The Church in Transition: The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture - Softcover

Tim Conder

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310265711 ISBN 13: 9780310265719

Publisher: Zondervan, 2006

Synopsis

The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture In our fast-growing post-Christian, postmodern culture, the church often finds itself marginalized and ineffective in mission. The new emerging church is both hopeful and frightening compared to more traditional forms of Christianity. However, these “two churches” need each other. The Church in Transition presents honest stories of the failures and successes of a variety of transitioning fellowships.

About this title

About the Author

Tim Conder (MDiv - Gordon-Conwell Seminary) has served as a pastor and an elder at the Chapel Hill Bible Church in Chapel Hill, NC for the past fifteen years. He now pastors Emmaus Way, an intentional missional community in nearby Durham while remaining a standing elder at Chapel Hill Bible Church. He is the author of The Church in Transition. He also serves on the leadership team of Emergent and on the Board of Directors for Mars Hill Graduate School. He and his wife, Mimi, have two kids, Keenan and Kendall.

From the Back Cover

The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture

In our fast-growing post-Christian, postmodern culture, the church often finds itself marginalized and ineffective in mission. The new emerging church is both hopeful and frightening compared to more traditional forms of Christianity. However, these “two churches” need each other. The Church in Transition presents honest stories of the failures and successes of a variety of transitioning fellowships.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Church in Transition: The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging CultureCopyright 2006 by Tim ConderYouth Specialties products, 300 South Pierce Street, El Cajon, CA 92020, are published byZondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataConder, Tim.The church in transition : the journey of existing churches into theemerging culture / by Tim Conder.p. cm.ISBN-10: 0-310-26571-1 (pbk.)ISBN-13: 0-310-26571-5 (pbk.)1. Church renewal. 2. Christianity and culture. 3.Postmodernism--Religious aspects--Christianity. I. Title.BV600.3.C67 2006262'.001'7--dc222005024204Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: NewInternational Version (North American Edition). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternationalBible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any means---electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, orany other---except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of thepublisher.Web site addresses listed in this book were current at the time of publication. Please contactYouth Specialties via e-mail (YS@YouthSpecialties.com) to report URLs that are no longeroperational and replacement URLs if available.Creative Team: Doug Davidson, Laura Gross, Brad Taylor, Mark Novelli, and Heather HaggertyCover design by Holly SharpPrinted in the United States of America06 07 08 09 10 * 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1CHAPTER ONEThe Church ina Changing LandscapeEMERGING CULTURE, THE EMERGING CHURCH,AND CHURCH IN TRANSITIONRecently, a national newspaper ran a front-page story about a Christianleader who sought to distance himself somewhat from the religiousright. He expressed some remorse that he'd chosen politicalsides earlier in his ministry. Today, in an era when some theologicalconservatives refuse to share the podium with any who disagreewith their views of salvation and theology, this leader now openshis events to sponsorship and participation by the full spectrum ofChristianity. 'If I took sides in all these different divisive areas,'he contends, 'I would cut off a great part of the people that I reallywant to reach.' In the article, he carefully explains how the termevangelism---presenting the good news of the hope God offers humanity---differs from evangelical---the label chosen by some theologicallyconservative Christians. This leader remains passionatelycommitted to proclaiming the gospel, as he has done throughouthis long career. Yet he recognizes that a rapidly changing culturedemands new approaches to ministry.Who is this prominent leader? Perhaps an emerging church orpost-evangelical voice such as Brian McLaren? Or a social activistsuch as Jim Wallis? No. This article was about Billy Graham.2Although Billy Graham's goal to spread the good news hasnot changed over the last half century, his ministry now exhibitsrelaxed associations and shifts of method. Graham's subtle adjustmentsreflect dramatic changes in our culture during this timespan.Billy Graham recognizes that we live in an exciting time of transitionand adaptation, where dominant worldviews, philosophies,and even theologies are either yielding or at least making room fora new era. This time of transition into a new cultural era has greatimplications---both opportunities and challenges---for Christianityand the church.2 'The Gospel of Billy Graham: Inclusion,' taken from www.USAtoday.com posted on May 15, 2005.One of my neighbors recently stopped in for a long cup of coffee.As often happens, our conversation turned comfortably towardspirituality and religion. He was raised in the church, yet has oftentold me of his deep concerns about institutional Christianity. Heand his wife and two children are all quite engaged spiritually, andhe leads a weekly prayer and meditation group for teenagers in hishome. Their family is very involved in local social issues, as wellas hunger relief projects around the world. He and I share manyof the same values and dreams for our community. And my wife,Mimi, and I have been influenced and motivated by their holisticvision of childrearing. He told me he'd be supportive if his childrenchose, as he put it, 'to follow the teachings of Jesus.' But headded that any future forays into Christian community for him orhis wife would have to differ greatly from the doctrinal inflexibilityand relentless guilt that characterized their childhood church experiences.Despite the pain that surrounds his own church experienceand his own interest in Buddhist spirituality, this friend continuallyencourages friends to attend---and also tries to make communityconnections for---a Christian community I help lead.My friend's perspective reveals a deep distrust of institutionalChristianity and a gentle rejection of the Christian story as the soleresource for truth and meaning. He and his family are open to a diversityof perspectives and relationships. In reaction to our highlyindividualized society (dominated by individual rights and consumerism),his family exhibits a strong yearning for community.Holism and social activism take prominent roles in their perspectivesand family expectations.The array of values represented by my friend (community oriented,spiritually seeking, politically active, and open to Christianitybut suspicious of the institutional church) demonstrates many ofthe impulses of a new, emerging culture. Social scientists believethe primary worldview of the last several centuries is yielding toa new worldview and culture. The American consciousness is nolonger dominated by a Christian consensus on morality and truth.We're moving from a culture with a single dominant story (the Judeo-Christian metanarrative) to a more heterogeneous 'post-Christian'society characterized by numerous, competing stories andrivaling views on ethics and truth.3While interest in spirituality remains high, persons in thisemerging culture look to a variety of sources for spiritual meaning.Their spiritual searches often come with a wide range of prejudices(some accurate, others less so) about historical and institutionalChristianity. Sadly, rather than seeing the church as the light of theworld, many people in the emerging culture see the church primarilyin terms of its grave moral inadequacies.This emerging culture is shaped by a philosophy known aspostmodernism, which encourages the pursuit of truth along newavenues of inquiry. According to theologian John Franke, postmodernityinterprets truth and reality with predispositions of 'finitude'and 'suspicion.'4 The postmodern mindset tends to reject global,one-size-fits-all-communities-and-contexts explanations of truth.Since the human ability to know truth is finite, postmodern thinkerstend to be wary of any person or institution that offers or demandsa universal and infinite view, suspecting such perspectives are oftenrooted in a desire to control, manipulate, or even do violence toothers.Postmodernism also explains some of the impulses of thisemerging culture. Emerging culture persons prefer spiritual worldviewsto the mechanistic and scientific explanations of the previousage's modernism. Though individualism remains a hallmarkof American society, in the emerging culture the yearning for communityis growing, as community experiences are viewed as asource of truth. The individual objectivity of modernism is yieldingto a postmodern subjectivity. The postmodern world is one of localcommunities, contexts, and explanations.

Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310265711
• ISBN 13: 9780310265719
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224