The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church

Synopsis With the writing of The Present Future, Reggie McNeal lent his voice to a rising chorus in American Christianity warning that traditional church growth and development strategies are no longer effective. He posited that over the past hundred years or more, the church adopted an organization and operational model consistent with the needs and expectations of modernism. With the cultural shift toward postmodernism, the expectations of the North American society have changed regarding established institutions like the church. However, the church has largely failed to recognize the influence postmodernism has had on the decline of the church. McNeal theorized that the church must force itself to recognize where the culture is and where it is heading in the future. American Christianity must then adopt strategies that best translate the timeless Gospel message into the language of the culture without compromising essential doctrinal truths. To help church leaders in this process, McNeal presented what he considered the six new realities arising from the advent of the postmodernism. His examination of these new realities provided opportunities for serious reflections on any future strategies of the church.Critical Analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses McNeal's first new reality of the changed culture is the imminent collapse of the modern manifestation of the church. He did not suggest that the church as a spiritual entity is dead. He suggested the cultural expression of the organizational church is dying and the obituary is already written. The builder generation is passing away. Those in generations X and Y, along with the more recent millenniums, no longer see the relevance of the church. They do not support the institution of the church as their parents and grandparents once did. In response, the church must rediscover a theology of missions. For too long, McNeal asserted, the church in North America has operated primarily for the benefit of its own members. McNeal charged that the modern church has forgotten its true mission as the Body of Christ; that is, to provide a human voice to God's call of reconciliation to humankind. The remedy for the dying church in America is not a new method, but a rediscovery of its classic mission to a lost world. McNeal's second reality of the changing culture faults abuses within the church growth movement of the past thirty years. McNeal proposed that the church growth movement primarily focused on building the institution of the church rather than building the Kingdom of God. The approaches adopted within the movement increased members, but did little to significantly transform people into kingdom citizens reflecting kingdom values. As a result, church leaders transferred their focus from engaging the culture with life-changing truths onto how to attract and retain people who were interested in what the church was doing for itself. Church resources have been concentrated on activities that make church members happy and keep them from jumping ship to another church. McNeal warned that such a consumer-minded approach to doing church fails to impact a culture that desires something fundamentally different from what the church has to offer in its programming. The third reality calls for a new reformation. Whereas the first reformation freed the church from the stranglehold of a corrupt clergy, the modern reformation movement seeks to free the members from the burden of the institutional church. Presently, the common definition of an active church member is one who devotes his or her time to the needs of the church bureaucracy; that is, the care and feeding of the institutional church. The new reality of the postmodern culture requires members to engage the culture in creative ways that may not easily fit into predefined models of church work. The effective church of the future will thoroughly exegete its culture and will equip and empower its members to engage that culture in creative and meaningful ways. A more meaningful definition of an active church member will no longer be defined by their contributions of time, talent, and treasures within the church; but will be defined by whether church members are engaging their culture in meaningful ways outside the walls of the church. Members will become missionaries to the culture. McNeal's fourth reality tackled the nebulous issue of spiritual formation. In the past, church leaders were concerned about how to develop good church members. In the future, leaders must learn how to help members become devoted followers of Jesus. McNeal's proposition is that a person can function as a strong and faithful church member and still live a devilish lifestyle outside the eyes of the church. All of one's life must fall under the lordship of Jesus Christ. The role of church leaders is not to build better members, but to build better disciples. Toward this end, McNeal suggested the church provide life coaching with the view toward spiritual formation. Life coaches provide mentoring and accountability to assist Christians in incorporating the values of the faith into every aspect of their life and personality. McNeal believes that the postmodern culture is searching for spiritual significance and would be attracted to the call of Christ if they see Christians living the life of Christ. New reality number five, the shift from planning to preparation, challenged church leaders to prepare for the culture of the future by adopting a vision informed by the values of the Kingdom of God. McNeal asserted that if we plan for a future that does not materialize, then our planning has produced strategies inconsistent with the new reality and the church has wasted valuable resources. Instead, church leaders must prepare for the future by maintain a flexibility to respond quickly and agilely to the culture as it moves through the future. McNeal's final reality calls for a change in the way pastors lead their congregations. McNeal proposed church leaders adopt an apostolic leadership model. Past and present leadership models seek to maintain the industry of the church. An apostolic leadership model best responds to the new spiritual landscape that reflects more of the world of Acts then America of the twentieth century (126). Apostolic leadership has a different measure of success. Success is measured by the church's impact outside it walls, not the strength of internal programs. Apostolic leadership in the new church paradigm will not be the sole purview of the clergy. McNeal asserted that all church members should develop apostolic leadership characteristics. Only when Christians at large take responsibility for engaging the culture will the church once more reflect its biblical roots.Evaluation of Author's Success Much of McNeal's thesis is well taken. This reviewer once served as church development director for the Northwest Louisiana Baptist Association with the responsibility of helping inner-city churches develop strategies for more effective ministry in transitional neighborhoods. What he discovered is that traditional churches, all of which were in serious decline, were more interested in returning to the glory days of their past. Their focus was on strengthening failed programs and shoring up crumbling infrastructure. They too were asking all the wrong questions. They wanted to build a bridge to the future with the rotten lumber of the past. Most of these church leaders would reject McNeal's words out of hand. While McNeal's premise is thought provoking, he failed to provide enough specifics to be truly helpful. He stated that "church activity is a poor substitute for spiritual vitality" (7), but did not define spiritual vitality. McNeal accused church leaders of searching for new methodological fixes for sagging vibrancy. He proposed that leaders should pursue a new way of thinking about the problems in light of the new millennium. He suggested asking the question, "How do we hit the streets with the Gospel?" (26). The question of "How" is a methodological question. McNeal's suggested approaches to dealing with the realities of ministry in a postmodern context leaves one with the impression that he has a low view of church membership. Specifically, ministry to the culture does not necessarily mean gleaning people for membership in the local church. For example, McNeal recounted a San Antonio church that took a portable baptistery into the barrios as a part of their block party ministry. Those who expressed a faith in Christ and so desired were baptized (34). This activity will challenge Baptist beliefs that the ordinances are for the church, and that baptism serves to unite the new believer into the fellowship of the local church. An essential part of spiritual formation is active membership in the local church--not for the sake of preserving the visible institution, but in recognition of the spiritual reality of Christ's presence in the midst of assembled believers.Lessons Learned A sign over a youth minister's door once read, "Challenge Everything." McNeal has done that. This reviewer discovered that his traditional rural church operates to preserve its institutional systems and structures. New members are desirable only for what they can do to shore up the institution. Evangelism is the means of self-preservation. McNeal's challenge to focus on Kingdom growth rather than church growth provided a new vision for this pastor's work. McNeal insisted the new paradigm church would focus on spiritual formation. This reviewer's church focuses on helping members develop quality churchmanship. New member orientation is designed to point believers to internal church ministries that need tending. This pastor must seek to help people grow in their faith with respect to all aspects of their lives.Believers must become disciples who then become disciple makers. A challenging lesson for this pastor was the validation of an individual's community activities as a part of kingdom ministry, even though the church does not officially sanction it. Church members who volunteer at hospitals, community action agencies, and schools are performing valuable ministry in Christ's name. Therefore, this pastor has begun publicly recognizing and applauding such civic-minded volunteerism. There may be no direct benefit to the church, but kingdom work is being done nonetheless.

