Monday, October 02, 2006

What's Next: Local Church

For their 50th anniversary issue, CT surveyed a number of pastors and ministries about the future of evangelicalism. "n the next two weeks, [they'll] be looking at what evangelical leaders think are the priorities for the next 50 years in 11 categories: youth, missions, theology, culture, evangelism, higher education, politics, international justice, media, and relief and development.

I'll try to highlight these as they are posted online. For the first installment, on the local church, they talked to Dale Burke, John Huffman, John Sommerville, Joshua Harris, Mark Driscoll, Michael Horton, Robert Lewis, Will Willimon, Mark Dever, and John Piper.

Conclusion:

"If there is a consensus, it is this: The church needs a fresh infusion of that which has made it traditionally strong. But in the current context, back-to-the-basics feel counter-cultural: Exalt the uniqueness of Christ in a pluralistic culture, reach out to men in an era of feminism, and celebrate the timelessness of Word and sacrament in a market-driven culture obsessed with relevance."