This isn’t exactly new-news, but it’s possible that some of you are just now hearing about or reading Barna and Viola, Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of our Church Practices, which argues against the institution of the church (e.g., its worship service, the sermon, the pastor, clergy salaries, etc.).

Ben Witherington has an excellent and thorough four-part review of this unfortunate-but-influential book:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

There’s also this review by Trevin Wax, which offers basically the same conclusions as Witherington’s but without the length and depth.