critique of the church-growth movement of the 1980's. One reviewer at the time
called this treatise "a timely indictment of a secularized evangelicalism that prizes
success and worldly acclaim over theology and biblical fidelity." However one
sized up his overall assessment of the church's compromise with modernity, it
was difficult to gainsay Guinness's alarm with an evangelical movement whose
"theological understanding", he wrote, "is superficial." His much debated
contention was that, "Today theology is rarely more than marginal in the church-
growth movement at the popular level. Discussion of the traditional marks of the
church is virtually nonexistent. Instead, methodology is at the center and in
control. The result is a methodology only occasionally in search of a theology."
Throughout the 1990's a stream of books appeared, treating this same concern,
making a credible case for the argument that evangelicalism has loosened its
grip on its historic theological center. Many of these voices point out that this
development has shown itself most alarmingly in the ministry of the church.
If the evangelical ministry landscape has shifted in some ways that call its
evangelical character into question, where do we look for the subterranean fault
lines that lie at the cause? Many attempts to answer this question have
converged on a common cause, identified one way or another as "modernity."
More specifically, on the church's uncritical adoption of the "tools of modernity,"
the most noteworthy being the tools of management, marketing, and
communication. Some have said that "our uncritical embrace of modernity is
destroying our ability to shape our lives around biblical truth."
achieve ministry results acclaimed as successful, have we consciously or
unconsciously turned to means and methodologies more informed by alien
philosophies, theories, and values than by divinely revealed truth?
At the same time, other criticisms of the church and its ministry have grown
alongside the sweeping intellectual and cultural currents of so-called
postmodernism, including criticism of the church for failing to restructure its
ministries and methods in ways that will connect with a postmodern world.
A corollary of our first proposition--that evangelical ministry is inextricably linked
to and shaped by sound theology--is this: Sound theology must always work its
way toward its intended end, namely transformational ministry. The central
purpose of theology lies in its ultimate outworking in ministry. The contours of
evangelical ministry, rightly shaped, are indeed theological contours. A recent
writer observed that the sixteenth century Reformation began as a movement to
purify the church of corrupt practices--that is, invalid ministry. Theology has the
power to influence action--and only good theology will empower good ministry.
We should be alert today to whatever forces compete with biblical truth to shape
our ministry. This includes an awareness of the impact that practice can and