davidfitch on June 23 2009

The Christendom Nostalgia – Leading us out of it by using the words of Billy Graham

bg1I heard Billy Graham on the car radio last week and I got nostalgic. It was nostalgia for Christendom. The words by Billy Graham were verbatim as follows: (they were part of a radio spot by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association).

Too many think that you can go out and live the way you like. Go to church on Sunday, or perhaps go to some religious ritual that your church demands and everything will be all right, but it won’t. It’s wonderful to be a member of the church, it’s great to be baptized, it’s great to be confirmed, but that alone is not enough. Jesus said, “You must be born of the Spirit,” “you must be born again.”

The recording of these words can be found by clicking here and then scrolling down to the clip entitled “Church on Sunday.” I urge you to listen to these words. Feel the ethos. Wallow a little in the nostalgia for a time gone by. For these words reveal the by-gone age of protestant Christendom in North America, the golden years of evangelism (I realize some may not consider these years golden). These were the words as preached by Billy Graham in one of his many crusades (the very word ‘crusade’ bespeaks Christendom). I have no idea when the sermon was preached but, again, it played last week on the radio (it is ironic that the BGEA is playing this spot in Chicago in 2009). These words help us imagine the mindset of so many churches from the small Bible churches of the post WW1 generations all the way (I contend) to the current-day huge mega churches of evangelicalism. In virtually all evangelical people over the age of 60 there is this nostalgia for these feelings, this ethos, this world that was sure, so certain and grounded in the foundation of Christianity.

Of course, dramatic changes have taken place in our society. In just a short period of time we have gone from a Christendom North America during the Billy Graham crusade years of 1950′s to 1980′s to a post-Christendom where most of these words make little sense. Today, in many post-Christendom places in N America, THESE WORDS MAKE NO SENSE. Here, people in these post-Christendom contexts have not been baptized or confirmed. They receive no social benefits from going to church. They are not even looking for that. They do not believe going to church will save them.  They are oblivious to the notion of “being saved.” Unless the hearers of this message by Billy Graham live in Dallas Texas or Atlanta Georgia, these words fall on deaf ears.

There is a line of continuity between the Billy Graham crusades of that day and much of current day evangelicalism. Whether it is in the local Bible church congregation or the large mega church, they both rely on a cultural ethos that lies behind these words by Billy Graham. It is a world that respects the Bible, believes in one God, and sees church as viable cultural institution. Here converts are described as people (usually coming out of some former initiation to Christianity) who make a personal commitment to Christ and have a personal relationship. Church is organized so as to attract people into its doors. The mega churches merely seek to do the Billy Graham thing with more relevancy/production value (it is ironic to see how a Billy Graham crusade basically put on a typical evangelical worship service in an outdoor service – complete with congregational singing, choir, special music, a testimony and a sermon by Billy Graham- and thousands came time after time). Even though the Graham ministry had a much broader ministry than this brief sound clip would indicate, by and large the majority of Crusade converts were Christendom converts, born and initiated by the European heritage churches, and seeking a vital faith. This in itself was a worthy ministry.

The times however changed.  The last vestiges of Christendom lie in decay in large parts of the N American world. There are fewer and fewer people already initiated into Christianity needing to be “revived.” There are less and less Christendom pre-converts who need to be challenged to take their pre-disposed intellectual assent to a higher level of personal commitment. THE TIME OF CHRISTENDOM EVANGELISM HAS LARGELY PASSED. We must lead out of this nostalgia. It is the task of Missional leaders, authors, and seminary students to help lead what remains of the evangelical church (in the post Christendom contexts of N. America) out of the Christendom nostalgia.

Over the last two years, I have visited hundreds of pastors at gatherings of all kinds in the new territories of post Christendom. They are watching their churches dwindle, getting older and having less and less of a cultural relevance. They are watching the mega churches with bloated budget producing hyped-up programs steal any Christians that under the age of 40. Their single number one question is “how can I get young people to come to my church?” (obviously the wrong question for the context we are in). Many are just plain in shock. It is a post Christendom, post-attractional world.

I got to admit; I still get “goose bumps” listening to the dulcet tones of Billy Graham’s voice. The fruits of his many years of ministry are to be honored. I’m convinced however that this same nostalgia must somehow be addressed. Denominations that are closing churches faster than they can start them should read the writing on the wall. We should respect the Billy Graham generation. We should honor the dwindling churches for all their labors for Christ (and I am dead serious here). Then we should also transition our Christendom churches somehow (I have a few ideas for such a transition) into a missional disposition in the world. We need to lead past and out of the Christendom nostalgia. Perhaps playing this 60-second sound Billy Graham sound bite and talking about it in our congregations might be a beginning towards such ends.

P.S. I still hope to have my final post on Post Christendom evangelism up in the next few weeks.

Filed under Evangelism,Missional,Missional Leadership,Post-Christendom 10 Comments

davidfitch on June 16 2009

Missional Theology: Towards a Theology that Shapes a People for Mission – A new course offering at Northern

This fall I am teaching a new course at Northern Seminary entitled “Missional Theology: Towards a Theology that Shapes a People for Mission.” It will meet Mondays 4-6:40 p.m. for the Fall quarter.

