Ministry as Usual?

More from David Wells' Above All Earthly Pow'rs:

"...the relation of Christ to non-Christian religions, as well as to these personally constructed spiritualities, is no longer a matter of theorizing from a safe distance but rather a matter of daily encounter in neighborhoods, in schools, at work, a the gas station, and at the supermarket" (5).

In other words, for some time now we've been unable to minister with the assumption that the people in our environments have the same basic worldview as we do.

Therefore, church leaders and pastors must take this new religious milieu into account when "doing church," which means well-thought out and well-prayed over training, as early as elementary school, in what the Bible teaches (doctrine) and why we believe it (apologetics).

If we treat ministry as (1) business as usual in "Christian America" or (2) if we market Christianity based on the preferences of religious consumers (e.g., the seeker and emergent movements), then I think Christianity in America will become the Christianity of Europe--weak, heretical and irrelevant.