Reaching a New Generation

Occasionally I will highlight a recently read book that might be of benefit to others in our movement.

I didn't intend for this blog to become a journal of book reviews. But, I do a lot of reading, and can't resist wanting to recommend those writings that others might find helpful.

I almost didn't read Reaching a New Generation. It's one of the many books in my library that I haven't' read (although I'm working on it!) because I tend to acquire books at a faster rate than I can read. What moved this book to the top of my reading list was the author, Alan Roxburgh, who I heard for the first time at a seminar early this year. Roxburgh is one of the most significant leaders in the missional church movement, and is one of its deepest thinkers.

It was probably the title, Reaching a New Generation, and subtitle, "Strategies for Tomorrow's Church" that previously had kept this book lower on the stack. It sounded too much like a book about reaching Gen X'ers (which is why I bought it in the first place a few years back), and I'm tired of "strategy" books full of programs and ideas that are hardly transferable to my setting. Unfortunately, these titles are very poor indicators of what to find between the covers. It's not just about the younger generations, and is weak on what we normally call strategy. A more accurate title would serve the book better.

Reaching a New Generation is a relatively short book (140 pages with notes and index!), but is a rich discussion on the shifts that are taking place in our culture, and how the church can appropriately respond. Certainly other authors have tackled these issues with greater depth, but few have packaged it as succinctly as Roxburgh. After reading this profound book you should not be able to help but ponder on how our theology can speak to the questions being asked with our society.

After describing the changing worldviews around us, and the rejection of modernity and Christianity, Roxburgh asks, "How will the Gospel be Heard?" (page 63). He goes on to emphasize that "the mission strategy for each congregation must, increasingly, be shaped by the values, needs and style of its context" (p. 65). In order to do this we must learn to listen and see what is going in the culture around us, and then construct a local theology that allows us to "learn to read Scripture with the eyes of our context, allowing the Bible to engage the culture and reshape the congregations' self-understanding. Strategies for evangelism grow out of this engagement, as such a gospel encounter calls for the congregation's own transformation and conversion as well as the culture's" (page 73).

But, this book is not an abstract discussion. Roxburgh goes on to apply these insights to three of the most significant trends emerging in our society: the ecological crisis, the hunger for community, and the quest for spiritual transcendence. Those living in insulated Christian sub-cultures may have trouble seeing the primacy of these issues, but an honest look around us will show that Roxburgh is both accurate in his assessments and insightful in his theology.

If you are at all concerned about the mission of the church, this is one of the books to add to your reading list and to actually read!