Best Books
What does the future hold for our local churches? What needs to change and what needs to be revived? Do we need to double down on what we’ve been doing, make minor adjustments, or radically re-evaluate everything, including the fundamentals? What is the real purpose of the church anyway? What is the point?
While these are questions you may not have considered before, I can assure you that most pastors are thinking about them. And they should be. Church attendance has fallen nationally by 25% in the last twenty years. In 2018, the percentage of Americans who attend church declined to a historic low, and that was before Covid disrupted everything. Even more alarming is the rapid decline in attendance of young adults, who are increasingly suspicious of the church institutions of their parents and dismayed by a perceived disconnect between the Gospel of Jesus and the social views represented in the churches they once called home. Sadly, many of their suspicions are not without merit.
In their new book, Next Sunday – An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church (IVP Press), Nancy Beach and Samantha Beach Kiley share two perspectives on what the church has been and what it can become. Beach worked in an evangelical mega-church for years. Her daughter and co-author, Kiley, is a creative arts pastor in Austin, Texas. Together, they reflect different hopes and expectations for the church. Although they share a desire to see their church be what God intends it to be, they recognize that churches are made up of humans, and humans are anchored to culture. The gospel does not change, but how we express our faith does. There has never been one true, universal paradigm for church polity and practice. The question, therefore, is not whether churches will change, but how and why?
Beach and Kiley offer an insightful, honest, and valuable conversation between two women of faith who have different dreams for the church. As such, reading Next Sunday can be a catalyst for thoughtful contemplation on the future of your own church. Whether you are a pastor, active member, or occasional church guest, Next Sunday may be a rich resource for reimagining what your church should look like in the future, for both you and the community it serves.
-Darrel Holcombe, Owner
Sanctuary Christian Books and Gifts
Colonial Promenade, Alabaster
www.sanctuarychristianbooksandgifts.com
205-663-2370
