Reggie McNeal's First Chapter
The Present Future Reggie McNeal
New Reality Number One: The Collapse of the Church Culture.
• Percentage of those who go to church (same for 30 years): 40-43%
• McNeal believes that many lie. Probably closer to 26% of Americans.
• 40% of San Pedro would be 40,000 people. Are there that many seats in San Pedro churches? Not even close.
• Dawson McAlister says that 90% of kids active in youth ministry don’t go to church by the time they are sophomores in college.
• “A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith.”
• “Not only do we not need God to explain the universe, we don’t need God to operate the church. Many operate like giant machines, which church leaders serving as mechanics. God doesn’t have to show up to get done what’s being done. The culture does not want the powerless God of the modern church.”
• Wrong question: How do we do church better?
• Wrong response: Many congregations and church leaders, faced with the collapse of the church culture, have responded by adopting a refuge mentality.
• The point is, all the effort to fix the church misses the point. You can build the perfect church—and they still won’t come.
• Tough question: How do we deconvert from churchianity to Christianity?
o The assumption is that anyone serious about being a Christian will order their lives around the church,
o Shift their life and work rhythms around the church schedule,
o Channel their charitable giving through the church,
o And serve in some church ministry.
• There is a spiritual awakening happening in America. However, it is not informed by Christian theology, and it’s not happening in the church.
• We need to recapture the mission of the church. The North American church is suffering from severe mission amnesia. It has forgotten why it exists.
• Jesus tapped into this widespread sentiment of disillusionment with religion (Greek, Roman religion, Sold-out Sadducees, Pharisees, and more personal forms including Gnosticism, and Mithraism) but hunger for God with his teaching about the kingdom of God and how people could become a part of it.
• The movement Jesus initiated had power because it had at its core a personal life-transforming experience.
• There is opportunity now like at no other time, unfortunately, the North American church has lost its influence at this critical juncture. It has lost its influence because it has lost its identity. It has lost its identity because it has lost its mission.
• The appropriate response to the emerging world is a rebooting of the mission, a radical obedience to an ancient command, a loss of self rather than self-preoccupation, concern about service and sacrifice rather than concern about style.
New Reality Number One: The Collapse of the Church Culture.
• Percentage of those who go to church (same for 30 years): 40-43%
• McNeal believes that many lie. Probably closer to 26% of Americans.
• 40% of San Pedro would be 40,000 people. Are there that many seats in San Pedro churches? Not even close.
• Dawson McAlister says that 90% of kids active in youth ministry don’t go to church by the time they are sophomores in college.
• “A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith.”
• “Not only do we not need God to explain the universe, we don’t need God to operate the church. Many operate like giant machines, which church leaders serving as mechanics. God doesn’t have to show up to get done what’s being done. The culture does not want the powerless God of the modern church.”
• Wrong question: How do we do church better?
• Wrong response: Many congregations and church leaders, faced with the collapse of the church culture, have responded by adopting a refuge mentality.
• The point is, all the effort to fix the church misses the point. You can build the perfect church—and they still won’t come.
• Tough question: How do we deconvert from churchianity to Christianity?
o The assumption is that anyone serious about being a Christian will order their lives around the church,
o Shift their life and work rhythms around the church schedule,
o Channel their charitable giving through the church,
o And serve in some church ministry.
• There is a spiritual awakening happening in America. However, it is not informed by Christian theology, and it’s not happening in the church.
• We need to recapture the mission of the church. The North American church is suffering from severe mission amnesia. It has forgotten why it exists.
• Jesus tapped into this widespread sentiment of disillusionment with religion (Greek, Roman religion, Sold-out Sadducees, Pharisees, and more personal forms including Gnosticism, and Mithraism) but hunger for God with his teaching about the kingdom of God and how people could become a part of it.
• The movement Jesus initiated had power because it had at its core a personal life-transforming experience.
• There is opportunity now like at no other time, unfortunately, the North American church has lost its influence at this critical juncture. It has lost its influence because it has lost its identity. It has lost its identity because it has lost its mission.
• The appropriate response to the emerging world is a rebooting of the mission, a radical obedience to an ancient command, a loss of self rather than self-preoccupation, concern about service and sacrifice rather than concern about style.
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