Modern American Christianity is a diverse multiplex of trends. No longer do the labels “Catholic” or “Protestant” neatly categorize the trajectories of the post-Reformation era we live in. Protestantism is so hopelessly fragmented that entirely different words are needed to describe the variety of movements and trends within. Liberals take on a theology of social activism, while the Reformed hold tightly to the teachings of John Calvin and the Westminster Confession, Modern Evangelicals focus on the piety of conversion, and Pentecostals look to the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” for a true union with Christ. Needless to say there has been much more diversity than unity; however, there is no reason to despair. Brian Mclaren optimistically says that there is as a “new kind of Christian” emerging from the postmodern culture that seeks to be more than just a label. Ironically, this “new kind of Christian” has been labeled the so-called “emerging church,” which seeks to be a like-minded community with a solidarity that transcends the arbitrary pigeonholing of yesterday’s spiritually bankrupt Christianity. They claim that the Church has failed Christ’s followers, the world, and most importantly, God.

I have fervently sought to understand this movement because I am a part of it. I realize that no matter what direction I take in my theology I must engage postmodern culture, because I am of a postmodern generation. Of course I could always retreat into a comfortable Christian bubble that floats on the rubber raft of fundamentalism. However, that would only help me become a moralistic cynic of today’s pagan revelry; I think the Church has plenty of those to go around. However, that would only come at the expense of my conscience. Circling the wagons and isolating from the world is not an option. Yet at the same time I look at the version of Christianity that took to the streets and airwaves in the last 50 years, and I find myself categorically embarrassed. There are plenty of silly images that come to mind. Huge “mega churches” catering to “seekers,” arenas full of people weeping for healing, sweaty televangelists preaching with a big-ass leather bible in hand, and little tracts with 4 spiritual laws and a bridge on them are all characteristics of a Christianity that you and I hold in contempt. And let’s not forget the vulgar contributions of the Religious Right and Christian talk radio. Just about every piece of rhetoric that comes from them can only decry the evils of abortion, gays and lesbians, and “working women.” So, it is without question that 20 to 30 something Christians want to be known for something different; the question is what?

Younger Evangelicals are going through an identity crisis. We know pretty well what we don’t want to be, yet we have no idea what we want to be. A friend of mine pointed this out to me when he said he always chuckles at the slogans on Gen X church bulletins that say, “We are definitely not your parent’s church!” We’ve made our claims on different styles of music, different ways of doing church, and we’ve even discarded the practice of systematic theology as an artifact of modernity. Unfortunately, we tend to castigate those who study it as “arrogant”, “pharisaical”, and “divisive.” And most tragically, we are painfully ignorant of our own Great Tradition of Church history. We are only becoming simply another movement within “Evangelicalism” stereotyped by coffee houses and acoustic guitars. Is this really the best we can do? Are we really going to be more than just a label? What does being a member of God’s Kingdom really mean?

After reflecting on these questions for some time, I have come to agree with the author of Ecclesiastes who wrote in Solomonic prose, “Nothing is new under the sun.” If our generation is to have any spiritual significance we must do what every generation who is of the community of God must do. We must listen. We must listen to what God has to tell us and we must listen to one another.

Modern Evangelicalism’s project was to establish Scripture as inspired by God, inerrant in word, and infallible in faith and practice. Because the increasing secular scrutiny and textual criticism of the Bible in the early 20th century became so fierce, scholars like Carl H. F. Henry wrote voluminous amounts of books and articles defending the authority and veracity of the Bible. This single foundation has been heavily defended for the last two hundred years so that theologians like Charles Hodge and B.B. Warfield could sift through the text and extract propositional truth in order to build a coherent doctrinal system. One might be able to scoff at the effort of a complete and final “system” of the Bible’s truth, but we must remember that this was (and still is) the way that Modern Evangelicals sought to listen to God. Whether or not this project succeeded or failed is irrelevant, but one thing it did prove is that Christians are, as Stanley J. Grenz would say, “a people of the book.” If we are to listen to God at all we must listen to the message of Scripture. It is as if we are like Charlton Heston of the NRA, raising a rifle above his head saying, “From my cold, dead hands!” So we are with the Bible.

