This little (119 pg.) book is a broadside against the church of today. Guinness is more focused on theory than on naming names, but it is not too difficult to think of examples of who these words apply to:

Never have Christians pursued relevance more strenuously; never have Christians been more irrelevant. (pg. 9)

The book is basically an exposition of that statement - concluding that in its pursuit of the culture's approval, the church has lost sight of what truly makes it distinctive, and thus becomes irrelevant in its pursuit of relevance. I agree with Guiness, which is one of the reasons this site is called "Foolishblog" - we proclaim a message that the world regards as foolishness, but in reality there is nothing more wise and more relevant. We need to return to clear proclamation of truth after the mold of the prophets, which is what Guiness is calling for when he writes:

In an age when comfort and convenience are unspoken articles of our modern bill of rights, the Christian faith is not a license to entitlement, a prescription for an easy-going spirituality, or a how-to manual for self-improvement. The cross of Jesus runs crosswise to all our human ways of thinking. A rediscovery of the hard and the unpopular themes of the gospel will therefore be such a rediscovery of the whole gospel that the result may lead to reformation and revival.

My one criticism of the book is that at times it seems that he is trying too hard to be eloquent, but that may be just a stylistic thing. Overall I highly recommend that you read this book. It is short and easy to read, yet will stimulate your thinking to your encouragement and benefit.

*** No one inside the Church would argue that the gospel is the most relevant message ever stated. The problem is, basically, that those outside of the Church do not see it that way; and therefore, there are times when modern evangelicals try to make it relevant, thus diluting the true relevance of the gospel. By going through how this has come about, the impact of trying to twist the gospel into something that appeals to all, rather like a bonsai tree, and then outlining how to cure this, Mr. Guiness makes a concise, yet profound argument. His message is a bit counter to the way things work, but tells how things should work. Is that not what the Epistles charge us to do, be in the world, but not of the world? ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, freelance reviewer.