Aubrey Malphurs is the professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. He has written a number of books on contemporary models of church planting and church revitalization.
His book, A New Kind of Church: Understanding Models of Ministry for the 21st Century
Today, I will offer a brief summary of Malphurs’ argument. Tomorrow, I will offer some strengths and weaknesses to his approach.
Summary
A New Kind of Church is divided into two parts. The first part addresses the changing times in which we live. Malphurs explains why churches find themselves in the position of being forced to adapt to new cultural realities.
He begins by pointing out the ways in which culture has changed:
- People no longer think the way they did fifty years ago.
- Faith is no longer tied to church attendance.
- A diminishing view of Sunday morning as a sacred time (35).
Churches have been too slow to adapt to these new realities. We missed opportunities to reassert the importance of Christian faith (September 11), and despite a few glimmers of hope (the church’s response to Hurricane Katrina), the church has moved toward irrelevance. Add to these problems a general apathy toward evangelism and the picture grows even starker (43).
According to Malphurs, churches must change or die. But many believe that change equals unfaithfulness. Therefore, Malphurs examines the arguments launched against churches that implement new models and methods.
Central to his proposal is the distinction between doctrines and practices. He divides doctrines into “essentials” and “nonessentials.” Churches should be exclusive regarding the essentials and inclusive regarding the nonessentials (51).
The second (longer) half of the book provides information for leaders to help them make wise decisions regarding church models and ministry methods. Malphurs seeks to base his proposals on Scripture. He makes a number of helpful distinctions in the New Testament, showing that not everything described in first-century Christianity is necessarily prescribed in 21st century America (66-68). Likewise, he distinguishes between patterns and principles, showing how we are not bound to the specific patterns of first-century ministries, but to the principles seen in these contexts (70-73).
Next, Malphurs encourages churches to develop a theology of change. Leaders must recognize that the functions of the church are based on the Bible, and therefore, they are timeless, unchanging and nonnegotiable (76-85). However, the forms we use in order to practice these functions are flexible. Churches must exercise freedom in choosing the way in which the functions are to be accomplished (85-92).
Malphurs also challenges churches to develop a theology of culture. It is important to understand a culture before we can effectively reach people for Christ. He defines culture as “the sum total of what people believe and how they act on their beliefs” (98). Malphurs warns us against isolation or accommodation, and instead encourages us to contextualize the unchanging gospel in an ever-changing world (102-108).
In Malphurs’ understanding, the church is “an indispensable gathering of professing believers in Christ who, under leadership, are organized to pursue its functions to accomplish its purpose” (117). He spends an entire chapter unpacking that definition and defending its usefulness.
In the last section of the book, Malphurs encourages the church to serve the surrounding community as an expression of faithfulness to Jesus (127-34). He also challenges churches to think through issues of form and function. Critics of new-model churches should avoid sweeping generalizations and the impugning of others’ motives (151-9). The final chapter offers tips to pastors thinking of leading their church to develop new models and methods (163-80).
Tomorrow, I will list some strengths and weaknesses to Malphurs’ approach.
