Church 3.0: Upgrades for the Future of the Church
When Neil Cole's best-selling book Organic Church was first published, it described one of the fastest growing and most innovative segments of contemporary Christianity.In Church 3.0, Cole makes the argument that Christianity needs more than new programs, buildings, or worship formats. It needs a complete upgrade to a new operating system. The early church shifted to a more institutional form in 300 ad and has been stuck in the 2.0 operating system ever since. We are overdue for the next upgrade. Church 3.0 discusses issues such as how to deal with heresy, how to handle finances, what to do with children, and what to do with worship, rituals, and ordinances. Even the most enthusiastic proponents and practitioners of organic churches often wonder how to handle such matters in a faithful way.Organic churches demand a shift from a program-driven and clergy-led institutionalized approach to one that is relational, simple, intimate, and viral in the way it spreads. Instead of seeing church as something that serves its people, church becomes people who serve God, one another, and a hurting world. Church is no longer an event to be at, but a family to be part of. Church is not a program to reach out to the world, but a people that bring God with them to the world.Based on Cole's extensive experience in starting, nurturing, and mentoring thousands of churches, Church 3.0 offers insight and information about how to make this shift to a more organic form of church. Church 3.0 is an insider's look at the important considerations necessary to release spontaneous church multiplication movements in a Western context.