The Church at the End of the 20th Century

by Francis A. Schaeffer

Today the pressures and battles Schaeffer predicted have engulfed the evangelical church. They come from the moral decay of the surrounding world. They come from the conflict between Christian principles and political ideologies. They come from the growing compromise morally and theologically within the church and among evangelicals in particular. Dr. Schaeffer's insights, republished here, have crucial significance in helping Christians to understand and confront these battles.

"Does the church have a future in our generation?" Schaeffer's answer challenges every Christian to examine his or her life for a reality rooted in a personal relationship to Jesus Christ and lived out in an orthodoxy of doctrine, Christian compassion, and true community.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Church, Christianity, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy

153 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Francis August Schaeffer was an American Evangelical Christian theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He is most famous for his writings and his establishment of the L'Abri community in Switzerland. Opposed to theological modernism, Schaeffer promoted a more historic Protestant faith and a presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics which he believed would answer the questions of the age.

Wife: Edith Schaeffer
children: Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Reviews

[Ryan Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a tad strange reading a book that clearly is "dated." Schaeffer wrote this around 1970 to address what the church had to keep in mind to keep its witness as the 20th century was coming to an end. Fifty years later now, it’s interesting to read, but more so, it’s amazing how many of Schaeffer’s insights still are applicable.

The first half of the book wasn’t as good/applicable as the second half. But I really enjoyed the second half, especially when he talked about the forms and freedom of the church, highlighting only a handful of true, biblical “forms” and promoting our use of biblical freedom to reach the world for Christ.

I just read his *The Mark of the Christian* and am reading his *The Church Before the Watching World*, both of which are considerably better than this one. I’d recommend those first. But then if you still want more, this is worth reading of course.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written around 40 years ago to summarize the state of the church, Schaeffer seeks to show how we got to where we are now, and what needs to take place for us to progress instead of regress. The first chapter alone is worth the price of the book and I can’t help but think that Carl Trueman prepared his outline from this chapter when he wrote “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.”

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across a book in the "new books" shelf at the library today. It was a surprise, because it was a book I read a few years ago. But I saw that this was the "revised and updated" version.
I wonder how Francis A. Schaeffer would revise and update "The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century" (aside from the title) were he around to do so today, 43 years after it was written.
There would be some omissions, for certain. The sentence "Within 20 years we will be able to make the kinds of babies we want to make" would have to go. Still hasn't happened; doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.
But I think some of Schaeffer's larger points also might require reconsideration. He believed that a revolution was in the offing, either from the New Left or from the Establishment Elite. Either would be very bad for the church, he argued, although an Establishment Elite revolution might appear more favorable. The only way to prevent one or the other from happening, he said, would be the re-emergence of a truly vital orthodox (small "o") church
None of these seems to have occurred.
Were he writing today, Schaeffer probably also would want to comment on some trends that would have been difficult to foresee in 1970. Then, the fear was the threat of godless communism. Today, the threat comes from terrorists who consider us to be the godless ones.
I think he also would have been fascinated by the explosive growth of Christianity in Africa and in South America. Surely, he would have had thoughts about that unprecedented movement.
So why read a book looking ahead to the last 30 years of a century that already is past? Because so much of it still applies today.
The church of Jesus Christ can't be the church of the status quo, Schaeffer argued. It has to be the revolutionary body that Jesus called it to be. That is the only way it would interest the disengaged youth of his day, and of ours.
I liked the last chapter ("revolutionary Christianity") best, because it's where Schaeffer became dangerously practical.
"Don't start a big program," he wrote. "Don't suddenly think you can add to your church budget and begin. Start personally and start in your homes. I dare you. I dare you in the name of Jesus Christ. Do what I am going to suggest. Begin by opening your home for community."
He challenged white Christians to invite blacks into their homes and black Christians to invite whites into their homes. And not just respectable people ...
"How many times in the past year have you risked having a drunk vomit on your carpeted floor?" he challenged. "How in the world, then can you talk about compassion and community -- about the church's job in the inner city?"
This is what he and his wife, Edith, were doing at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland.
"In about the first three years of L'Abri, all of our wedding presents were wiped out," he writes. "Our sheets were torn. Holes were burned in our rugs. Indeed once a whole curtain almost burned up from someone smoking in our living room ..."
So in the things that count, "The Church at the End ..." is as convicting today as it was 43 years ago.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

challenging as always

[Michael Philliber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this work back in 1993. I decided, recently, to revisit it. There are several lessons I learned from "The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century" thirty years ago, things that have stuck with me. But there was quite a bit from the book I didn't remember. So as I came back around to it I had a mixture of delight and disappointment. The book is a bit of a mixed bag.

What I didn't remember is that Schaeffer was quite an alarmist. His chapter "The Threat of Silence" makes this clear. He has valuable things to say, such as regarding American flags in the sanctuary, and more. But then he slips into highly foreboding evaluations of the future that sound like the end is near. But here we are now, in 2023, some 52 years after he wrote this volume, and we are still dealing with these pressures. The end didn't come.

And yet, the work lays out several valuable principles that are worth digesting. For example, the need to maintain that orthodoxy of purity (doctrinal and moral) in the church, and the orthodoxy of community. Actually loving one another and showing that grace has changed us so that we're able to stop our infighting. Another was if we must leave a liberalized denomination, how to leave, and the dangers that lurk around the corner.

All-in-all, it was worth the time to reread the book. It just didn't have the same impact on me it once did. I think much of what Schaeffer says in these pages will benefit many Christians and church leaders.

