I hope this doesn't ruin your summer, but here's something you may as
well know.  In the view of some well-known church growth gurus, the Church
as we know it is dramatically changing all over the world.  There's a new
phenomenon burgeoning throughout the world, including the United States,
that could change your approach to church entirely.     
     C. Peter Wagner, professor of church growth at Fuller Theological
Seminary in Pasadena, CA, writes about what he believes to be the crux of
this new movement in his newest book called "Churchquake," (Regal, 1999).
     For nearly 40 years Wagner has traveled the world watching the rhythms
of the church and speaking extensively about church growth.  He's written
more than 40 books along the way.  In "Churchquake," Wagner makes some of
his boldest claims yet.  In short, Wagner argues that as we approach a new
millennium, we are seeing the Church around the world experience an
incredible change into what he calls, "a new apostolic reformation."
     For nearly 500 years Protestant Christian churches largely have
functioned within traditional denominational structures of one kind or
another.  But Wagner says in the last one hundred years, new forms and
operational procedures have begun to emerge in areas such as local church
government, interchurch relationships, financing, evangelism, the role of
the supernatural and leadership selection and training.
     The changes the Church is making around the world in the last decade
are nothing short of breath taking.  Wagner points to at least three
remarkable advances in the world-wide Church.  African Independent churches
are far outstripping the growth of traditional churches.  There are now
some 16,000 independent "denominations."  Second, the house churches in
China are growing, often clandestinely, in unprecedented ways. There are
estimates of 25,000 to 35,000 conversions a day.  And third, there is a
mushrooming of Latin American grassroots churches.
     Conversely, Wagner looks at the traditional denominations in the
United States and sees many of them in the midst of a period of decline and
crisis.  The Episcopal Church, for example, dropped from 3.4 million in
1968 to 2.5 million in 1994; the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) dropped from
4.2 million to 3.7 million in a similar period.
     The growing churches around the world have three distinctives.  They
are intradenominational; they are interdenominational; and they are
extradenominational.  One example of this is the Willow Creek Association,
an alliance spawned by the 18,000 -member Willow Creek Community Church in
Chicago and its leader Bill Hybels.  Willow Creek now provides spiritual
association and direction for thousands of churches in the United States
and internationally -- some of them nondenominational, some of the part of
traditional denominations.
     This new apostolic reformation movement is not a reformation of faith
(the essential theological principles of the Reformation are intact), but a
reformation of practice.  Wagner argues that the current reformation is not
so much against corruption and apostasy, as was true in the 16th century,
as it is against irrelevance.
     What makes this movement new is that there is a tremendously growing
spirit of cooperation and noncompetitiveness among nondenominational,
charismatic and traditional churches.  Churches that are effective in the
new millennium must give up their declaration of independence and make a
declaration of interdependence.  
     Thousands of traditional church leaders are now making their way to
Willow Creek Association conferences and returning home with this phrase on
their lips:  "We've got to make changes or we die."  Todd Hunter, the head
of the Association of Vineyard churches, reports that scores of traditional
denominational executives have approached him and asked for advice.  
     The rule for these new churches and networks, Wagner says, is
"infinite creativity."  What is not open for debate are three theological
norms - The Bible is the absolute authority for faith and practice; Jesus
is Lord and God; and a personal relationship with Christ makes the
difference between heaven and hell. 
     Pastors who cast the vision for these churches are their leaders.  In
effect, the pastors are the CEOs for a church that is largely
purpose-driven.  In some cases, entire coalitions of churches are
accountable to a single leader who exercises general leadership with
extraordinary authority in spiritual matters that is recognized and
appreciated by those churches.  
     These new churches have two other distinctives that push the envelope.
 They always are thinking about evangelism and how to reach the unchurched.
 Second, they reach out by hiring new church staff members who are from
within their local church.  Most are not seminary trained.  The local
Vineyard Christian Fellowship, one of these new apostolic churches, has 8
staff members, none of them seminary trained.  And yet, they attract more
than 1,000 people to services every week.
     Drive to Chicago (South Barrington) early some Sunday morning and
attend the huge Willow Creek mega-church.  Or go to the local Vineyard on
north Lincoln Ave. in Urbana some Sunday.  Get ready to rock with
contemporary music and an informality that you may have never seen before.  
     Wagner, the foremost church-growth predictor in the world, says it is
part and parcel of a new apostolic reformation taking shape on every
continent.


Don Follis is a University of Illinois campus minister.  His column appears
on Fridays.  Reprinted with permission from the Champaign-Urbana
News-Gazette, copyright 1999.