Product Description

"A theology which comes pre-packaged, and in which there are no loose ends, is not true to life nor can it adequately reflect the richness of the Gospel." Why are churches struggling to maintain credibility in a culture in which there are more spiritual seekers than at any time in living memory? John Drane believes that churches have become stereotyped structures, offering uninventive formulaic worship to a dwindling minority. But there are exciting opportunities for growth, he argues, if only churches will rediscover their own creativity and flexibility. If only they will offer something more nourishing for post-modern spiritual appetites than the equivalent of fast food.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #465448 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 215 pages

About the Author
John Drane is Head of Pratical Theology in the Department of Divinity at the University of Aberdeen. He is the author of "What is the New Age Still Saying to the Church?" and "Biblical Faith and Cultural Change."

Customer Reviews

Challenging, Thought-Provoking & Readable!
John Drane takes George Ritzer's McDonaldization theory of contemporary society ('The McDonaldization Of Society') and applies it to the church.

The McDonaldization of society is the view that corporations are trying to fit us into a pre-packaged rationalist system, left over from the modernist age, despite our post-modernist veneer. Drane's contention is that the church (which should be challenging and liberating) is essentially trying to do the same. That we are haemorrhaging congregations because, in this post-modernist world, people value choice and do not want to be boxed in to the limited choices that the church provides.

In doing this, Drane is not merely targeting one form of churchmanship. McDonaldized formulae transcend cultural barriers, so that an evangelical setting with a pastor talking from the front each week is as formulaic, in his view, as a high church service with carefully scripted liturgy.

This is a very personal book and Drane begins by explaining his own position as an optimist, despite the critical tone of much of the rest. The hyphen in post-modernism is important to him, because he suggests that we are living in a world that has moved on from modernism, with its belief in absolute answers for everything. But he does not view post-modernism as a movement its own right, merely a stage on a journey to somewhere else. And he rejects the conventional postmodernist view that we live in a society that has no need of meta-narratives.

In chapter 2, he moves on to look at the way we have caged ourselves in to rationalised systems in the workplace and therefore value our human freedom even more in our leisure activities (which includes church - or the choice not to go to church).

He then views the specifics of McDonaldized rationalism (as defined by Ritzer) and applies them to the church Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability and Control. Here he challenges Ritzer's view of McDonaldization as a purely modern phenomenon, pointing out that the church effectively invented globilization, with the conversion of Emperor Constantine in 312 AD.

As an optimist, Drane goes on to ask who the church could reach, if only we would change our ways. He identifies 7 people groups (whilst acknowledging the irony of this rationalist pigeonholing of people): The desperate poor, hedonists, traditionalists, spiritual searchers, corporate achievers, secularists, the apathetic. Of these, only the traditionalists and the corporate achievers are attracted by the rationalist structure of the church and the latter are not being challenged by it.

He then focuses on the McDonaldized way that we celebrate our faith, looking beyond simple issues of worship 'style' to address the ways in which we use our worship space, and the potential (and biblical imperative) for movement in worship. This leads on to a chapter on mime as prophetic witness (firmly biblical) and clowning (which I didn't find quite so convincing, but maybe that's just me). Finally, in this group, a chapter on telling the Christian story to a culture that has come to value story over abstract concepts - which also addresses the issue of why McDonalds itself has thrived when the McDonaldized church is ailing.

Drane concludes with a chapter that looks at the church of the future, through community & mystery, words & images and mission. Drane resists providing a prescriptive blueprint, but highlights strengths that the church would do well to play to.

This book is well-written and engaging and provides a broad view of the church and the world through which it moves. There is much to consider here and many jumping off points for churches to discuss their own positions. My only criticisms would be that some aspects of the personal journey that Drane is undoubtedly on do not convince me (clowning) and the references to the novels of Douglas Coupland (which I have never read) do not seem to add very much. Even so, I have no hesitation in recommending this challenging and thought-provoking book.