…If I had my way, there would be 100,000 Willow Creek Churches in this country. With God’s blessing, perhaps we can make some headway toward that goal.

In just a single decade, WCCC grew to more than 14,000 weekly attenders, spawned countless imitators across the land and is partially responsible for a new way of thinking about what the local church can and should be. Having attended Willow Creek during my years in Illinois, I can say without any doubt that this is a real church: it has spiritual depth, biblical integrity and solid ministry priorities.

While I believe that we need to speak the truth in love, I find books and internet articles that label people as cults etc. to be completely out of character with Scripture. This type of behavior sows discord among the brethren, and does not serve in building God’s Kingdom.

As a pastor of a local church I may disagree with some of your conclusions, but I must be honest and secure enough to allow my positions to be challenged. If what we believe, cannot stand up to some honest scrutiny, then perhaps we need to change.

I have witnessed a tendency among Believers to throw the baby out with the bathwater if they don’t agree with every little thing that is said. While I may not agree with everything you teach I certainly have enough sense to read beyond your words and hear your heart. You are right about a great many things concerning the state of the organized church, and I appreciate your insight.

I would simply challenge those who imagine that God has forsaken the structured church to take another look at what they believe as well. I find that many in this camp are just as guilty of the very things they seem to disdain about the local church, and are actually in disobedience to some of the clear teachings of Scripture. This door swings both ways.

I would suggest that you could have had a better title, so that your critics would have absolutely no ammunition to use. I would have titled the article “A Biblical Perspective of the Meaning of Church” With a subtitle, “A Response to Those who accuse me of being the “Champion” of the Christ-without-church cause.”

I suppose there will always be critics. For those of us who know that we are to be like Christ, loving God and others with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, it has been my experience it is almost impossible to do in the established church structures that exist today.

George you have a platform because many pastors quote your statistics. You are using that platform to put forth a vision of what the church should be. Pastors and authors who love Jesus have not only the freedom, but the responsibility to evaluate and respond for the protection and encouragement of the flock. What they don’t need to do is talk to you privately before they do. You didn’t call all the churches and say, “Hey, I’m about to write a book that contradicts what you think the church is about.”

this comment is not the place to make the case against your view of the church. But I am against it. My responsibility is to warn the flock against your poor ecclesiology –not live by your standard of never criticizing another Christian’s book.

I know your groupies on this blog will eat me up –but, I realize that public comments are open to public criticism. I don’t plan on blogging at how awful I’ve been treated.

(i do belong to a church and can’t ever see myself without a church family, although the problems and shortcomings of the politics of church are maddening at times.)