Categories: uncategorized
Date: 29 July 2009 15:15:28
Dave Roberts has put together a challenging article for Christianity asking the question "Is Evangelicalism Dying?".
The article starts by identifying that there are currently about 17 different tribes of evangelicalism. This immeadiately raises the oft asked question of if there are that many different varients can we actually talk about evangelicalism as if it were one unified entity? My own feeling on this is that we have to view evangelicalism as a social movement in the same way as we view environmentalism, for example. There are a range of different groups who are connected by their same broad primary interest and perspective but they are a diverse collection of organisations. Some are fairly mainstream, some are radical and some are somewhere in between according to what the issue of the day is.
So if we accept evangelicalism, as a single entity, does exist is it dying? Well the evidence as the article highlights is mixed. The key theme it picks up upon is generational transmission and the way growth cannot be sustained if the proportion of young people attending church is falling.
He identifies 6 issues which might be contributing:
"1) We are failing to pass on to our children even the basic outlines of our faith , 2) The culture of the 45-minute sermon is killing us, 3) In our despising of tradition we’ve cast ourselves adrift on a sea of aimlessness, 4) Church is a lonely place – and you often wouldn’t choose to be there, 5) Practice makes perfect – so why do we make church a spectator sport, 6) People learn by doing – so lets be deliberate in providing the opportunity".
He then poses 6 questions which should be being asked:
"1)How do we pass on our Christian story to the children of the church and the wider culture?
2)Does my church have more than one teaching methodology and is serious about the non –sermon ones in terms of training?
3)Do we promote a regular cycle of teaching and celebration.Is there a belief that in the midst of making sense of todays world we ’ve actually made sense of the world of the Bible and the wisdom it has for us?
4)Are we friends to each other?Do we waste time together eating and drinking and relaxing? Jesus did.
5)Do you have to be 35 to do anything in the church? Are the stories of 12 year-old boys changing the destiny of Israel with prophecies not enough to provoke us to change?
6)Will we be brave enough to suggest that there are several ways of reading the Bible and praying and then model them?"
Now, it has to be acknowledged this is a journalist being provocative and seeking to start discussion, but I am beginning to wonder whether he is actually a decade or so behind in some of the questions he is asking.
The first question posed is a legitimate question and one which the whole church should be seeing as vital. Generational transmission is the key way in which faith communities retain members. With increasingly unchurched parents we need to find a way to reach the children, aswell as the parents. This is something which has not been left though. Anybody who has witnessed the growth of things like the Messy Church movement will know this is something which is being / has been addressed in recent years. If we also think about the development of 24/7 prayer rooms and the like I think the accusation that "we are failing to pass on to our children even the basic outlines of our faith" is unfair.
There may be some truth in the second point, but this is changing. The development of things like Cafe Church services and the popularity of Nooma DVD's is evidence of this.
The third point is interesting because it suggests that people have come to dispise the label evangelical and sought to move away from it. I am not so sure that this is the case in all cases. Some of the 17 tribes have become conservative and have resolutely sought to hold onto that label.
As for whether church is a lonely place I guess that is one of those bit of string questions some will percieve it as such whilst others won't. What one has to accept, as various theorists have shown, is that there are different types of church. Friendship will be a higher or more obvious thing in some than in others. I actually don't think most churches do too badly on this count. Although to some extent I guess it's also dependent upon how much the newcomer makes an effort aswell.
Point and question 5 make me laugh. These days being under 35 is a distinct advantage in terms of being able to be involved and being listened to. The efforts to get young people involved seems to, if anything, have helped lead to the reduction of opportunities for those of us who are more middle aged. The most healthy churches are those which take an approach of involving all their members, whatever generation they belong to.
Question 6 also seems to be set slightly in the past in terms of prayer.
So all in all an interesting article with a valid underlying point relating to the generational transmission of faith and impact of this upon evangelicalism in the future. However, I would question the assumptions of some of his points and whether they are based on contemporary evangelical churches or those of a decade ago.