The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church...and How to Prepare
The American church is on the precipice of a spiritual recession.Our overall membership is shrinking. Young Christians are fleeing. Our donations are drying up. Political fervor is dividing us. Even as these crises eat at the church internally, the once friendly host culture of the United States is quickly turning hostile and antagonistic. How can we avoid a devastating collapse?InThe Great Evangelical Recession, award-winning journalist and pastor John Dickerson identifies six factors that are radically eroding the American church and offers biblical solutions to prepare us for spiritual success, even in the face of alarming trends.If you care about the state of the church in America, this is both your wake-up call and your road map to genuine hope."A brilliant book. A must-read for any Christian hoping to see their faith regain traction in a changing world."--Gabe Lyons, author,The Next Christians; founder, Q Ideas"John Dickerson is that rarity among evangelicals--a journalist of the highest capacity, but more than that, an analyst of breadth, insight, and laser-sharp foresight. With persuasive force, his book portrays the future status and functioning of the church in a national culture that is alienated from Christianity. Few writers can gather, process, distill, and apply a host of facts with the precision of John Dickerson."--John McCandlish Phillips, veteranNew York Timesjournalist and author"An important book that every believer should not only read but heed."--Cal Thomas,USA Todaycolumnist and Fox News personality"John Dickerson has pulled together some sobering statistics and laid out a biblical game plan for dealing with the inevitable cultural changes that lie ahead. These aren't changes that might occur. They are changes that have occurred (the horse-is-already-out-of-the-barn-type changes). I would encourage every Christian leader to read, ponder, and consider the facts and the strategies John presents inThe Great Evangelical Recession. It will help prepare you for the future."--Larry Osborne, pastor and author, North Coast Church, Vista CA"Nobody likes getting a bad diagnosis--whether it's medical, financial, or spiritual. But once we get past the reality that things aren't the way we thought they were, we're actually in the best position to turn our circumstances around for the good. John Dickerson's workup on the health and welfare of the evangelical cause may jolt your spiritual senses, but he's followed it up with a prescription that will work. There's no gloom or doom inThe Great Evangelical Recession--just an honest assessment of where we are and solid hope for what we need to do to get to where we need to be."--Dr. Tim Kimmel, author ofGrace-Based ParentingandIn Praise of Plan B"The Great Evangelical Recessionhas gone a long way in contextualizing the plight of the church in today's culture. There is no question that the church has weakened over these last few decades, and before we can expect our Lord to bring healing and revitalization to its health, there must be a humble truthfulness to our condition. John Dickerson's work has served us well in bringing sense to what brought us to this point and providing honest reflection upon it. I believe we could once again see a dynamic and powerful witness to our world from believers honoring their Lord and bringing glory to their heavenly Father."--Dr. Darryl DelHousaye, president of Phoenix Seminary