Now I will acknowledge that there are many, many ways to build the First Church of the Tares. Many ways; behind which, Satan is the real power. And it can be done very effectively. The First Church of the Tares can be very effective, it can be big and it can be enduring.

The Gnostics did it, and it’s still around. The Roman Catholics have done it, and it’s still around. The liberals have done it, and it’s still around. The cults have done it, and it’s still around. The Church of the Tares is actually bigger than the Church of the Wheat.

And today, those who call themselves evangelicals are busy doing it. And there’s a long list of locations called churches where tares assemble in increasing numbers with a scattering of weak wheat stocks among them. The successful assemblies of tares will eagerly market their skill at tare development.

It can be very seductive to those who are motivated by numbers or pride or popularity. So, if you want to take a shot at competing with the rest of the tare pastors to see how many tares you can get in a building there’s ample information, lots of seminars, plenty of books, and data on the Internet that you can draw down to work on building your Church of the Tares, with a smattering of wheat. (A Biblical Response to the Church-Growth Movement, GTY 114, CD Rom)

Evangelicalism today is in just as much a need of reformation as when Luther stood upon this planet hammer in hand.