George Hunter writes in a book published in 1992 an insightful piece much of which is still valuable. He is not a DMM proponent although after reading the book you might think he could be.
George when he was 18 went on an internship to Venice Beach, CA as a United Methodist. He found a whore house and asked them if he could be their chaplain, they said yes. He went every day at 11 am and had group with the ladies there.
He has interviewed over 15,000 nonbeliever and brand new believers about their faith journey. Fascinating guy! If you read nothing but the intro “How the West was Lost” you’d be better off.
Some quotes of my favorite “church” quotes:
A yawning indifference is the big challenge that secularity presents to the Church. They do not think of Church as plugged into life where they are. And most people don’t differentiate between their feelings about Church and about God. They figure the Church represents God, so God must be sort of like the Church. So, if the Church is judgmental about their divorce, God must be. p. 48
Typically, when secular people experience “church” as culturally alien to them, they assume that the Christian God is not for people like them; they believe they have to learn to dress, talk, tote Bibles, and genuflect like the Christians do, before God will accept them. p. 69
There are many people who, if they fail to hear the repetition of phrases and words with which they are familiar, make the sometimes absurd claim that the gospel is not being preached. p. 92
Typically, when secular people experience “church” as culturally alien to them, they assume that the Christian God is not for people like them; they believe they have to learn to dress, talk, tote Bibles, and genuflect like the Christians do, before God will accept them.
I’m curious about what was the second quote you wanted to reference (since both quotes were the same even though different pages were cited). Thanks