Sunday, June 25
Over a bowl of Irish stew...
About a month ago I had an interesting discussion with an incredibly gifted author over a bowl of Irish stew at a great little place called the Irish Lion in Bloomington, Indiana.We spent an hour or so discussing back and forth the issues of postmodernity, being missional, our like or dislike for the writings of Brian McLaren, and our mutual admiration of really good sermons.
It was a very passionate, enlightening discussion and one that many of us continue to have even within our groups of like-minded friends... It's a discussion that talks about the past, present and future of this church of Jesus Christ that we all love and adore.
A dialogue like this about faith and church usually begins or ends with the question: "So which school of thought is correct...A, B, or C?" Or maybe it goes like this, "Why can't A, B & C all be correct?" It will probably involve a statement like, "If you say 'C' is the right way, you have to be saying that 'B' is the wrong way, right?" Our discussion that day at the Irish Lion included all these and more...
The best breakdown of thinking about the church that I have read in a very long time is found in a book called "Confessions of a Reformission Rev". Mark Driscoll compares 'Traditional and Institutional', 'Contemporary and Evangelical', or 'Emerging and Missional'? Below are a few of his thoughts... (My apologies for the length. I will take no offense if you stop reading now)
"For the past one thousand years, the Western church has enjoyed a privileged position in the center of culture, during what was once known as Christendom.
During the era of Christendom, it was generally believed that our national culture was Christian, or at least Judeo-Christian. Consequently, it was the job of the church to make converts for the nation by challenging people to commit themselves to Jesus and live morally. The upside of Christendom was that many people did attend church. The downside was that the church in large part became the servant of morality and the national good. The result was a mean-spirited hypocrisy among “Christians” who wrongly believed morality and redemption were synonymous and lived lives more dominated by the American values of pride and selfishness than by the gospel virtues of humility and selflessness.
The era of Christendom was dominated by the traditional and institutional church, which is marked by the following traits:
• Missions is solely funding Americans to evangelize in foreign countries.
• Culture is where the church expects to occupy a privileged position of influence.
• The primary culture to reach is modern.
• Theology is liberalism or fundamentalism, with fighting between the two sides.
• Churches exist largely to meet the needs of church members.
• Churches grow through births and attracting people with denominational loyalties.
• Community means the church is a subculture that is closed to outsiders.
• Pastors are servants and teachers who do most of the church ministry, especially evangelization of the lost.
• Lost people are not frequently pursued for evangelistic relationships.
• Faith is private and personal.
• Worship services are based on tradition (e.g., robes, hymnals, organs, liturgy).
• Church buildings are considered sacred places (e.g., crosses, stained glass, icons) where people are to dress and act formally.
As the era of Christendom began to wind down, it became apparent that two things were needed. First, the dwindling remnant of Christendom included many people who attended church but did not know Jesus and needed to be saved. Second, the growing baby-boom generation was less likely to attend church and less attracted by tradition or the denominational heritage than their parents had been. The result was the birth of a new form of church, the contemporary and evangelical church, which sought to evangelize the unsaved in the church and to bring other unsaved to the church to be evangelized. In 1904, 40 percent of all Sunday worshippers were in mainline denominations. By 1999, that number had fallen to only 16 percent of all worshippers because less people were attending church and those who did were choosing the newer form of church.
The end of Christendom and the transition to a post-Christian culture is currently dominated by the contemporary and evangelical church, which is marked buy the following common traits:
• Missions is a church department that sends people and money to foreign countries.
• Culture is where the church battles to regain a lost position of privileged influence.
• The primary culture to reach was modern and is transitioning to postmodern.
• Theology is conservative and is built on a modernistic view of truth and knowledge.
• Churches exist to meet the felt needs of spiritual consumers.
• Churches grow through marketing that brings people to church events.
• Community means the church is a safe subculture that welcomes lost people into the church.
• Pastors are CEO’s who lead and manage their staff, which is responsible for ministry.
• Lost people are invited to evangelistic church programs that target seekers.
• Faith is private and personal but is openly shown at church.
• Worship services are based on styles from the 1980’s and 1990’s (acoustic guitars, drama, etc.).
• Church buildings are functional places (e.g., no crosses, no stained glass, no icons) where people can dress and act informally.
With Christendom essentially winding down now in the United States and officially over in Europe, the traditional and institutional church is dying as its market share dries up, and the contemporary and evangelical church is scrambling to adjust to emerging postmodern cultures and generations.
A third incarnation of the church is arising, the emerging and missional church, which is marked by the following traits:
• Missions is every Christian being a missionary to their local culture.
• The church accepts that it is marginalized in culture and holds no privileged position of influence but gains influence by serving the common good.
• The primary culture to reach is postmodern and pluralistic.
• Theology ranges from ancient orthodoxy to heterodox liberalism built on postmodern denials of true truth and known knowledge.
• Churches are the people who love Jesus and serve his mission in a local culture.
• Churches grow as Christians bring Jesus to lost people through hospitality.
• Community means the church is a counterculture with a new kingdom way of life through Jesus.
• Pastors are missiologists who train Christians to be effective missionaries.
• Lost people are saved by the Holy Spirit when and how he determines.
• Faith is lived publicly together as the church and includes all of life.
• Worship services blend ancient forms and current local cultural styles.
• Church buildings are sacred, as is all of God’s creation.
Because the declining, dominant, and emerging church types each work from a different set of assumptions, it is incredibly important that churches and church leaders determine which church form they will adopt. And to answer this question, they must carefully consider what the people in their local culture are like. For example, a church ministering to modern-thinking retirees would likely have better success with a traditional and institutional church. This explains why Coal Ridge Presyterian Church, with a traditional liturgy, a robed choir, a pipe organ, and the classic oration of preacher Dr. James Kennedy, is flourishing among retirees in Florida. Conversely, a church ministering to suburban baby boomers would likely have better success with a contemporary and evangelical church, such as Willow Creek, or Saddleback, and a pastor like Rick Warren or Bill Hybels. And a church ministering to spiritual young creative types would likely have better success with an emerging and missional church and pastor.
The point is not that one of these church forms is good and the others are bad. Rather, one is likely more effective for reaching the people in your local culture than the other forms are. Therefore, those using one church form need not critique the other forms as long as all are faithful to the functions mandated for the church in Scripture."
I love thinking about this stuff even though it hurts my brain and my heart sometimes...maybe I need another bowl of stew...
shalom
Mark Nelson at 10:07 PM 1comments
