The Present Future by Reggie McNeal - Introduction

I am in the process of reading two books right now - well, actually three - but two of the three books pretty much deal with the same issue: that the church of today is, as the saying goes, barking up the wrong tree. The two books are The Shaping Of Things To Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, and The Present Future by Reggie McNeal. Both books are, in my opinion, revolutionary. I was telling Rochelle one Sunday about these books and how I almost hold them as I would hold a rattlesnake - ready to throw away from me at any moment because of the danger involved. The danger in these books is that if you actually take to heart the deconstruction of the church these authors offer in these books, you cannot stay the same. You cannot think of church the same, and you cannot think of the role of leadership in the church the same.

I chose to "deconstruct" McNeal's book first, because although I started reading the other one first, I really got into The Present Future because it was straight, to the point, and hit me like a brick. So, without further adieu, let's talk about the introduction.

I am always intrigued when authors admit that they really didn't want to write the content of their book. To me, it's much more disarming than to have someone write "I have all the answers and I know what I'm talking about." From the first couple of paragraphs, you find out that McNeal really didn't want to write this book. He was scared to, because he knew the consequences it could have, the impact, and yet also the pushback from comfortable Christianity.

After the first two paragraphs, the third paragraph starts out in a rather chilling way:

- "I'm talking about the church world in North America. A world that has largely forsaken its missional covenant with God to be a part of kingdom expansion. It has, instead, substituted its own charter of church as a clubhouse where religious people hang out with other people who think, dress, behave, vote and believe like them."

Ouch.

Later on, he talks about the different assumptions about the church and mission that he challenges in the book:

- If you build the perfect church (the way we think about church), they will come.

- Growing your church will automatically make a difference in the community.

- Developing better church members will result in greater evangelism.

- The church needs more workers (for church work).

- Church involvement results in discipleship.

- Better planning will get you where you want to go (in terms of missional effectiveness.)

He writes a little later on that "many church leaders are preoccupied with the wrong questions." After reading this book, I agree wholeheartedly. Well, next post will be on Chapter 1 - the first tough question.