The Church in an Age of Crisis: 25 New Realities Facing Christianity

by James Emery White

Knowing the signs of the times, and how then to live as people of faith, has never been more pressing for the church. Though many of the signs are disturbing, we ignore them at our great peril. Combining the very best attributes of a biblical prophet and a modern-day reporter, James Emery White offers a look at twenty-five realities facing the church--in the areas of belief, culture, marriage and family, media and technology, and mission--and how they affect us as individuals and as a body of believers.

Functioning as both a telescope and a microscope, this hard-hitting examination of the future of the church looks into the vastness of the world and into the minute recesses of our hearts. White calls on thoughtful readers to sharpen their spiritual drive and determination in order to meet the challenges of our day--and the future. He calls us to look beyond the daily conflicts in order to see the much larger war in which we are engaged, so that we might play our vital role in preserving and growing Christ's church in the coming age.

Genres: Church, Christian

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina; president of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture. Dr. White is an adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president; and author of more than twenty books.

Reviews

[Ronald J. Pauleus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good thoughts. A lot was shared that was very insightful.

“If the first American Revolution was fought to free ourselves from political tyranny, a second revolution is now needed to liberate ourselves from spiritual lethargy. And that would be an American revolution worth fighting for, even more than the first.”

[Jeremy Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of James Emery White, since I had the privilege of having him teach a couple of my classes in seminary. He has a knack for taking the Bible and matters of faith and putting it to practical use within our culture. This book is no different. He exposes twenty-five different realities that are facing the church today. He breaks these twenty-five issues into five categories; faith, mindset, marriage, media and technology, and mission and tackles five issues from each category.

While I did enjoy the book and these topics, I must give a couple cons that stuck out at me. James Emery White is dealing with these twenty-five issues in a book that just breaks the two hundred page mark. So each issue is dealt with very quickly. This makes for great little summaries, but if you even find yourself wishing for more information on a particular issue, you'll find yourself out of luck. I wish he would have included a section that pointed us to further reading for each chapter. I think that would have been very useful.

The other con comes more from being one who has followed James Emery White for a bit, which includes reading his blog. Due to reading his blog, I found that a lot of the topics dealt with in the book are talked about there and it made for a lot of "I've heard this before," moments. Since the chapters are only a little big larger than blog posts in general, it made the book a little less essential in my mind. Now for those who have never read his blog or anything, then this wouldn't be an issue, but if you do this is something to keep in mind.

Overall, it's a good book to introduce Christians to some of the issues that are going on in our culture. However, if you want to dig deeper into any of these topics or already have followed James Emery White's blog, you may be a bit disappointed by the book. Not enough to consider it a bad book, but simply not as satisfying as it could have been.

[Servinggod_85 Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and well-written at certain points. The author can afford to be clearer in general, by being slightly more explicit on his main thesis for each chapter. Each chapter is bite-sized, which is great for those who are on the go. All in all, it is a book with relevant points. It is an easy-read. The author doesn't leave the reader hopeless, but points him or her to the God who reigns.

[Karla Renee Goforth Abreu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a good book on the topic of the post modern age we live in and the unique challenges facing the church. I highly recommend this book.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good testament to the dilution of Christianity in our age