Book Review
The Courage To Be Protestant
by David Wells

When he began to write The Courage To Be Protestant, David Wells conveyed his desire to summarize his previously published four volumes. As pastors, however, we are fortunate Wells' efforts did not result in a simple summation, but in an entirely new work that seeks to identify the biblical roots of classical evangelicalism.

Setting classical evangelicalism in contrast to more recent methodologies and philosophies, the author decries two primary areas of shortsightedness among today's Christians. First, he points out that “many evangelicals are indifferent to doctrine . . . many think doctrine is an impediment as we reach out to new generations” (p. 3). Secondly, “Christianity became increasingly reduced simply to private, internal, therapeutic experience” (p. 8). Citing those two weaknesses, Wells then lays a foundation for his book's main premise:

The constant cultural bombardment of individualism, in the absence of a robust theology, meant the faith that had rightly been understood as personal now easily became faith that was individualistic, self-focused, and consumer-oriented (p. 11).

In the course of laying out these arguments, the author asserts the three main groups of evangelicals in today's Christian world. Classic evangelicals observe a traditional faith based on sound doctrine and the historic practice of Christianity. Modern evangelicals have adapted Christianity to the marketing practices of the latter twentieth century. Postmodern evangelicals point out the superficiality of the modern flavor of Christianity and desire a departure from it, primarily to pursue more authentic relationships.

Although classic evangelicalism has fallen into disfavor with many since the 1960's, Wells argues that a departure from its roots is dangerous. The first departure, in the guise of a modern market-based Christianity, and the second iteration, a postmodern expression of Christianity, have shown promise, but both are fatally flawed in that they mirror the mistakes that separated liberal Christianity of the fifties from “classic evangelicalism.” One of the major errors indicative of all three movements is the fear of irrelevance. In the process, however, evangelicals have forgotten that “they should first and foremost be relevant to God and His truth. That seems like a small consideration as long as they are relevant to the latest ways of being and behaving in this (post)modern culture” (p. 48-49).

In dissecting both the marketers and the emergents (postmoderns), the author finds both good and bad in their approaches. He cites their laudable desires in two main areas. “The first of these is a desire to see the Christian faith, which is apparently flagging, begin to grow again. The second is to engage postmodern culture” (p. 42). While he is ready to acknowledge these positive qualities, he is also wary of how these systems shape the message of the gospel. In an effort to connect people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, both substitute methodology for truth and self for the self-denying call to salvation. Wells carefully warns that the form in which the gospel is presented can significantly alter its content.

The remaining chapters identify the hallmarks of a consistently Christian ministry. In illustrating his point, Wells frequently uses counterexamples from the (post)modern approach. There are times when this grows a little wearisome, and the reader wishes that the content of his musings would not be marked by such a negative tone. However, it is clear that Wells sees himself as a prophetic voice calling out to pastors and Christian leaders to reclaim what has been lost in our search for the perfect methodology. He asks an important question in the beginning of his work that serves as the basis for his final chapters: Will Scripture or culture will be the binding authority for the church? In answering this crucial question, he addresses how Scripture speaks to the topics of truth, God, self, Christ, and church, uncovering the significant divergence between what Scripture teaches and what the marketers/emergents are offering.

As he makes his way through these various topics, Wells examines how the culture of therapy has inundated all of society including the church and its responsibility to proclaim God's truth:

And so it came into our pulpits. In sermon after sermon over the last two or three decades, preachers of an evangelical kind have latched onto this cultural way of thinking. Self-talk, it seemed would be a natural springboard into salvation talk (p. 137).

However, he goes on to argue just the opposite, even to the degree of claiming that this therapeutic worldview is “deeply hostile to the Christian faith” (p. 137). He later adds:

Self-made faith does not have in itself the power to remake human nature. So much evangelical church practice, so much of its preaching, so much of what people have come to think of as being evangelical, is actually self-oriented, not God-centered. It is about what we do, about what we get, not about what God has done or what he gives in Christ. It is about getting what we want as religious consumers, not about receiving what God has given us in Christ's death in our place and in his written Word (p. 182).

The last chapter of Wells' work deals with the church. The reader is likely waiting anxiously by this time to hear Wells' conclusions explained in practical terms. The author, though, may disappoint the reader who is looking for spoon-fed answers. Instead, Wells considers the answers to be self-evident based on his assertions in the previous chapters. Accordingly, he deals with the church from a theological perspective (as opposed to purely practical). At the beginning of the chapter, Wells explains, “What someone thinks about the church tells us exactly what the person is thinking about Christianity” (p. 209). Therefore, he writes not about what the church should do, but what it should value and what it should be:

It is true that I have not offered practical solutions . . . Why not? In part, the answer is, I confess, that I have underestimated how remote a robust, biblical faith of a Protestant kind has actually become to many people today. I thought they would know what they had departed from and needed to return to (p. 217).

Instead of a handbook for ministry, Courage is a call back to that robust faith which has been lost. It is an excellent volume and a necessary corrective/reminder for all who have been tempted to be caught up in (post)modern methodologies lacking in Biblical substance.

Kevin Hearne is a Master of Divinity student at Western Seminary and serves as Associate Pastor of Discipleship & Equipping at Bethany Baptist Church in Salem, OR.