“It is no secret that the organised church is in trouble” is a generalisation and an overstatement.
Coleman writes in his foreword, “...ecclesiastical programs and membership promotions have been mistaken for fulfilling the great commission”
My immediate reaction is that this is an overstatement but...
- When we can’t explain why we have to have a youth group (or Sunday School) but we just know we have to...
- When we are glad to see someone coming to church, as if that is enough, or as if it’s a substitute for faithful living instead of just a component of faithful living...
I agree with your comments and the statement in the book. I think that Sunday school is perhaps a closer representation of the great commission. I define a Christian disciple not as a "convert" but rather as a student who receives regular teaching and demonstrations on faith from a Christian teacher (just as Jesus was refered to as a teacher). Every Christian parent who constantly and deliberate teaches and demonstrates their faith in Christ to their children is engaged in making disciples.
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