The Great Giveaway: Reclaiming the Mission of the Church from Big Business, Parachurch Organizations, Psychotherapy, Consumer Capitalism,

by David E. Fitch

Book Overview

"North American evangelicals learned to do church in relation to modernity," asserts David Fitch. Furthermore, evangelicals have begun to model their ministries after the secular sciences or even to farm out functions of the church whenever it seems more efficient. As a result, the church, too often, has stopped being the church.In The Great Giveaway, Fitch examines various church practices and shows how and why each function has been compromised...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080106483X
• ISBN13: 9780801064838
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Baker Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Authentic Church...ohh Yes!

This book rocks! Are you an aspiring pastor, missionary or a person in church leadership? Are you going to church and not feeling that it is satisfying your spiritual longing for depth and relationship? If you fit the above categories, (hint, I think we all do at some time or another) This book is a must read. David systematically works through the different roles that the church plays in the community and clearly and concisely shows where it is falling short, then proposes ways to change it. This book is not for the faint of religious heart. If you are looking for a weak and consumer oriented religion this book is not for you. If you are looking for ways to lead yourself, your family, and your church into a deeper relationship with Jesus and his church, read this book.

Heated but Thoughtful

This biting critique of the modern American church has basically lifted the veil off the capitalistic, consumeristic, numbers-oriented megachurches. David Fitch, Pastor of a church just 20 minutes from the headlining, 10,000 member Willow Creek Community Church, levels a pretty harsh attack on the big churches. While there are positive suggestions for alternative church models at the end of every chapter, it's clear that Fitch has a bone to pick. He goes systematically through the modern church's emphasis on quantifiable success, evangelism, leadership without moral accountability, emotive worship, expository preaching that does not take place in community, justice that is farmed out to parachurch organizations, spiritual formation that is farmed out to psychiatrists, and education of children that is entrusted to an areligious public school system. For anyone whose lived in the world of the megachurch, this is a really fun read. It's what we whisper about over coffee on the patio when the sermon has taught us 7 steps to better marriages or when the Good Friday service is "exciting" rather than sobering. Fitch has a determined, analytical mind. I hope he writes more. The downside is that his alternatives sound like an afterthought that do not admit to their own weaknesses. It's very dubious that he's found an alternative to megachurches that is itself without just as many flaws. He's not nuanced enough to suggest that he's offering a cooperative alternative in a megachurch culture. Rather, they're wrong and he's right. Secondly, chapter seven, on spiritual formation, is a bit insensitive. Though he credits this to modern ideologies, it might be his personal style. But everyone who's interested in the evolution of church culture and the development of new models of community should definitely read this book. Anyone who's either been to or resented the megachurches, everyone whose ever used or disparaged the word emergent, and pretty much anyone else who wants to know where church is going should read Fitch.

Do yourself a favor and read this book!

Fitch's overall intention in the book is to show how modernity has transformed clear gospel teaching into modernistic trends, he does this by looking at eight areas including success, evangelism, leadership, the production of experience, preaching, justice, spiritual formation, and moral education. Then the "task" of the book is to (1) examine the ways we have "given away" being the church to modernity by allowing its influence to individualize, universalize, syncretize, and commodify the tasks, truths, and even the very salvation we have been given as a people from god through Jesus Christ, and (2) to offer practices to evangelicals by which we may receive back being the church, the people of God ruled by Jesus as Lord in resistance to such modern influences. List strengths of book. With each of the eight areas of discussion there are clear strengths to be found in the explanation and solutions offered, however the strongest areas of the book include the chapters dealing with success, evangelism and spiritual formation. With the topic of success, Fitch contends that we measure success by size because we have accepted the modern values of individualism and efficiency. Instead, success should be measured by measuring faithfulness rather than size. With the topic of evangelism he states that we rely on arguments, presentations, and proofs in our Gospel presentations, rather than embodying the reality of Jesus Christ being lived within our churches. And with spiritual formation we have accepted therapy and psychology, and in many cases have substituted these for the biblical practices of confession, repentance, and speaking the truth in love in the context of community. Additionally, the book includes over thirty pages of excellent notes for further study and reflection. List weaknesses of book. While I believe there will be more than a few people who believe Fitch's assessment is incorrect because they find it difficult to see beyond a modern perspective, I find very little not to like about this book.

