This Little Church went to Market

Author(s): Gary E Gilley
Publisher: Evangelical Press
Price: $5.99      

There are forces that are changing the church. A. W. Tozer warned decades ago of a new wind blowing across the fields of the evangelical church, ‘If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it’

With the spectacular successes of mega churches like Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, California, churches all over the world are buying into the market-driven philosophy of church growth and expansion. But what price have these churches paid in order to fill their pews with scores of people? Is the market- driven phenomenon comparable to such historic movements as the Evangelical Revival? Or has the church lost its culture wars?

Gilley contends that the church has indeed lost the war, so much so that the influences of culture have become influences in the church. As such, the most significant forces pressing against the church are entertainment, market-driven philosophies and psychology. These three are largely absent from the Bible, yet are startlingly prevalent in evangelical churches. While Gilley’s main focus is on the American phenomenon, it is equally true of churches all over the world.

Since it was first published, this book has been fully updated and revised with additional material. This a serious and timely call for churches to return to their scriptural roots … before it is too late!

The author Dr Gary E. Gilley has been pastoring at Southern View Chapel, Springfield, Illinois since 1975. Along with his preaching and teaching ministry, he is also the author and editor of the bimonthly contemporary theological issues publication ‘Think on These Things’. In addition to speaking at various conferences throughout the USA and overseas, he serves on the advisory board of New Tribes Mission and on the executive boards of Brazil Gospel Fellowship Mission and Personal Freedom Outreach. He is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute and Cambridge Graduate School, both in the U.S.