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

Summary

How should we think about church growth in our current cultural moment?

The golden era ushered in by the industrial revolution led the Protestant church in America to experience unprecedented growth and prosperity in the twentieth century. This environment has formed our understanding of and dependence on growth for stabilization: It's assumed that if we aren't growing, we are stagnant at best, and declining at worst.

In Baal and the Gods of More, leading practical theologian Andrew Root challenges our assumptions about growth, offering a deep analysis through the lenses of cultural philosophy, economic theory, and theological examination. Turning to 1 and 2 Kings, he shows that our desire for growth is an idolatry that mirrors the ancient idolatry of the Israelites in their worship of Baal and other fertility gods.

Baal and the Gods of More argues that looking to innovation, creativity, and other secular methodologies in the endless pursuit of "more"—more influence, more people, more reach, more money—-will not save the church. Instead, the church needs to return to dependence on divine action and a relational encounter with the Word.