What happens when you begin to question a movement you helped create? That was Todd Wilson’s dilemma as he researched 70 years of the Church Growth Movement. What he thought would be a chapter became an entire book.
Todd is the co-founder and founding CEO of Exponential, so he critiques the Church Growth Movement as one of its leaders. This gives him a unique perspective we need to hear.
I talked with Todd about the content of his new book, How Did We Get Here? Examining 70 Years of the Church Growth Movement, covering topics such as:
- How the modern church has adopted a Consumer-Driven Operating System
- How Donald McGavran’s Church Growth methods and language were co-opted
- Where the “church as business” model came from
- What must come next
And more.
Links
- How Did We Get Here? Examining 70 Years of the Church Growth Movement (Free e-book w registration)
- How Did We Get Here? Examining 70 Years of the Church Growth Movement (On Amazon)
- Multipliers: Leading Beyond Addition (Free e-book)
- Email Todd at [email protected]
- Techsoup.org
- The Unexpected Origins of the Church Growth Movement, with Dr. Gary McIntosh (The Church Lobby, Ep 027)
- De-sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What’s Next (by Karl Vaters)
Bonus Content
12 Dilemmas Within the Church’s Prevailing Operating System, with Todd Wilson
In Todd Wilson’s book, How Did We Get Here? Looking Back to Look Forward, he refers to the current church systems as functioning under a faulty operating system, and he describes 12 dilemmas within that system.
In this subscriber-only content, Karl Vaters talks with Todd about several of the following dilemmas:
1. The Listening Dilemma: Do we start with Holy Spirit discernment or human strategy?
2. The Inheritance Dilemma: What models, systems, and assumptions have we inherited without questioning?
3. The Legacy Dilemma: Is our inherited endgame shaped more by “large” or “saturation”?
4. The Success Dilemma: How does our endgame shape our definition of success?
5. The Mission Dilemma: Are we making converts or disciple-makers?
6. The Lordship Dilemma: Are we making church consumers or surrendered disciples?
7. The Programmatic Growth Dilemma: What is our primary growth engine?
8. The Doctrine Dilemma: Does the Bible or culture shape our worldview?
9. The Volunteer or 3% Dilemma: Are we mobilizing missionaries or recruiting volunteers?
10.The Leadership Dilemma: Does our system rely on all-stars?
11. The Economic Dilemma: Do we have a liberated or resource-dependent financial engine?
12.The Entrenchment Dilemma: Are we immunized from revolutionary change?
The Bonus Content for and other episodes is available on our YouTube channel for financial partners and newsletter subscribers. Click either button to get started.
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Credits
Producer: Veronica Beaver
Editor: Phil Vaters
Music: Composed and performed by Jack Wilkins
Logo: by Solomon Joy
