While others lament the declining attendance of mainline churches and blame it on an out of date tradition, Jackson Carroll offers a more hopeful perspective, arguing that they key to future vitality can be found in the same tradition. According to Carroll, the tension between tradition and change has always been part of the Protestant heritage, and he argues that now is a time when being faithful requires adaptation.
What can mainline churches learn from the newly flourishing, posttraditional churches in America? In this thoughtful, reasoned analysis, Carroll provides a clearly written description of many of the congregational innovations that have emerged in recent years, as well as an articulate suggestion of ways that mainline congregations can learn from and even adapt some of those practices.
