Reader recommendations from the back cover:
It is the author’s thesis that Church Growth is rooted in Reformed theology that misshapes the law and the gospel of Scriptures. The movement should not be thought of as being inconsistent. The inconsistency, rather, rests with Lutherans whose law-gospel theology is poles apart from Reformed theology, but who buy into Church Growth despite the incompatibility. The book reaches far beyond vague generalities and deals pointedly with the nitty-gritty of “Church Growth’s felt needs” and “Church Growth Science.” Professor E. C. Fredrich
Koester exposes the roots of Church Growth with its central focus on man’s innate desire to live a happy moral life and his ability to “decide for Christ.” Koester commends the theology of the cross with its centrality in the justification of the sinner through faith in Christ and the use of the means of grace. He demonstrates that theology and methodology are bound together, that people who are led into the church through Church Growth methods may be disappointed by the law and gospel message of confessional Lutheranism. Rev. J. Kincaid Smith
