cover image The Great Evangelical Recession: Six Factors That Will Crash the American Church%E2%80%A6and How to Prepare

The Great Evangelical Recession: Six Factors That Will Crash the American Church%E2%80%A6and How to Prepare

John S. Dickerson. Baker, $14.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-8010-1483-3

An investigative journalist and evangelical pastor, Dickerson is acerbic in his first book, identifying six alarming aspects of evangelical Christian decline in the United States. He asserts that the greater evangelical bloc has inflated its statistics, is going bankrupt, attracting hatred from society, dividing internally, losing young members, and sputtering in making new followers of Jesus. After addressing these pressing problems, he identifies six counter-measures to resurrect the movement. He suggests that re-valuing ministry for the 21st century; making churches financially solvent in a changing economy; doing good; uniting diverse streams of evangelicalism; and healing wounds by re-igniting individual discipleship will transform the current bleak landscape. While his facts may be accurate, he relies too heavily on only one or two research organizations. He takes a myopic view of Christianity in the U.S., equating Christianity as a whole with evangelicalism and neglecting minorities in favor of statistics on white evangelicals. Additionally, he makes too much of homosexuality, framing it as the cultural issue that evangelicals must address. While the latter half of the book is prudent and he has some good observations, it lacks even-handed ministerial insight. Agent: Wes Yoder (Jan.)