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| The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World | 
 enlarge | Author: David Wells
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 8935
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 253
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0802840078
Dewey Decimal Number: 230.4
EAN: 9780802840073
ASIN: 0802840078
Publication Date: April 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
the courage to write this book July 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
i didn't agree with everything, but the primary point is a good one. there are some things that should/must never be neglected. the book took courage to write, and will take courage to apply. however we must also find the courage to listen to what emergents are telling us. combining those two messages may just lead to something spectacular.
 Disappointing work from a scholar past his apex June 21, 2008
11 out of 27 found this review helpful
This book, more than his other works, highlights Wells' strengths and weaknesses. He is at his best when diagnosing the manner in which mass culture has twisted Protestant orthodoxy into an entertainment-oriented program directed at parishoners' health, wealth, and happiness. This has been a theme in Wells' work ever since "No Place for Truth." The rubric that Wells developed in that first book still provides a useful tool for diagnosing the problems of those whom he calls the "marketers."
The rubric comes up short in examining those whom Wells identifies as "truth-seekers" and "emergents." Wells is correct in pointing out that some "emergents" care little for notions of truth. Nevertheless, he glosses over the fact that many emergents or quasi-emergents care deeply about truth. These "truth-seeking emergents" simply reject Wells' foundationalist epistemology. Thus, he draws a sharp line between truth-seekers and emergents that does not exist in reality.
Moreover, Wells fails to give any attention to the apparent implosion of the "truth-seeker" movement. "Truth-seekers" in conservative Reformed circles have spent much of the past decade turning their swords on each other on issues ranging from young-earth creationism to different articulations of the doctrine of justification. Thus, truth-seekers have had difficulty resisting the urge to draw battle lines over every difference -- whether central to Reformed orthodoxy or not. Moreover, Wells ignores the recent prevalence of "worldview" epistemology among those whom he calls "truth-seekers." This "worldview" epistemology drinks heavily from the same Kantian and Hegelian well that provides a partial source for Continental post-modern thought.
In short, in contrasting "truth-seekers" and "emergents," Wells seems to have no sense of the epistemic contours that are at play. Most "emergents" are not as post-modern as Wells supposes, while most "truth-seekers" are much more post-modern than Wells supposes. In many ways, Wells' truth-based rubric is simply not a useful metric for distinguishing "emergents" from "truth-seekers" -- if such an undertaking is even warranted. In many ways, the differences between the two groups probably relate more to age and sociology than to epistemology. Wells fails to account for this.
Just re-read "No Place for Truth" and save your money.
A Gentleman and a Scholar June 18, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The last quarter century of church growth methodology has left something of a burnt over stain on the evangelical church. Regrettably, many today crinkle their brow at doctrine as if it is some type of family secret that we try not to think too much about. How in the world have we gotten to the point where marketing and entertainment are pursued and embraced with the fervency that our forefathers clung to theology, prayer and preaching?
Enter David Wells. Wells is, among other things a very smart man. He is an astute observer of what is happening in our day and helpfully contextualizes this movement within its overall historical development. Wells has written extensively on this subject in his previous books, No Place for Truth, God in the Wasteland, Losing Our Virtue, and Above All Eartly Pow'rs. The Courage to Be Protestant builds on these previous works in his traditional Jeremiad tone.
The first 57 pages are outstanding. Wells writes with his usual clarity, biblical faithfulness, and subtly sarcastic humor. If you have ever wondered how gentlemen argue passionately while maintaining their status as a gentleman read Wells. He just does a fantastic job connecting the theological dots of where we have come from in evangelicalism. Wells contends that in all of our zeal to reach the unchurched, we are unchurching the reached.
Wells also spends some time in the ring with the folks in the emerging movement. He sees much of this as a reincarnation of `old liberalism' that never fully died anyway. It is helpful to read Wells and see the theological continuity between today's emerging church and those in the early 1900's.
There is little doubt that Wells is fed up, and rightly so. He sees little hope to rescue the term evangelical and instead opts for the recovery of the term Protestant. He sees this term more rooted in Reformational truths (ie Scripture) rather than a movement of people that are about a movement of people.
The rest of the book interacts with the contemporary theological and philosophical worldview. I wish I could say it was as interesting as the first two chapters. While there are a lot of helpful chapters, I felt the book dropped off a bit after page 57.
The first two chapters make the book a must read for pastors. Wells puts on a clinic in logic, theology, observing church history and connecting the (painful) dots.