The premise for the course is that the ways we articulate our beliefs, and the ways we in turn practice them, shape us into a certain “kind of people” with a certain disposition in the world. Theology, in other words, is spiritual formation for the community of Christ. We need then to ask “how is our belief and practice shaping us into His Mission as the people of God.” “How is our belief and practice shaping us into a people whose very character is congruent with the gospel we proclaim?” There are missional theologies (both biblical and systematic) that have sought to articulate our beliefs according to the driving theme (rubric) of Missio Dei. What I am aiming for here is a little different. I am actually seeking a theology that, in its practice, shapes a people in disposition (hospitality, love, patience, rootedness, compassion, kindness, integrity, authenticity, justice,etc.) so as to embody the gospel in the world. So often the ways we have articulated and practiced the doctrines of Scripture, Church and Salvation have worked contra the gospel, to produce a people who are either judgmental or defensive or hypocritical or dispassionate. By opting out of some of our bad theological habits of the past, and without compromising one iota of orthodoxy, I contend we can articulate our basic beliefs concerning Scripture, the church in the world, and the salvation we have in Christ Jesus in a way that shapes us for Mission.

Here’s the course description from the syllabus.

TH 423 Missional Theology” explores the ways our belief and practice shape a people for Mission. Theology in the West has often erred by separating doctrine from life (praxis). A missional theology however is a belief (and a corresponding practice to that belief) that shapes a people for the social incarnational presence/ministry of the gospel in the world. Bringing to bear the fields of political theory and political theology, we will develop a method to explore this connection of belief to life, the shaping of a community into the Mission of God. We will specifically explore the ways we talk about and practice Scripture, the Church and Salvation and how each doctrinal expression shapes the very character of a community for Mission. We will focus heavily on traditional evangelical theology and practice as our test case for whether a theology is ‘missional’ or not (as I have defined it). We will then play off this exploration to draw on multiple sources to articulate a theology (and corresponding practices) for each of these three doctrines that is decidedly ‘Missional.’ The course will conclude with each student examining his/her own inherited doctrine and practice in the same manner with the goal of each student being capable of extending their theological practice towards the shaping a people for the Mission of God.

A pre-requisite for the course is having already passed/excelled in the  Christian Theology sequence of Northern or another seminary. This course requires the student be motivated to engage in some challenging reading material.

If anyone is interested in the course let me (e-mail me at fitchest@gmail.com) or admissions at Northern know. We’ll figure out a way to get you in.

Filed under Ecclesiology,Missional,Missional Theology,Scripture,Soteriology 10 Comments

davidfitch on June 10 2009

THE THREE BIGGEST FEARS WE MUST FACE WHEN PLANTING A CHURCH/ I.E. SEEDING A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY

Every month we have a gathering over at our house on the back deck. We call it “Missional Back Porch” and the goal is to gather, put something on the grill, and sit around together talking about what it means to live together into the Mission of God.

Last Friday, the question was “what is your biggest fear about getting up and moving to a new locale with 10-15 other people to seed a missional community (i.e. join a missional order)?” We’re getting ready to do this two or three times in the next two years. So the question of these “fears” is an important question for us. Some of the fears I suspect are derivative of the ways we planted churches back “in the days” of Christendom. I list only the three biggest fears mentioned? Here they are with a personal reflection on each one.

1. My life (or my family’s life) would be consumed if I went and planted a church with some other people.
I think we often see church planting along the lines of establishing of an organization. It is almost like we are starting a business. We will have to provide a list of goods and services right from the start (a first class worship service, a weekly Bible study class, children’s ministry, and evangelistic outreach program etc. etc.). This is traditional church-planting boot camp 101.

This way of planting churches is nigh impossible in post Christendom. This approach was nigh impossible even in Christendom when there were ready-made “consumers” for these services and an ingrained Christian readiness (by already existing Christians) towards volunteer service in the local church. Neither of these things exists in post Christendom for good reasons and other reason not so good. As a result, a church-planter-leader-participant who enters “community seeding” with this approach will burn out nine times out of ten in three years. Often leaders and their families will be severely injured.

Instead I plead with the community planters/leaders/participants to see community seeding as a way of life. We are simply moving into an “under-churched” place, in close proximity to one another, living simply and missionally, tending to the surrounding community relationally out of the vision of the Gospel. We worship simply and organically and it develops over time. We tend to our children, simply and organically partnering with others as available. The Holy Spirit enlivens the ministries with power. The gifts of the Spirit flourish. Ministries, and the organization that accompany these ministries, happens over time, as an post facto development.

The first sign that this is a “church plant of the flesh” is when families and leaders are exhausting themselves and their families to the point of destruction. There is just too much evidence that NT leaders (both men and women) were not allowed to lead if their families were in disorder.

2. I will be leaving behind my relationships and starting all over again.
We plant with 3 defined leaders (defined within an APEPT model). We take 12 to 15 people in all that have agreed to the common vision and mission for an extended period of time (no less than 5 years). These people will be by definition some of your closest friends already. Through this common agreement and move, you will find some of the most intense, God honoring, life flourishing relationship possible in this life.

3. There will be a leadership rift – people will not all be on the same page, they will get mad, and break-up the ministry – and we will be left hung out to dry.
It is very important that the three main leaders be mutually submissive to one another and in agreement on the main things/Vision of what we’re doing. It is important that they be able to grow and know each other’s limits. If this is not in place the community will fail. Far beyond all the assessment in search of the entrepreneurial personality type to start a church plant, we should evaluate the character of the three (or four or five) leaders in their ability to mutually submit to each other, to grow out of relationship one to another, and the compatibility of their giftedness in relation to each other (according to say the APEPT list of gifts in Eph 4:11 – Alan Hirsch offers this diagnostic tool here). As the leaders lead this community, they must be adaptable, capable of listening, incorporating criticism and changing with the movement of God in this community and neighborhood. If this is not already fleshed out. If there is not evidence of this. The “missional order” is not ready to move into a new neighborhood.

WHAT OTHER FEARS DO YOU HAVE? CONCERNING THIS MODE OF CHURCH-PLANTING”? HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THESE FEARS?

Filed under Church Planting,Missional,Missional Leadership 9 Comments