Reggie McNeal’s book, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church, addresses the need for the church to move from program driven buildings and bureaucracy back to missional service and disciple making.In this book, McNeal looks at how the church has been inwardly focused and more like a “club” with a “club mentality”, seeking its own good and interests above the mission of reaching the unsaved and those who are “outside the club.” The local church has become something that is antiquated and far removed from its life giving vitality of mission and service toward dead ritualistic programs and facilities.It has been said that the church is the only organization that exists for its non-members. McNeal asserts, in so many words, that this is no longer the case concerning the church in North America. We, the church, have become more inwardly focused and have done less and less for those who we should be reaching out to in selfless service, evangelism and discipleship. As the church, we must move away from the “country club” mindset and move back toward our mission—people.The future of the church lies in the present. The old ways no longer work for a new generation with a differing culture and a diversity of need. Old models of ministry and church are ceasing to function and work as they once did. New methods of relationships and decentralization must be put into action. Disciples must be made and leadership must be developed and sent out.The church is not something we go to, the church is who we are in the world. We must move from an attractional model of church buildings and programs, with the idea of “if we build it, they will come” and move toward being a people who integrate our faith into our work and into every area of our lives. We must be the church in “the present future.”In The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church, Reggie McNeal addresses six serious topics, which include the following: The church culture, as we know it, is over; we must move from church growth models to kingdom growth thinking and initiative; a new reformation will begin once the church releases equipped people into the world for mission; spiritual formation and development must be at the heartbeat of the church; church leaders must move from planning to preparation so they will be equipped for every good work; and finally, church leaders need to be trained and equipped, not to do programing, but to do mission, and to be missional, as sent people into the world.The Present Future is an excellent book for anyone in church and ministry leadership. This book is relevant in addressing real concerns with the current state of the church and is motivational and inspirational in addressing real issues with real solutions of mission and focus.

I am reading this book the second time as I write this review, not just because it is a book with good points and hard truths, but it is a book that will challenge your perspective on your personal views of the church, and will either leave you thinking what I can do to help the church move forward, or set you to think that that the church is too set in her ways to move forward anymore. Just let an unchurched person read this book too and see what he thinks about it.Just as Martin Luther nailed his thesis on the door of the church that started the reformation, this book is liken to Luther's thesis on the modern day institutional church, and the question is what we are going to do about it! This is a must read if you want to see what the next reformation for the church is to be like, but don't just read it, do something about it. McNeal warns from the start that if you like the church that you are in the way it is, then maybe this is not the book for you. What he writes is a hard pill to swallow, but it is one that we must. Reading it a second time, it feels like I am reading it for the first because it is like a "standard" to assess where the church is at.Will you be a "next reformation" Christian?

Although starting to show it's age, this book still presents very helpful evaluations, encouragements and suggestions. This text was used in a Doctoral Course in Semanary in 2016 and was well recieved.

Important read for the pastor of a church. Where is your church now, and where should it be.