Red Alert: Does the Future Have a Church?

Publisher Description

The age of Christendom is over. The age of post-modernity has arrived. How do ordinary, everyday congregations deal with the crisis facing them?Red Alert is a book for those in leadership, and in the pew, who want to know how to respond to the myriad number of social changes facing churches in the West. It explores the options before us, suggesting that the way forward is not tinkering with non-essentials, but reframing the whole paradigm -- not a new way of doing church 'the old way', but a new way of being church altogether. Eminently practical, this book is designed to show how your church can be empowered to become an authentic community and effective agent for the gospel in the wider society. It shows how the Christian church can not just survive, but prosper. "The world has changed... radically... such that any church committed to 'business as usual' will find itself on the road to irrelevance and death. The gospel, on the other hand, is always relevant and the church's mandate has not changed. Gil Cann's appeal to the local church to acquire understanding, demonstrate flexibility, exercise creativity and generate energy is, in essence, an impassioned appeal to choose life. Ignore it at your peril!"Elizabeth KendalReligious liberty analyst, advocate and authorDirector of Christian Faith and Freedom, Canberra, ACT, Australia"This is a wonderful book: down-to-earth, honest and brimful of distilled wisdom, born of decades of generous and warm-hearted ministry to scores of Christian communities around the country. If you've ever had the joy of knowing and listening to Gil, you'll know exactly what I mean. If not, you are in for a very special surprise. Take up and read!"Dr Rikki WattsDean of Theology at Alphacrucis College, Sydney, NSW, Australia Research Professor with Regent College, Vancouver, Canada