is comfort what we really want?

This weekend I finished reading Pierre Berton's, "The Comfortable Pew." Written in 1965 and commissioned by the Anglican Church of Canada, this book is: 'a critical look at the Church in the New Age' (that age being the mid-1960's). The scary thing is, most of his critiques of the church are just as applicable today, so I strongly recommend reading it if you're at all concerned about the current state of the Church and where we Christians are headed. I thought I'd just share a few quotes:

"In short, the maintenance of the religious establishment has become an end in itself and not a means, something more important than Christian principle, Christian action, or even real Christian brotherhood." (p.82) is it possible that if we focused on mission outside the walls of 'the church' as opposed to institutional survival that we would in fact succeed in surviving?

and

"When Christianity becomes part of the religious and social establishment, when it weaves itself into the national creed, it becomes an inflexible religion, suffering truly from a kind of 'rightness' that renders it disdainful of new conditions, mores, habits, or attitudes. It looks back upon the past rather than forward into the future, until it becomes itself fossilized, using symbols and language no longer appropriate for its place and time." (p. 101)i think that the church has in fact been making some strides in regards to this matter, but of course there is still plenty of room for improvement.

In a nutshell, Berton argues that the Church is out of touch with the world and by ignoring the reality of its context, it is ensuring that it remains irrelevant. Since when was Christianity about upholding the status quo? The mainline churches in Canada are undeniably declining in their membership and their cultural, social and political influence. How can we change our old ways to address this new reality in a way that is in tune with the spirit? Read this book...