A new book is on it's way to me -- thanks in part to Len at NextReformation.com. In his Thursday, August 19th post, evaluating a recent exchange between Brian McLaren and Dr. Duane Litfin (President, Wheaton), he interjects a fantastic quote from The Present Future, by Reggie McNeal:

"We have a church in North American that is more secular than the culture. Just when the church adopted a business model, the culture went looking for God. Just when the church embraced strategic planning (linear and Newtonian), the universe shifted to preparedness (loopy and quantum). Just when the church began building recreation centers, the culture began a search for sacred space. Church people still think that secularism holds sway and that people outside the church have trouble connecting to God. The problem is that when people come to church, expecting to find God, they often encounter a religious club holding a meeting where God is conspicuously absent. It may feel like a self-help seminar or even a political rally. But if pre-Christians came expecting to find God -- sorry! They may experience more spiritual energy at a U2 concert or listening to a Creed CD."

It feels as if the Church has lost it's prophetic gift and voice in relation to the culture-at-large. Instead of being that community-in-the-Holy-Spirit which forsees and anticipates and boldly steps out to lead -- the Church largely continues to function in "copy-cat" mode.

Does this bother anyone?