[Tom James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this book is a little bit dated, since the twenty-first century is now twenty years old and the book was written fifty years ago. However, for the most part, the more things change, the more things stay the same. The threat of liberalism and compromise still plague the church and must continue to be resisted. Writing from the context of dealing with the hippie youth culture of the sixties, Schaeffer pleads with the church to adapt so that youth, ethnic groups, and the homeless will feel welcome and comfortable in our midst. By and large, most churches have adjusted in order to accommodate these groups, and have been more flexible with their services. Nevertheless, the author presents some challenges to the church and church members that most of us have still not met.

[Greg Skodacek · Rating 5 out of 5]

So relevant and insightful! A message for the church today as well as individuals.

Note: The paperback edition I read included the essay, "The Mark of the Christian", available in ebook and audio book versions, and is HIGHLY recommended.

"Jesus taught that the mark of the Christian is the observable love shown among all true believers."

"One of the greatest injustices we do to our young people is to ask them to be conservative. Christianity is not conservative, but revolutionary."

"Love - and the unity it attests to - is the mark Christ gave Christians to wear before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians and that Jesus was sent by the Father." ~ Francis Schaeffer

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly contemporary and relevant book to read today. Schaeffer was far-seeing and much of what he foresaw has come to pass. The crying need of the Church in the West is for both truth and love. There is a vital need as the church to be the community which people so desperately need to see - the greatest community of all, God's community, the Church.

[Rod Innis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Francis A. Schaeffer. It follows the earlier books in its emphasis on a personal God who is there and can be known and how to have a personal relationship with Him that will be eternal. It deals with some of the issues facing the visible church and how to deal with them. The two articles in the appendix are also very important and very good.

[Gerald Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though published in 1970, Schaeffer remains relevant as many of his observations still apply today. Some of the approach to race and youth may not settle well with our 21st century sensitivities, but Schaeffer’s observations on these subjects, as well as doctrine, government, art and technology, will get the reader to think. Schaeffer is bold and unapologetic. Very refreshing in our day.

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I've read of Schaeffer's material. I liked it. Amazing to consider this was written in 1970. He saw patterns in his own day and pretty much nailed the decade were are in now. Lots to think about as far as what it means to be faithfully Christian in 2019.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1970, this book still rings true today. We have much to learn from the later Francis Schaeffer.

[David Holl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Schaeffer saw in the early 70's, rings true today.

[Trevor Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prescient and compelling.

[Jack Wilkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The man simply did not miss. Yet another of his I would categorize as must-read for the modern minister, especially those exposed to the brainworms often found in higher education.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite prophetic. A must-read for those looking for a clear history of how the church has gotten where it is today and wanting to do their part in charting a course forward.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francis Schaeffer wrote this book in response to the question, what future is there for the institutional church, in the midst of a culture that has been cut loose from reason with no absolutes and in a society that is so easily manipulated.

The first couple chapters he talks about the roots of the student revelation and the international student revolution. In Chapter 1 he defines the difference between modern science and modern, modern science. Modern science was born out of Galileo, and his concept that man on the basis of reason could understand the universe because a God of reason had created it. Modern, modern science extended the idea of the uniformity of natural causes by adding the phrase-in a closed system. Which takes science out of the realm of God into the realm of the man the machine. This concept is the basis of the man moving away from God and absolutes.

When he starts talking about the church in chapters 3-8,he covers many different concepts about the church. The concept of form and freedom, community and freedom, silence and manipulation.

In the chapter on form and freedom, he came up with 8 different forms that each church should have and do, but beyond that each church as the freedom to operate differently wihin those forms. Schaeffer hits the concept of community multiple time throughout the book and it is a great reminder that that is how the world will know we are Christians. He ends the book with a chapter called revolutionary Christianity, where he challenges us to stay within the forms God has laid out for us, but we need to get radical if we are going to spread the gospel.

The two appendices where interesting as well. The first adultery and apostasy the bride and bridegroom theme. Once spiritual apostasy sets in adultery is often soon to follow. And the mark of the christian a more in depth look of how we should love each other as believers so the world will know we are followers of Christ.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering Schaeffer wrote this in 1970 it was way before it's time. I enjoyed reading this knowing that he wrote it so long ago and seeing where the church is now a decade into the 21st century. I should have written my review a while ago when I finished it so I can't remember much. He made a case for small groups or community groups which I think didn't really start to happen until the mid to late 80's when they were called "cell groups." Now, we call them community groups. The need is still there for the church to live in real community. He also made an interesting observation about the need for personal computers vs. one big mega computer. I just found it interesting since no one had personal computers in their house at the time. He makes a case for a biblical ecclesiology made up of elders and deacons who not only guard the flock from negative influences but also shepherd them with utmost care.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

He saw it coming, he warned us. We didn't listen. That's a pretty good summary of a lot of Schaeffer's work, but this one has specific reference to the church and how we should've been prepared. I found particularly useful, the section on the manipulations that could happen. Looking back to when he was writing, it's easy to see how the manipulation is happening in culture currently. Check this book out.

[Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is surprisingly relevant for the church today. Schaeffer addresses very clearly how patriotic loyalty must never be equated with loyalty to God – when people put loyalty to America on the same level as loyalty to God that is idolatry and sin. He also treats problems of race relations very well (especially for a book written in 1985).

[Bob Ladwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on the position of the church in America and the need for revival. Schaeffer doesn't really put it like that and that is what was somewhat disapointing, I think it lacks a robust eschatology, pretty sure Schaeffer was pre-mil.

[Mike Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was clear, concise, and timeless. I read part of it for 40 minutes in a McDonald’s and wept most of the times. I must have looked like I was reading some romance novel or something. I look forward to reading much more Schaeffer, but maybe just in my office.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Mark Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking...points Christians the right way for how to be in a Post-Christian society..

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated, but definitely worthwhile!

[William Dicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good!