Mainline Manifesto: The Inevitable New Church
by Charles Denison
Category: Social Science

This book is indeed a manifesto with a passionate style that is never preachy or condemning, but full of hope and excitement about the future of mainline congregations. Its underlying premise is that God will always have a people, that Christians will always come together to worship and to do God's work in the world. Denison argues that the future of the church lies not in just replacing the WWII generation with GenXers or younger people within its present structure. Mainline congregations must envision their part in a new church, one that calls forth new mission leaders to model the incarnational style of Jesus. God is not unpopular among younger generations, with 90 percent of Americans professing a belief in God. In this rousing call to hope, Denison lays out a plan for connecting that 90 percent with God through Jesus as he sets forth a positive agenda for communicating the relevance of the mainline tradition's message.