excellent first chapter! worth the price of the whole book!

the author has it right, although he swims up stream against the overwhelming majority of church growth authors, speakers, and thinkers. chapter one is brilliant because it breaks down the reality that exists in most large mega-churches and even large church wannabe ministries, to uncover the main spiritual problem: lack of true christian commitment and discipleship. his claim is that out of a 1000 person church, maybe 100 or so persons are really following christ, and the rest may have made a "decision" for christ but probably haven't turned from sin and turned to christ. if this is so, is this kind of mega-church really a success? according to church growth thinking, yes, because of the numerical increases, but according to the bible's test for a church, it's questionable. the author criticizes the modern superficial definition of church success. his claim that the church must give up such simplistic measurements of success is right on. every church pastor, every church leader, and every concerned christian should read chapter one, just to get an alternative voice to the almost universal church growth thinking that is rapidly capturing christian thinking today. numerical church growth isn't the solution, nor is starting new churches if all we do is call for decisions without discipleship. the author questions the wisdom of gathering thousands of persons with little or no commitment to christ, with 100 or so truly committed persons, and calling that totality a church, or calling it a success. he suggests that we need to return to spiritual formation that produces disciples not superficial decisions, and that numerical growth should not be our goal, but rather true discipleship growth should be the target we aim at and work toward. the unhealthy preoccupation with numerical, statistical growth can actually lead us astray from our true calling. this book is a must read for anyone who is not satisfied with the general low-level of commitment found in typical churches today. it points the way to a biblical solution.

A great book on recovering what it means to be the church

A lot of books critique the modern evangelical church. A critique can be helpful, but what is even more useful is some help on how to be the church more faithfully. It's even better if this help is given from someone who is thoughtful, not just pragmatic, and a practitioner, not just a theoretician. The Great Giveaway is a book that offers this type of help. It's written by David E. Fitch, pastor of Life on the Vine Christian Community in Long Grove, Illinois. "The thesis of the book is that evangelicalism has 'given away' being the church in North America." How? By forfeiting the practices that constitute being the church. According to Fitch, evangelicalism has given away being the church by accepting the assumptions of modernism, which are increasingly suspect. The Great Giveaway examines how the church has given away eight functions of the church to modernity, and offers solutions on how to recover each function: -Our definition of success - We measure success by size because we have accepted the modern values of individualism and efficiency. Big churches are seen as successful, when it is more difficult to be the church past a certain size. Instead, success should be measured by measuring faithfulness rather than size. -Evangelism - We rely on arguments, presentations, and proofs in our Gospel presentations, rather than embodying the reality of Jesus Christ being lived within our churches. -Leadership - We have imported CEO-styles of leadership into the church, and measured pastors by success in ministry more than faithfulness to Christ. CEO-style leaders are isolated and it is assumed they can manage their own sanctification. Instead, the church needs to rediscover leadership as servanthood and not as vocational success. -Worship - We measure success in worship by positive emotional experiences and the hearing of "good" sermons. In other words, the individual self is at the center of worship, and that individual self has been more formed by the post-Christian world than by the reality of God. Instead, we should reclaim worship practices that form us into the experience of God, rather than attempting to shape God into our experience. -Preaching - Expository preaching is not as biblical as we think. It allows both the preacher and the audience to control the Word, and it often results in "to do" lists. Instead, preaching should proclaim the reality of who God is, and invite us to live in that reality. -Justice - Our definition of justice is more shaped by liberal democracy and capitalism by Scripture. We need to recapture the Biblical ideal of justice, and learn how to live in capitalism but not of it. -Spiritual Formation - We have accepted therapy and psychology, and in many cases have substituted these for the biblical practices of confession, repentance, and speaking the truth in love in the context of community. -Moral Education - Our children are shaped by a post-Christian culture rather than by the reality of Christ lived ou