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Rating: 
Summary: A good book, but will the right audience read it?
Review: A must-read for churches flirting with the allures of the church growth movement. Kenneson and Street offer a solid biblical-theological expose of the contemporary church's preoccupation with numbers, felt-needs, and likability. Their alternative is a helpful contribution to the conversation of how to "be" the church in a secularized, technocratic society. This said, the book falls short in a few key areas. First, the writers do little to demonstrate how a commitment to church as counterculture appears on a practical level (i.e. what does this church "look like?") Second, one could easily accuse Kenneson and Street of addressing church from the lofty perch of academia (i.e. pastors suspicious of academic theologians will be inclined to dismiss the book as just another potshot at the church by two men disgruntled by their own inability to make a difference). Third, a critic could easily say that the book itself--with its nice, glossy cover and forward by Stanley Hauerwas--ironically demonstrates the necessity of marketing and packaging in our consumerist culture (i.e. why didn't Abingdon see fit to put a plain brown cover around the 150+ pages if we are to be so concerned with our cultures obsession with consumer appetite? Why not have the forward written by someone who will not at face value lead more people to purchase the book?). Ultimately, these criticisms do not weigh against the prophetic truths Kenneson and Street will bring to the few pastors with ears to hear. In their follow up volume, Kenneson and Street would do well to bring onto their writing team a pastor who shares their passion for the church but brings with that passion a commitment to manifesting counterculture outside the walls of seminary.
Rating: 
Summary: Laser Guided Destruction of Church Growth
Review: CG is marketing. These authors show that is unbiblical but yet so attractive in a consumer-oriented (marketing) culture. They do a fine job in sorting this out. I use several quotes from them in my book of a similar vein, Testing the Claims of Church Growth. One of the exceptional elements of this work is their focus on the destruction of the transcendancy of God. Reading this book will inform if not transform many fliring with church marketing, i.e. CG.
Rating:
Summary: Laser Guided Destruction of Church Growth
Review: CG is marketing. These authors show that is unbiblical but yet so attractive in a consumer-oriented (marketing) culture. They do a fine job in sorting this out. I use several quotes from them in my book of a similar vein, Testing the Claims of Church Growth. One of the exceptional elements of this work is their focus on the destruction of the transcendancy of God. Reading this book will inform if not transform many fliring with church marketing, i.e. CG.
Rating:
Summary: A strong challenge to the church
Review: In the days of "seeker friendly" church, and hot-selling books like "Purpose-driven" church (Rick Warren), this is a prophetic word to a church that is filled with leaders who are trying to taylor the form of their church thinking that htis does not impinge on the actual gospel message. It is so often in many fields that one thinks that they can change the medium without affecting the message, but time and time again, this is proven false.
Istead of trying to figure out what the church should "do" to make people come, churches must think about hwat the church should BE to witness to its Lord. God's ways simply may not be "efficient"; the churhc is NOT a business. It is a herald, a foretaste of God's Kingdom, and if that means being out of synch with a self-centred society, then so be it!
Kenneson and Street make a bold, though sometimes rambling, work that will unfortunately not be read by the right people. This is likely to be part of the church's downfall.
Rating:
Summary: An important warning for the misdirected church
Review: Kenneson and Street have written an important book for those who are responsible for leadership in the church today. As membership continues to decline in mainline churches, there is a great temptation to do just about whatever it takes to bring people into the church. The book points out that as modern Americans we have been well, albeit unknowingly, trained in the habits of consumerism. It thus seems only natural, and effective!, to applying the marketing mentality to the church. The authors do a very good job of showing that some of the underlying assumptions and convictions of modern marketing directly contradict the way of Jesus and the teaching of the church. The one drawback I think is that the authors don't explore enough the possibility that we have reached the point of a "heretical imperative" in the modern world. Just as in the modern world we are all heretics because we have no choice but to "choose" (the root meaning of heresy) our convictions, so might we not be living in a time of a "marketing imperative?" Is it now the case that in the modern world, and thus in the modern church, all decisions we make are "marketing" decisions? The authors do briefly refute this idea (saying that if we do not understand ourselves to be "marketing" and are not purposefully engaging in a marketing "exchange" then we can hardly be accused of doing just that), but this seems to be a much deeper issue than that authors acknowledge. But, hey, they kept the book short, readable, insightful, and focused. I guess you can't do everything in one book. If your church is engaged in marketing (following the thought of people like Barna, Shawshuck, and Schaller) this book will likely make you angry or depressed. If your church is not so engaged, you will be better informed of how to respond when the issue arises, as inevitably it will in the modern world.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Quite simply, this is an absolutely amazing book. Kenneson and Street boldly declare that the Church's major problem today is that we simply stop looking at the Church as just another business or non-profit organization, and rather look at it rather as a (kingdom) community that God's calling to be a sign, a fortaste, and herald of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because the Church is not just another organization is why baptizing business philosophy and marketing strategy into this community fails. For the underlying principles of business marketing strategies are different than that of the foundations of the kingdom of God. Marketing stratigies foundationally are ultimately geared around the self-interest of the business as well as the consumer. The business says to the consumer, "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine." The consumer then looks at the business as just another commodity. Such a mentality is contrary to two key principles of Christianity: servant-hood and giving. If the church attempts to reach out to others only so that it may profit (e.g. growth), then the church fails to truly give and fails to truly serve. Because ultimately, when it serves and when it gives, strings are attached. The same can be said concerning the consumers mentality, which is one of "church shopping." Also, another problem of church marketing is that those who advocate marketing are fixated on numerical growth. For ultimately to them, it is the only way to plot the success of the mission of the church. Kenneson and Street powerfully asks, what if the mission of the church is not to grow simply in numbers, but rather, what if the goal of the church was simply to manifest the fruits of the Spirit as seen in Galatians 5? Church marketers would shutter at such a thought, for their is no way to translate such things into numerical data. While the authors do not out right say it, but I believe it is hinted at between the lines: ultimately we cannot measure church growth through "scientific" methods, instead, church growth must be measured prophetically. This book was very difficult to find, as it is out-of-print (at the time of this review), however, it is without a doubt a must read for all church leadership. My only problem with this book is that while it offers a great deal of criticism concerning marketing, it does very little to suggest what must be done in light of this criticism. Even the authors admit this in their closing remarks, however, they do encourage us to seek from God the vision to shape our community.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a much-needed warning
Review: This is an EXCELLENT book for any Pastor or Church leader to read. It is amazingly helpful for anyone seeking to rid their ministries of unneeded fluff. Too often have we let American (Western) culture shape the minds of God's people and His Church. But Kennison and Street do a remarkable job of sifting through the enticing attractions of a marketing orientation to reveal its destructive nature when applied to Christ's Church. I highly recommend this book to anyone tired of our Chrurch's inability to shake itself free of the bonds of cultural influence. This book is a reminder of the Church's important role of being a sign, a fortaste, and a herald of Christ's Kingdom, and explains how our willingness to accept cultural trends keeps us from realizing this God-given task.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a much-needed warning
Review: This is an EXCELLENT book for any Pastor or Church leader to read. It is amazingly helpful for anyone seeking to rid their ministries of unneeded fluff. Too often have we let American (Western) culture shape the minds of God's people and His Church. But Kennison and Street do a remarkable job of sifting through the enticing attractions of a marketing orientation to reveal its destructive nature when applied to Christ's Church. I highly recommend this book to anyone tired of our Chrurch's inability to shake itself free of the bonds of cultural influence. This book is a reminder of the Church's important role of being a sign, a fortaste, and a herald of Christ's Kingdom, and explains how our willingness to accept cultural trends keeps us from realizing this God-given task.
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