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Category Archives: Emergent Church
The Real Threat to Personal Faith Commitment to Christ
I would argue that in America the impact of personal and social secularization is different than in virtually all other Western nations. The reason for this is because religion was never formally established in America as a function in which … Continue reading
Understanding our Exilic Missional Context: Evangelicalism and Liberalism in Twentieth Century America
Most historians and religion scholars now agree that by the twentieth century liberal Protestantism had led to a mainstream Protestantism that was vague, theistic and excessively nationalistic. In a profound sense, concludes British Christian Studies scholar Linda Woodhead, “liberal Protestantism’s … Continue reading
Why Politics Matters and How We Got the Wrong End of the Stick (1)
Two weeks ago I sought to show how the church in America has become subject to a condition of moral, cultural and spiritual exile. Like Israel of old, we are now living away from our true home, separated from our … Continue reading
Living as Aliens in Post-Christendom Culture (5)
Christian sociologist James Davison Hunter has written one of the most important studies of what it means to be faithfully present in the modern, increasingly post-Christendom world that I have been describing over the last two weeks. His magisterial book, … Continue reading
Living as Aliens in Post-Christendom Culture (4)
Since the time of Constantine (4th century) the church has been enabled, in various forms and expressions, to “share” power with the state. This was not all bad. As a result of Constantine the church was allowed the protection of … Continue reading
Living as Aliens in a Post-Christendom Culture (3)
Because the church now resides in a growing state of exile, from both Christendom and a sympathetic host culture, I have suggested that we need to adjust our thinking and mission to this new reality. I believe this requires a … Continue reading
Living as Aliens in a Post-Christendom Culture (2)
If living the Christian life as “aliens” really describes Christian community/church then we can understand why we are a “colony of heaven” in a “strange” land. The biblical portrait of the Christian church is one in which the church “exists … Continue reading
Posted in America and Americanism, American Evangelicalism, Culture, Current Affairs, Discipleship, Emergent Church, Faith, Ideology, Kingdom of God, Lordship of Christ, Love, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Politics, Religion, Renewal, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church, The Future
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Living as Aliens in a Post-Christendom Culture (1)
I suggested in my series last week, “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” that Christians were called by God in Christ to live as “a colony of heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Because of this calling we are to live as God’s … Continue reading
The Babylonian Captivity of the American Church (4)
A Colony of Heaven James Moffatt’s translation of the New Testament translates politeuma, in Philippians 3:20, as: “We are a colony of heaven.” The Jews in the Dispersion, and living in Babylon, understood this very well. They knew what it … Continue reading
The Babylonian Captivity of the American Church (3)
Waking Up Is Hard to Do Sometime in the late 1980s, or early 1990s, I began to realize how profoundly we had moved away from “My America.” Whatever my parents believed about America and our culture there were fewer and … Continue reading