Here's a ministry issue.
It's particularly relevant to the diocese of Sydney, where I am from, but also to evangelicalism around the world.
It seems that the attitude of "whatever works" (to promote the gospel of course) is prevalent in our churches. That is, we have a principled end, but are entirely pragmatic about the means to get there.
So, whatever structural or political means are necessary to achieve the ends we will do. We will concede everything to our culture in order to get them into church: marketing the church and even Jesus like a product, making Christianity fit with the lifestyle of our suburb, and so on.
It takes different forms wherever you go. Sydney Anglicans for example will treat the political process of the denomination as a means to an end and do whatever it takes no matter how tough it seems, because of the ends in view.
TS Eliot says:
This last temptation is the greatest treason
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.
I think we tend to do the opposite: The wrong deed for the right reason...
In my view, pragmatism is a vile creeping poison. But what do others think?
5 comments:
The problem with the church, in the broadest sense possilble, is when you try to protect the church the church stagnates at some point. The church does not need to protected by men and leave the work of protection up to God. The church is like a wildflower in a pot. It looks nice and is protected from the elements, but cannot grow beyond the boundaries men have constrained around it. Only wildflowers in fields grow to the full potential God has in store for them.
My two cents
Jim Brank
Denton, TX
So Michael, how do you think we in Sydney Anglican circles can work to reduce this tendency?
I think you are right,but I'm not sure how we go about changing the culture...
I agree we need to respect the process. If we are part of the Anglican church (for example) we need to respect the rules that govern the Anglican church.
What I dont like about modern evangelicals is how little respect there is for tradition. I don't mean bells and smells and hymns. I actually mean the intellectual capital the church has accumulated through its various theologians through the ages.
Scripture has the final word, of course. But we would be foolish to discard the accumulated wisdom of the church. We need to engage with the theology of the past.
If we are going to depart from traditional Anglican practice (and even doctrine), fair enough, sometimes that is necessary. But let us do it carefully and intelligently. Rules were usually put in place for very good reasons.
Disclaimer: I like stained glass windows in church. And also guitars with lots of distortion.
Well we change the culture I think by talking about it partly.
I also think we need to encourage more being and less doing!
For example, in sydney we often view church life as a set of programmes and course for parishioners to attend. Why not just plan time when they can enjoy being together?
I think that is a good suggestion. The tendency to "do" rather than "be" (as you put it) is a manifestation of modern, schedule-driven life I think.
My home group from last year "broke the mold" a little. About 1 in every 4 of our meetings was a social - we'd have dinner together, or watch a movie or play games. We even went salsa dancing 1 night!
Of course the time we were eating and talking and playing games we weren't reading the bible or praying. But there was a lot of value in it.
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