Continuing with the previous conversation on Michael Spencer’s article on The Coming Evangelical Collapse, I will share some of my observations. Refer to the previous post for links to the article.
Michael makes 7 points as to why he believes the collapse is inevitable – read those here and come back for my take – go ahead – I’ll wait.
1) The love affair that evangelicals have had with a one party affiliation is over. Jesus resisted the politicization of the good news of the Kingdom why do we think that we know better than him. This previous election proved that the shrill message of the Religious Right did not resonate well with the rank and file. The limited issues that have been part of the platform of the Right ignore the tsunami of compassionate social and justice issues that younger evangelicals are swept up in to.
2) Barna’s current research shows that 1/2 of 1% of born-again Christians between the ages of 18-23 have a Biblical worldview. That means 99% of our churched young adults DO NOT possess a Biblical worldview. Our young people have not embraced the faith no matter how much money we throw at youth ministry. We need a massive wake up call in this area to make sure that we are really making Christ followers of our young people, not just giving them hype!
3) There is a reformation coming to the Western church. Reggie McNeal makes a brilliant case for this in his current work, Missional Renaissance. There are some megachurches that will thrive in the future but they must be missionally and incarnationally focused.
4) Christian education has not done its job in producing people that are growing in Christ-likeness. Christian education must move from a Hellenistic model of merely transmitting information to a Hebraic understanding of focusing on obedience to the teachings of Christ, not just mere knowledge. Willow Creek’s Reveal study proved that – ’nuff said!
5) People are not going to continue giving to massive building programs that are monuments to man and fat paychecks for the professional clergy. People will give to initiatives that are community focused and transformative. Here the church must morph from an inward focus to an outward missional impulse.
6) Yep, the southeast won’t be the Bible belt for much longer. Post modernism and secularism is here to stay and we must learn to contextualize and incarnate the Message in this environment.
7) Again, the shift in finances will move away from the consumeristic demands of the Baby Boomers to the altruistic vibe of the emerging generations. I don’t see a problem with that.
This collapse to me is not terrible news. Tomorrow I’ll share why I don’t think this is all bad news. Share your comments.
The blogosphere was set ablaze over the past week with the publishing of InternetMonk’s article on “The Coming Evangelical Collapse” in the Christian Science Monitor.
You can read the CSM article here.
The original post from Michael Spencer, a.k.a. Internet Monk, can be found here, here, and here.
Michael postulates about the demise of evangelicalism and the rapid onset of a post-Christian western world. He declares that the party’s almost over for evangelicals. The collapse will be heralded by the ending of thousands of ministries, the decline and influence of Christian media, and the unemployment of ministers, missionaries and Christian workers.
Michael does not consider himself a prophet or futurist but here is his grim outlook from the InternetMonk post:
I believe this evangelical collapse will happen with astonishing statistical speed; that within two generations of where we are now evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its current occupants, leaving in its wake nothing that can revitalize evangelicals to their former “glory.”
It’s important to point out that there is a monumental difference between Western evangelicalism and true Biblical Christianity, a point I will outline in my next post along with my commentary on InternetMonk’s predictions and assumptions. Stay tuned!
Mark Batterson shared a brilliant post here, about the need at times to “cut the lines to the lifeboat” instead of playing it safe. Sharing from the story of Paul’s crash landing in the Island of Malta, the decision to throw everything overboard, cut the lines to the lifeboat and stay on the ship, saved their lives. That story rivals anything on this season of Lost.
Mark observes wisely, “we like backup plans. We all want a lifeboat. But there are moments in life when you have to cut the lines to the lifeboat. And the very thing that seems the riskiest is actually the safest and what seems the safest is actually the riskiest. The thing that could cost your life ends up saving your life and the thing that could save your life ends up costing your life.
I have been struggling, wrestling with and resisting, a decision that would require enormous personal risk for me and my family. Our human tendency is always to play it safe. Something about our fallen nature seems to revert back to the path of least resistance. Recently, as I have been reading through the life of Christ, I am convicted about how little Jesus played it safe. Unfortunately, sanitized, Sunday school Jesus is never presented this way. Following Jesus means we follow him wherever he leads. And sometimes, where He leads, will mean a shipwreck and a snake bite — and if we dare to follow — an island-wide revival. Acts 27:1-28:10
What a heartwarming and touching letter that the Bush sisters left for the Obama girls. Almost made me cry — almost!
Steven Furtick had a great post here about a topic I unfortunately know about and have seen often. He has a very sobering quote that someone shared with him that is quite true:
There is very little that we do in the Spirit that we cannot fake in the flesh!
Being part of the Charismatic movement, I have been exposed to the genuine moves of the Spirit and unfortunately all of the fleshly displays of what some have passed off as a move of the “Spirit”. When much of what we do in ministry is based on performance, there is such a tendency to revert to recreating moments that we feel were “breathed” on by the Holy Spirit, in order to keep our acolytes coming back for more. I have watched as “men of God” manipulated people and hyped up worship and rhetoric to elicit a response from people. It makes you want to puke. The reality is though, I have been that guy that has used hype to get a response from the crowd. God forgive me.
When we look at the life of Jesus, there was an effortless flow of power from him because of his intimacy with the Father. Jesus did not have to hype up the crowd in to a fever pitch of uncontrollable frenzy in order for the miraculous to take place. He spoke a word, he sent people on their way, he made mud pies with his spit and applied it over someone’s eyes, he told people to pick up their mats and begin to walk, yet never do we observe him hyping up the crowd.
I echo Steven’s prayer, “God, keep us close to the Source of our strength.
Help us to never manufacture in the flesh
what should only be accomplished in the power of your Spirit.
John 4:31 I can imagine this scene in which the disciples are urging Jesus to eat because they got him the pita and hummus combo at the local fast-food joint in Samaria. They didn’t know he had been ministering to a woman while he was waiting for them and at that precise moment a mini-revival was starting in the town.
How funny that the things that we pursue in life apart from the will of God leave us empty, unfulfilled and unsatisfied. When we are in the arena of God’s purpose for our lives, there is a satisfaction that we cannot express and put fully in to words. Ministry has its ups and downs and for sure, some days I was wish I was doing something else. The consistent thing I do know, is that when I am about “my Father’s business” I experience that ‘fullness’ in my spiritual stomach that keeps my going.
Lord, I want to live my life doing your will and accomplishing your work. In that is the promise, not that life will be simple, easy, effortless and tame, but that there will be a ‘fullness’ to my life that I will never encounter apart from you.
