Reclaiming the church: where the mainline went wrong and what to do about it.

Reclaiming the Church Where the Mainline Went Wrong and What to Do About It by John B. Cobb, Jr. Westminster John Knox Press, 110 pages, paper, $17.95 ISBN 0 664 25720 8

Reclaiming the Church, though published in 1997, is a seminal introduction to any study of mainline transformation. The author, John B. Cobb, Jr., professor emeritus at the School of Theology at Claremont, California, writes that the "mainline" churches have become "oldline" and marginal. He describes how other religious expressions and secularism have displaced that former dominant influence in American life.

Cobb is nonetheless hopeful. The day of the old mainline church need not be over; repentance is possible for past errors and lukewarm faithlessness. Dying churches can be resurrected. Many of them lack clarity about identity and purpose. To experience renewal, however, they must recover the classic truths upon which they were originally founded and express that in contemporary ways.

Cobb asserts that people still desire to come together for community, healing, inspiration, reflection, and service -- applying their faith to daily issues both personal and social. Rejuvenated communities assume new identities, develop a sense of meaning, worth, and restored vision. This revitalizes inner lives and serves the common good. Newcomers catch the spirit and experience personal transformation.