The Rise of the Nones

May 19, 2014
Pastor of one of the fastest growing new churches in North America, White adds to previous pleas (Rethinking the Church, The Church in the Age of Crisis) for the Christian church to reach out to the newest and fastest growing religious group: those who check the box "none" when identifying their religious preference. "Nones" who are repulsed by unabashedly political and money-hungry churches will be attracted to churches that regain "the staggering power of the biblical vision for the church." The book includes a helpful discussion guide, and uses diagrams to explain how churches must connect with this group and involve them in the life of the church. He suggests a changed apologetics: simple proofs of God's existence or truth of the resurrection must be followed by an answer to the most frequently asked question of the nones: "So what?" The book has some flaws: in the chapter "A Christian Mind," he stops arguing for authentic Christianity and falls back on logical fallacies like appeals to authority. Even so, White's analysis carries the weight of the historical church with the added gravitas of the perspective of a pastor in the trenches.