering to the Switchers and the survivor generation.

Very good book which examines the state of mainline churches

I think the author does an excellent job of examining the state of mainline churches in America today. This book is about change and that scares a lot of people. I found it very informative.

The church is challenged to change by this excellent book

The church is dead, and in the last throes of dying. It can die, or it can choose to die in order to be resurrected. Mega-churches, seeker-friendly churches, even cell churches can often simply be a new mask on an old way of doing things. This book calls the church to die, and to make a new start - with new methods, new structures, and a new dynamic impact on (post)modern culture. This book was a highlight of my reading year! Written by the researchers at Percept International, who do reserach on American culture and its relation to the church, and also consult to many churches and Christian organisations, it is a perceptive and challenging book. It's stated purpose is that it is "intended to provoke". Basically, they take and apply the Generational theory proposed by Howe and Strauss, and beginning with the Builder generation (born 1901-1924), work through Silent (born 1925-1942) to Boomer (born 1943-1960) and Gen X, which they call Survivors (nice title, actually - born 1961-1981). Although they alude to the Millennials, they never really deal with the implications of the next generation. They also talk about the philosophical change from Modernism to Postmodernism. Although done at a basic (and practical/pragmatic) level, the few chapters on this shift are excellent, and a valuable resource in themselves when trying to explain to older folk what the impact of this change is. The book focusses on the year 2000, and what the church will look like and what it needs to do to survive and make ready for the coming Crisis Era (anticipated by many different theorists to begin between 2015 and 2025). Their essential thesis is that the existing church, as it has functioned since the Protestant Reformation is dead. It can no longer work, and just like at the Reformation, when not only theology, but also structure changed, so now, too, we need a structural change to recognise the philosophical changes in (post)modern culture. They state firmly that the church is dying! It cannot be s! aved. Now we have a choice: we can die, and be dead. Or we can choose to die, with the hope and plan of resurrection. This is the path to choose. They work towards the final few chapters, which give details as to how they see the church emerging, and what needs to be changed. It is perceptive stuff, and must be taken seriously. A nice touch was the letters to the different generations which were given in the chpater on what the church must do to change. I also liked their ability to transcend (and name) their Boomer bias. They are Boomers, but they understand what must be done. If more Boomers can begin to give this leadership, we'll be fine. So, this is a great book. An uncomfortable one, maybe. But one that is right on the money. It must be taken seriously. For us X'ers, it is an exciting book - one full of promise for the resurrection of a dead church which we so eagerly desire. The great thing is, that we will be the generation to accomplish this. Like the Reformation er