Death and Resurrection of the Church

Book Description

The North American church faces an undeniable reality: it is dying. Statistical evidence paints a clear picture of decline, yet this sobering truth contains within it the seeds of profound spiritual transformation. Rustin E. Brian presents a paradoxical vision that challenges conventional thinking about institutional faith and spiritual renewal.

Drawing wisdom from Romans 5, Brian explores how death and resurrection form an inseparable spiritual cycle. Just as Christ's followers are called to die to themselves, the church must embrace its own mortality to discover authentic life. This journey through death becomes not an ending, but a pathway to genuine resurrection and renewed purpose.

The book unfolds in two complementary movements. The first section honestly examines the forces contributing to the church's current decline, including harmful evangelistic approaches, the influence of civil religion, moral therapeutic deism, and consumer-driven spirituality. The second half illuminates possibilities for resurrection and renewal.

Brian's central insight challenges modern assumptions about religious success. Rather than pursuing growth and cultural relevance at any cost, he suggests that embracing the church's distinctive spiritual identity, its sacred peculiarities and transcendent beliefs, may hold the key to authentic transformation. This counterintuitive approach invites readers to reconsider what genuine spiritual vitality looks like in contemporary culture.

For those seeking deeper understanding of faith's role in modern society, this work offers both honest diagnosis and hopeful vision for spiritual renewal.