Baal and the Gods of More: Rescuing Church Growth from Idolatry

Why the Endless Pursuit of "More" Won't Save the Church In this moment of church decline, we often believe that what will save us is getting more--more people, more influence, more reach, more money. But this modern temptation opens us up to an ancient idolatry. This book reorients us toward a deeper relational and theological way of thinking about the future. "Root delivers a stinging rebuke to Western Protestantism, exposing how our fixation on growth has succumbed to a relentless logic of escalation that mirrors the ancient worship of Baal. He argues that our frantic obsessions with innovation and identity politics are merely two sides of the same capitalist coin, driving the church to trade the obedience of faith for the exhausting pursuit of 'doing better.' Root calls leaders to look to Mary as the clearest teacher of a noninstrumental, relational ecclesiology revealed in the scandalous weakness of the cross." -- Gerardo Martí , Davidson College; coauthor of The Church Must Grow or Perish: Robert H. Schuller and the Business of American Christianity "Root interrogates the pastoral temptation to turn from Christ toward the market ideology of escalation as a means of salvation for our congregations. Drawing on 1-2 Kings, he exposes the seductive allure of modern fertility gods and urges pastors to recognize that these gods cannot produce the deep, abiding sense of God's presence found in relational ministry. Root calls pastors to trust in the God who gives rest, to practice relational ministry as the work of the Spirit, and to believe that such faithfulness is enough." -- Rev. Carol McEntyre , senior minister, First Baptist Greenville, South Carolina "Paul says plainly of the church, 'I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.' Yet few concepts and phrases are as fraught with misunderstanding, idolatrous hopes, and lousy theology as the discourse about church growth. In this tour de force, Root shows how our chasing of the fertility gods ancient and contemporary underwrites a sterile faith. Take and read!" -- Derek Nelson , Wabash College