A suggestion to pastors on how to make preaching 3 times more effective: Dr. Bolger suggested that human memory works in such a way that if one writes down something they hear they go from having a 20% chance of recall to a 60% chance of recall. So, for young pastors, keep this in mind. If you can get a listener to a sermon to write some notes they will be three times more likely to remember what you were preaching about.
A blessing and a curse: Dr. Bolger introduced the idea that postmodernity has been replaced by “global information culture.” I have to admit at one level my heart was broken by this. I’ve spent the better part of the last five years reading into, understanding, and finally converting out of a modernist way of thinking to see the world in a postmodern way. However, I’m also excited to start a new journey as I try to understand the nuances of “global information culture” even if the idea of a culture that is almost completely mediated terrifies me.
Also, it is necessary to say a few things about McGavran. In the last six days I have to confess that I’ve thought about what he was working on in almost every free moment. The idea that those in India did not need to leave their culture and become western to be Christian was really exciting. The obvious extension is that in our contemporary American culture we do not have convert people out of their culture but that rather Jesus can find them and really us in our own culture.
Second, and also wildly exciting, is McGavran’s idea of spreading the gospel along relational lines. He observed most people became a Christian through a family member or friend. So, rather than pull people out of their organic relationships why not let the gospel spread along these lines.
I would have to say my wife and I are probably somewhere between Justin and Jonathon in terms of our beliefs as our most of my friends at Point Loma Nazarene University. And the division is getting worse. I think there will be a new Christian movement starting up shortly with my generation, not actively engaged in the "church", but active in our faith in other ways. Loss of hope for Christianity as a religion, full of hope God is real and ever present. However, I attribute this to a lesson of history more than anything else. Young nations such as ours start out full of ideals and hypocrisy. As economic, political, religious circumstances test the idealism, it loses the original banner of "righteousness" is used to fly under, becomes more hypocritical therefore in many people's eyes and more practical and realistic. I can site examples from almost every single empire starting from the time of the Greeks. The scary part however is yet to come, the Christian US identity linking its "cultural Christians" with nationalism. I am very scared and seeing that already bearing fruit. Not wanting to incur God's wrath, yet done with the Church, everyday I hear more and more of my Christian friends spouting Christian terms while not living a "true Christian life" and yet very much believing that the Republican party is living their idealism of Christianity. It is insane and yet it is just one further example of History. Rome is the best example. Starts out idealistic, expands slowly, idealism erodes as one man grab's power, he focuses their attention outward to stop looking at inward problems, as it expands "Roman Romans" lose power to outsiders who become "Romans" which leads to infighting in the empire. Christianity starts to make in roads and slowly is adopted by the empire. Using it as a new banner of unity within as well as uniting those on the perpheries of the empire, it holds some new sway. However, the domestic problems remain and as other powers grow, they grow ineffective at stopping them. Nationalism which had always been prevelant worsens the situation as "Roman Romans" don't like that "outsiders Romans" have the same benefits as they do. Civil War ensues and invasion as a result of weakness occurs.
ReplyDeleteIt is just humanity and history. I think the 50-70 age generation's "way of Christianity" is over. It will continue to function but now abroad. The "New Christian" in America is struggling for direction and identity. Something that is very dangerous as leader-dictators usually enter at this point.
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The generation before the Millenials has started roughly 4 significant new movements: Emerging Church, New Monastics, Missional Churches, and Mosaic. I will be writing more about these various movements in the next weeks. They all embody that God is real and that megachurch Christianity has serious problems. So there is hope, although how signficant any of these movements are is highly debated.
ReplyDeleteFurther, the civic religion you point to is more dangerous than ever. Newscorp which owns FoxNews also owns Zondervan which owns the rights to NIV along with other translations and is one of if not the biggest Christian publishing houses in the country. The cross marketing they engage in is very dangerous and creates a very dangerous brand. Zondervan authors show up and are interviewed on Fox News shows.
blessings as we all fight to find "direction and identity"