Monday, July 18, 2011

Congregationally Shaped Christians

"Most evangelical Christians today seem to treat their church as one more thing to help out their Christian life, perhaps along with this Bible study, that music, those authors, this retreat, and keeping a journal. In other words, the Christian conceives of his or her spiritual life as fundamentally one's own business, managed by selecting among various helps. This approach contrasts with an older and more biblical way of thinking about the Christian life that is congregationally shaped, where the demands of the gospel are made concrete in a particular local church."

--Mark Dever, "The Church," in A Theology for the Church