My favorite books of the Bible are those of the Old Testament prophets. The most common command throughout their narratives is to “listen,” “hear,” and “give ear” to the spoken message of God. Sadly, most of the messages delivered through these men were not taken seriously because the people did not take God seriously. Those that did, tested their words, and sought after a greater knowledge and understanding of God and his revelation. Listening is the proper response to God rather than arbitrary mantras of meaningless praise (Luke 11:27-28). Those that listen to God want to “hear” Him so that they might obey Him. So much of the disgust our generation has with systematic theology is that it becomes mere knowledge that puffs up the ego. If we applied one tenth of all that we know about forgiveness, we would truly be a grateful people. Unfortunately, many believers fail to understand the gospel they profess and live in a perpetual state of guilt, bondage, and fear. It is as if they looked into a mirror and quickly forgot what they looked like when they turned away from it (James 1:22-25). It is no wonder that task of the prophet is so arduous! The message is not hard to understand, but seldom heard.

Today, listening has become an increasingly difficult task. If God is to use us at all in this transitional age we must learn how to tune out an obscene amount of “noise.” Our culture is constantly distracted by television, magazines, newspapers, billboards, books, CD players, radio stations, websites, emails, MP3’s, shopping malls, schools, our family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, and even our own depraved minds! One has to ask how it is even possible to concentrate on something unseen! Even in our churches we get bogged down in the petty business of determining if our worship is “experiential,” if the bass was loud enough, if the latest greatest Christian band is actually Christian, if the book your reading is biblical, or if churches should or shouldn’t be “seeker-sensitive.” I sometimes wonder during these heated “worship wars” if the believers that are trying to be “sensitive” to “seekers” are even seeking God!

If our generation is going to have any spiritual significance we must listen to what God is saying to us. We must not become anti-historical reformists, always trying to be different, but learn to reflect on the Great Tradition of the church. As Thomas C. Oden has said, “Tradition enables reform.” Finally, we must try to understand what is really going on in the world around us so we can meet its needs. All of this demands an attention span. We must quiet our minds, and be still so that we may know who is God (Psalm 46:10). As Oden says, “The completeness and fullness of truth in the apostolic testimony always seeks to become freshly appropriated in new hearts, new cultures, and ever retranslated into new languages and symbol systems. For the Spirit is working throughout history in all times and places to bring the incarnate eternal Word into our hearts effectively.”

I remember sitting alongside the Mississippi River in St. Paul a couple of years ago as a broken man. I was so angry with God; I refused to speak to him. I just sat there, smoking my tobacco pipe, listening to the flowing water for hours at a time. The only distractions were the occasional barge that would chug by and the twig I would sometimes dig in the dirt with. It was in these quiet moments that I was able to hear God speak to me. I would open my Bible to Isaiah 46 and read about the heavy idols I was carrying and how God longed for me to turn from my own self-glorification. Sometimes during my daily twattle I look back fondly on that time in my life. It was a turning point—a point of change. It was a change that I could not have done without, and neither can we. We must listen, or we will be nothing new under the sun.

hey john et al,

I've been absent from this blog for a long time.. but I'm hoping to stop by a bit more often.
blessings to all in the new year!

Here's a provocative thought from Bonhoeffer..

"During these years the Church has fought for self-preservation as though it were an end in itself, and has thereby lost its chance to speak a word of reconciliation to humanity and to the world at large. So our traditional language must perforce become powerless and remain silent, and our Christianity will be confined to praying and doing right to our human brothers and sisters. Christian thinking, speaking and organizing must be reborn out of this praying and this action.. It will be a new language.. the language of a new righteousness and truth, which proclaims the peace of God with humankind and the advent of his kingdom. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Letters and Papers from Prison"

i just added some new people to the posting - sorry it took so long :) i pray all have had a great holiday season :) be in peace