Mike Regele wrote a book some years ago entitled The Death of the Church, an analysis of the contemporary Western church and its prospects for future survival. In the introduction to the book, Regele speaks of what he calls the "Frenchlick error." In the fall of 1979, Regele was invited by the late Dr. Ray Stedman, author and long-time pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, Calif., on a speaking trip to a conference in Frenchlick, Indiana. Dr. Stedman was one of several speakers at a conference for the staff and leaders of Christian conference centers around the country. One of the other speakers at the conference was a psychologist that Regele describes as "quite interesting and entertaining." Regele had the opportunity to hear this gentleman on several occasions; his messages offered "keys to living life to its fullest and being a truly happy Christian in successful ministry."
As interesting and entertaining as this speaker was, there was also something in his speeches that left Regele uncomfortable. Yet, try as he may, he found himself unable to pinpoint the source of the discomfort in this psychologist's message. He turned to Dr. Stedman for help to distill what was missing or wrong. Dr. Stedman agreed with Regele's observation, but told him to ruminate over the dilemma for a day and see if he could come with the answer on his own. A day of pondering the question produced no satisfactory answer, and Regele returned to Dr. Stedman hat in hand, still seeking an answer. Dr. Stedman finally resolved the quandry with a simple statement - "There is no death in his message."