Money Quote:

Maybe this is because the metro-evangelicals are not counter-cultural, but rather a baptized version of New Urbanism. In a culture that idolizes living in a loft in a gentrifying art district, a church planter is not exactly bearing a cross in deciding to “rough it” under such conditions.

I agree wholeheartedly with Miller’s critique, but that could be largely because I am working in a decidedly non-urban area and thus prefer to elevate rural-centric church planting!

In the end churches need to be planted wherever people aren’t following Jesus and the last time I checked that was both in rural and urban areas.

Money quote:

We really don’t believe grace can conform our lives to Christ more effectively than law. I mean we don’t. We think we need the law to keep us in line. Especially, we think we need the terrors of the law to frighten us into being good Christians. It’s the “law/grace/law” model. This kind of legalism just overruns Christianity.

Money (hehe) quote:

Balance. Planning. Moderation. That’s how we like to give, when we do it. Makes total sense.

Too bad Jesus never mentioned any of that.

Money Quote:

We, the missional church, its thought leaders and practicioners, are in danger of allowing “Missional” to become another commercialized program we overlay on top of existing American church structures. The result is that nothing really changes. It just sounds better. The labels have been changed but everything remains the same.

Money Quote:

Talk about sobering! Church revitalization is possible, but it’s rare. According to statistics, most existing churches are in a state of plateau or decline. The good news is that these churches can be turned around, at least in theory. The bad news is that most of them will never pull out of their decline.

Cheers!

Tom