Four or five years ago Fowler addressed the North American Professors of Christian Education meeting. The night before he spoke he heard Perry Downs present the ideas of James Fowler. The faith development guru was pleasantly pleased with Downs's grasp and objectivity regarding his constructs and insights. The same grace and precision are evident. In addition, Downs forthrightly states some of his own growth pains in terms of the stages of faith development.
Fowler is evaluated fairly but objectively from the viewpoint of evangelical theology.
This may be the finest part of the volume. Not all evangelicals will agree with Downs's evaluation. He valued the pulpit ministry, but also understood the weaknesses of preaching as the primary mode of educating his congregation theologically. Downs comes down hard for the teaching of Scripture if our congregations are going to be virile and dynamic and healthy. Richard Baxter kept careful records on what each person had learned, so that his or her knowledge might develop in systematic ways.