 Very clear, organized analysis of the failing American church June 9, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I could have killed a pack of highlighters on this well-written book. This is a biblically sound indictment of modern "christianity". The author does a nice job covering the predominant movements of the last few decades in a complete yet digestible way. From the seeker-sensitive to the "emergent" movement, this is a call to decide what true Christianity is really about. Why do we believe what we believe? How does the bible define repentance and faith. And how have we confused ourselves into masking our American humanism in evangelical terms. We have lost our relevance in today's society, not because we don't relate to the fashions and trends but because we have forgotten what the gospel really is and how timelessly relevant it is.
More great insights from Wells May 26, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
David Wells has trained his incisive intellect on the big issues of theology, the life of the church, and the state of contemporary culture for decades now. A theologian with a keen interest in how the church is faring in modern culture, Wells has written much about these vital themes.
Indeed, his previous four volumes on these themes have all been very important contributions to the field. Specifically, No Place for Truth (1993), God in the Wasteland (1994), Losing Our Virtue (1998), and Above All Earthly Pow'rs (2005) have offered detailed assessments of, and reflection on, the crisis of truth in the life of the church, the rise of the therapeutic culture, and the decline of the Evangelical church.
This newest volume continues to explore these themes, and serves as sort of a summary volume for the preceding four. One difference is that, unlike the others, no footnotes or bibliography is included here. Otherwise it takes up where the others have left off, and explores some more recent developments, such as the rise of the emerging church movement, and its postmodern tendencies.
All of these themes - and more - are carefully examined in this very important volume. Wells is a theology lecturer, so his first love and concern is the vital role theology and teaching play in the life of the church. But he is also a careful student of culture, and is able to both discern the various cultural trends, and to note their impact on the church.
Thus he really offers a sort of prophetic perspective on the church, calling it back to its roots, and warning of where and when it strays from its moorings. Consider how the church has so strongly mirrored the world in the way it views success in terms of marketing strategies, numbers, and sales pitches.
In his chapter on the marketing of the gospel, Wells argues that what we have is `Christianity for sale'. As any good marketer knows, the customer is king, so give them what they want. That may work well in secular businesses, but it is disastrous for the church of Jesus Christ.
Christianity is about who God is, and what he thinks. It is not about us. But modern evangelical megachurches and seeker-sensitive services tend to get it back to front. We put the seeker in the primary place, and God is lucky if he even gets second spot.
Says Wells, all this does is produce a "Christianity lite" church. All it offers is a watered down, weak, anaemic and seeker-friendly gospel; one that does not make any demands on us, or expect us to actually change in any way. It is all about what benefits the consumer can get out of the deal.
The problem with this is those attending such churches "are now like any other customers you might find in the mall. Displease them in any way and they will take their business elsewhere". So the pressure is on church leaders to make things consumer friendly - just like outside the church. So they get rid of the pews, the crosses, the preaching, the old hymns, and so on
Entertainment and therapy are offered instead, and the gospel gets watered down so as not to offend. So instead of hearing about sin separating us from a holy God, and worthy of punishment, unless a substitute is found to take our place, we hear instead about what we like most: ourselves.
We hear about how we can be better selves. We learn about self-esteem and self-fulfilment and self-actualisation. It is all devoted to self, and Christ and the cross are relegated to the sidelines. "Make it as easy on the mind as a relaxing show on television. Only give something that works. Do not talk doctrine. Do not hold forth about anything that takes serious effort to believe. Do not sound churchy."
What is left is simply a religious version of the world. Instead of "sola Scriptura", all we really have is "sola cultura". The surrounding culture has won, and the church has simply become a pale imitation of it.
Obviously in such a setting, truth becomes a major casualty, as does doctrine, church discipline, the preaching of the Word, discipleship, and the demands for holiness. Instead the whole package becomes centred on us: our wants, our needs, our longings.
We forget about what God wants of us, demands of us. We forget about the costly nature of Christ's sacrifice for us, and the call for us to imitate our master. Gone are the notions of self-denial, taking up our cross, and following Jesus. In their place we have a self-centred gospel that put us at the centre of attention.
In seeking to be relevant and seeker-sensitive (which is not a bad thing in itself), we have simply truncated the gospel and sold our spiritual birthright. Business and marketing techniques have their place in the world of commerce, but not in the church.
Only by letting God be God, and letting the Gospel once again shine through our teaching and our lives, will we be able to really impact a needy world. Gimmicks and techniques will not cut it. The vision of the Reformers, based as it was on the person and work of Christ, and the authority of Scripture, must be our central focus. Everything else is just a distraction.
David Wells is to be congratulated for reminding us of these timely truths. It is simply basic Christianity that he is reminding us of. But when the basics have been lost, then they need to be reaffirmed loudly and clearly. And Wells has done just that in this invaluable book.
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