MR. AND MS. USA

"Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry & Mary"

By Lee Strobel, Zondervan $9.99

Reviewed by Bary Fenton, pastor,

Dawson Memorial Baptist Church,

Birmingham, Alabama

"Paradigm shifts," "culture swing," and "demographic trends" are catch phrases in the church-growth world, but these terms are empty unless translated into faces and personalities.

This is precisely what Lee Strobel does in "Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry & Mary."

Rather than giving a generic profile of the unchurched baby boomer, Strobel, teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, tells you up front that he is describing his own mindset prior to becoming a follower of Christ.

Strobel does not limit his observations to his own personal story but has also done his homework. His own story and research are sewn from the fabric of Willow Creek, the facts of George Barna, and the stories of Lyle Schaller.

The author, a former "Chicago Tribune" reported, argues that the unchurched boomer's ...