Historical Drift: Must My Church Die?

by Arnold L. Cook

Historical Drift is a book for leaders. As a pastor, missionary, professor and president of one of Canada's fastest growing denominations, Arnold Cook defines historical drift as the tendency of churches to, over time, move way from their original moorings, with the result that vision dims, core values shift and passion fades.

The idea of historical drift is not new. John Wesley decried the continual decay of pure religion, and one unidentified bishop suggested that all Christian organizations should be scrapped every 100 years.

But why focus on the darker side of the Church? With no ambivalence about the triumphant future of the Church -- capital C, Cook's concern is for the earthly reflection -- churches, small c. What options are there for survival in the seemingly unstoppable currents that push and pull them?

Obviously, one response, notes Cook, would be to celebrate drift, to bring on the new wineskins. That option, in his opinion, conflicts with certain basic scriptural ideas. The other response would be to recognize the eventuality and to set in place those things that would impede such a current.

Cook's call is for leaders who understand their times will move Christ's Church forward with strength and spiritual integrity.

Generously illustrated with vignettes from around the world, Historical Drift presents a thorough, scholarly yet realistic perspective on how to define, diagnose, detect, impede and reverse historical drift that Church leaders of every level will welcome.

Genres: Spirituality

346 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Austin Fiedor]

Some great takeaways, and I like how this book went outside of the realm of just successful churches, and rather, looked at both long standing churches and long standing businesses. The strategy overlap was more than you would expect. Unfortunately the book became redundant towards the conclusion and I don’t think it referenced scripture or early church history enough. Worth the read

[Rocco]

Erg fijn boek om te lezen.
Dr. Cook (oud-voorzitter van de Alliance World Fellowship) legt de vinger op de zere plek. De gemeentegroei-beweging heeft ons veel goeds gebracht, maar ook niet alles wat er te vinden is. Voor een 'genuine revival' is meer nodig. Dr. Cook spreekt uit zijn jarenlange ervaring waarin hij als zendeling onderdeel is geweest van de revival in Lima (Peru). Hij komt met handige diagnostische tips en met checklisten die nodig zijn voor een persoonlijke revival, want zo zegt hij: revival begint bij de eenlingen, niet bij de massa. Ik beveel het van harte aan, bij eenieder met een C&MA-hart, maar de boodschap van Cook reikt verder dan alleen de eigen denominatie.

[Floyd]

A meaningful book on recognizing spiritual drift and what to do to prevent it from happening. This is also a good reminder of how easily we can drift from the solid rock we find in Christ and in his Word.