Dis-connected People
One of my personal interests is the group of people some call the "dis-connected". These are people who believe in God, are very interested in having a deeper spiritual life, but have found churches wanting. (NB: I am a firm believer that if there is "fault" in this situation, it is the churches' fault and not the person's. If a restaurant goes out of business for lack of customers you do not blame the customers.)
Some people are now talking about a "post-Evangelical age" By this they mean that the people who I call "dis-connected"are not finding what they need in either the old style churches or the newer, evangelical style churches. Dr. Scot McKnight at North Park University claims there are 8 characteristics that are generally shared (my comments in italics):
1) cannot accept Bible inerrancy (I suspect that in many cases the issue is less Bible inerrancy than that they have heard/been taught improperly. When Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches" He was not predicting leaves growing from our hands! When the psalmist says the mountains shall sing we need not ask 'which hymn?' If I am correct then my point that the fault lies with the churches is even more accurate.
2) the have been taught a caricature of Jesus rather than the real thing (yup!)
3) do not believe that when science and the Bible colide, science is wrong (yup! Unfortunately we are AGAIN in the topic of bad teaching. We, and most churches, say the Bible contains everything necessary for salvation but never claim it is also a science or history text.)
4) disillusionment with the 'clay feet' of church leadership, and not just the big names but the general leadership (yup --- sadly, very sadly --- yes. That said, I do think it is important to remember that (surprise!) church leaders are human beings with all the human faults. The issue should never be perfection but striving for improvement.)
5) teaching from some churches that 'people not like us are doomed' is rejected (yup! How anyone can argue that the Jesus who went to the Samaritan woman would reject other people is beyond me!!)
6) God is totally gracious and loving -- not angry and vengeful (hmmm ... this one could be dangerous. "Totally gracious and loving" can drift into a God who doesn't care what is done. That said, a God whose basic nature is gracious and loving, not angry and vengeful, is (I believe) what scripture describes.)
7) acceptance of homosexuality without being specifically pro-gay -- to live in harmony with gay and lesbian friends (yup. I always stress a couple things. First a "gay is wrong" OR a "gay is OK" position can be supported from scripture. So it is fine to have strong, personal beliefs. But to suggest the person who disagrees is doomed does not make sense. Second, scripture mentions homosexuality only about 8 times out of thousands of verses so, at worst, it is not a big deal. If we spent a tenth the energy on what scripture does speak about the most -- caring for the poor -- we would be much better off!! It frustrates me how few people have actually read the passages they "quote". For example, Sodom and Gomorrah (and the story's repeat in Numbers) is only about rape. That is all that is mentioned.)
8) language is culturally shaped which affects the theology is describes. (yup! For example, the word frequently translated "fear" as in "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of faith" can equally accurately be translated "awe" as in "being in awe of the Lord is the beginning of faith" ---- How very different our understanding is when we use a different word!)
So what does all this mean for a church today? I believe it emphasizes the need for honesty and sincerity. But also emphasis the importance of being willing to listen, and speak. To hear their stories and share ours. Most importantly, and the part which can be taken from the evangelical history, is the need for a strong desire to be with people. That is, a strong desire to have those people be with us and us with them so we can walk together in our journey. Which means, our desire to be with each other is much stronger than our desire to disagree.
see: http://www.alternet.org/story/140321/america%27s_%27emerging_church%3A%27_will_a_new_post-evangelical_christianity_reflect_more_tolerant_views/?page=entire
Some people are now talking about a "post-Evangelical age" By this they mean that the people who I call "dis-connected"are not finding what they need in either the old style churches or the newer, evangelical style churches. Dr. Scot McKnight at North Park University claims there are 8 characteristics that are generally shared (my comments in italics):
1) cannot accept Bible inerrancy (I suspect that in many cases the issue is less Bible inerrancy than that they have heard/been taught improperly. When Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches" He was not predicting leaves growing from our hands! When the psalmist says the mountains shall sing we need not ask 'which hymn?' If I am correct then my point that the fault lies with the churches is even more accurate.
2) the have been taught a caricature of Jesus rather than the real thing (yup!)
3) do not believe that when science and the Bible colide, science is wrong (yup! Unfortunately we are AGAIN in the topic of bad teaching. We, and most churches, say the Bible contains everything necessary for salvation but never claim it is also a science or history text.)
4) disillusionment with the 'clay feet' of church leadership, and not just the big names but the general leadership (yup --- sadly, very sadly --- yes. That said, I do think it is important to remember that (surprise!) church leaders are human beings with all the human faults. The issue should never be perfection but striving for improvement.)
5) teaching from some churches that 'people not like us are doomed' is rejected (yup! How anyone can argue that the Jesus who went to the Samaritan woman would reject other people is beyond me!!)
6) God is totally gracious and loving -- not angry and vengeful (hmmm ... this one could be dangerous. "Totally gracious and loving" can drift into a God who doesn't care what is done. That said, a God whose basic nature is gracious and loving, not angry and vengeful, is (I believe) what scripture describes.)
7) acceptance of homosexuality without being specifically pro-gay -- to live in harmony with gay and lesbian friends (yup. I always stress a couple things. First a "gay is wrong" OR a "gay is OK" position can be supported from scripture. So it is fine to have strong, personal beliefs. But to suggest the person who disagrees is doomed does not make sense. Second, scripture mentions homosexuality only about 8 times out of thousands of verses so, at worst, it is not a big deal. If we spent a tenth the energy on what scripture does speak about the most -- caring for the poor -- we would be much better off!! It frustrates me how few people have actually read the passages they "quote". For example, Sodom and Gomorrah (and the story's repeat in Numbers) is only about rape. That is all that is mentioned.)
8) language is culturally shaped which affects the theology is describes. (yup! For example, the word frequently translated "fear" as in "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of faith" can equally accurately be translated "awe" as in "being in awe of the Lord is the beginning of faith" ---- How very different our understanding is when we use a different word!)
So what does all this mean for a church today? I believe it emphasizes the need for honesty and sincerity. But also emphasis the importance of being willing to listen, and speak. To hear their stories and share ours. Most importantly, and the part which can be taken from the evangelical history, is the need for a strong desire to be with people. That is, a strong desire to have those people be with us and us with them so we can walk together in our journey. Which means, our desire to be with each other is much stronger than our desire to disagree.
see: http://www.alternet.org/story/140321/america%27s_%27emerging_church%3A%27_will_a_new_post-evangelical_christianity_reflect_more_tolerant_views/?page=entire
posted by Ken | 10:54 AM
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