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How do congregations and culture affect each other? Examine such issues as globalization, consumerism, disengagement, and pluralism--and explore their impact on your congregation's ministries.
RELIGION IN AMERICA : Cultural Trends
  Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (Book)
Robert D. Putnam, Author.
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Robert Putnam connects the declines in congregational membership with other social and civic disengagements in our culture.
The Divine Deli: Religious Identity in the North American Cultural Mosaic (Book)
John H. Berthrong, Author.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999.
The Divine Deli, which relies as much on personal experience as scholarship, is a provocative inquiry into such thought-provoking questions as: Is "deli-style" religion really religion at all?
Globalization at What Price? (Book)
Pamela K. Brubaker, Author.
Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2001.
In Globalization at What Price?, Pamela Brubaker attempts to make the human impact of globalization meaningful by examining its effects on people's daily lives and ethical choices.
The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why (Book)
Phyllis Tickle, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2008.
Phyllis Tickle places emergent Christianity in historical context and highlights some of its key qualities—including its appreciation for narrative and paradox.
Mustard Seed Vs. McWorld: Reinventing Life and Faith for the Future (Book)
Tom Sine, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1999.
The author asserts that as individuals, families, churches, and communities find themselves driven by the economic and technologic imperatives of globalization, the resultant values are often in conflict with the essence of the gospel.
A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation (Book)
Diana L. Eck, Author.
San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.
A New Religious American can help congregations understand the new religious pluralism in the United States as well as the basic tenets of principal faiths outside of Judaism and Christianity.
  "So That..."—Leadership, Accountability, and The Future Church (Web Resource)
Weems’ work brings together experience with young clergy, youth ministry, and the future of the church. This interview draws on his research and current trends in business and academic leadership thinking, offering new thoughts on leadership.
American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon (Book)
Stephen Prothero, Author.
New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Stephen Prothero examines the centrality of Jesus—as well as the unique ways Jesus has been viewed—in American religious history, American popular culture, and the practices of non-Christian faiths in America.
The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty (Book)
David G. Myers, Author.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001.
The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty is David Myers’ tale of America’s material wealth and spiritual want.
Border Crossings: Christian Trespasses on Popular Culture and Public Affairs (Book)
Rodney Clapp, Author.
Brazos Press, 2000.
Rodney Clapp warns congregations to resist the language and forms of consumer culture lest they compromise the gospel in their quest to reach the unchurched.
Brave New Church: What the Future Holds (Book)
Richard Kew, Author.
Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2001.
Author and conservative Episcopal priest Richard Kew presents ten trends that he believes will affect Christian lives and ministries during the next ten to twenty years.
The Church as Counterculture (Book)
Micheal L. Budde, Robert W. Brimlow, Editors.
State University of New York Press, 2000.
The Church as Counterculture is a collection of ten essays by authors who speak prophetically about congregational identity, purpose and organization.
The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religion (Book)
Stephen L. Carter, Author.
Anchor Books, 1993.
Concerned about the status of religion in America, Stephen Carter argues for taking religion seriously in the public arena—particularly because millions of Americans insist that religion is for them of first importance.
Death of the Church (Book)
Mike Regele, Mark Schulz, Authors.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.
Death of the Church explores why and how our institutionalized churches must die now to be reborn as a vital source of meaning for Americans in the coming century.
The De-Voicing of Society: Why We Don't Talk to Each Other Anymore (Book)
John L. Locke, Author.
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
The title and subtitle of John Locke’s provocative book express his central argument and indictment: that e-mail, voice mail, the Internet, and technomania are making us into a society of strangers.
The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations (Book)
Jonathan Sacks, Author.
New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003.
This book analyzes the impact of globalization on the world. The author examines moral dimensions that should guide the globalization process: control, contribution, compassion, creativity, co-operation, conservation, and conciliation.
Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures (Book)
Eddie Gibbs, Ryan K. Bolger, Authors.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2005.
Based on five years of research that includes conversation with 50 congregational leaders, researchers share the top nine practices of "emergent" churches along with examples of emergent church characteristics and quotes from their leaders.
The End of Words: The Language of Reconciliation in a Culture of Violence (Book)
Richard Lischer, Author.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005.
In this volume, Richard Lischer challenges pastors to become more faithful preachers by returning to the basics of reading scripture, narrating its unique story, and becoming an active player in that ongoing drama.
The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew—Three Women Search for Understanding (Book)
Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner, Authors.
Free Press, 2006.
What began as a collaboration on a children’s book based on the Abrahamic religions evolved into a personal faith exploration. Three mothers, who formed a Faith Club, share their journeys, weaving a rich tapestry of interfaith understanding.
Faith Communities Today (FACT) (Web Resource)
Hartford, CT: Hartford Institute for Religion Research
Sponsored by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, the Faith Communities Today (or FACT) study analyzes congregational values and activities across 41 faith groups.
 Living into the New World: How Cultural Trends Affect Your Congregation (Media)
Distributed by Alban Institute. Duration: 40 minutes.
Gil Rendle discusses shifts in American cultural values over the past 70 years and what those shifts might mean for mainline ministry.
Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement (Book)
Rowan Williams, Author.
Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2002.
Rowan Williams draws upon traditional Christian categories to provide new perspectives on modern life. Leaders who are attempting to understand the cultural contexts of their congregations will find this volume enriching.
A New and Right Spirit: Creating an Authentic Church in a Consumer Culture (Book)
Rick Barger, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2005.
Rick Barger argues for creating an authentic church in a culture dominated by consumerism—a church that seriously engages the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Transformation inevitably arises from such engagement.
A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society (Book)
Rodney Clapp, Author.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
The book presents a hopeful and new paradigm for church leaders struggling to discover new forms the Church may take in the complexity of today’s world.
The Postmodern Parish: New Ministry for a New Era (Book)
Jim Kitchens, Author.
Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2003.
Jim Kitchens notes the challenges and opportunities confronting the church in our postmodern, post-Christian, post-denominational culture. He then offers a discernment process for church leaders to use as they venture forward.
Shopping for Faith: American Religion in the New Millennium (Book)
Richard Cimino, Don Lattin, Authors.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
With a variety of examples and references, Shopping for Faith surveys the changing landscape of religion in consumer-oriented America.
U.S. Congregational Life Survey (Web Resource)
USCLS describes the American religious experience through input from approximately 300,000 worshipers in more than 2,000 congregations (2001).
Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief (Book)
Huston Smith, Author.
New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2006.
In this image-filled and lucidly argued book, author Huston Smith assesses religion's recent history, current state, and future significance.
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