There’s going to be a few of these posts. This one provides background and some of the things a new awakening is not. I wanted to end the first one differently – I wanted to start exploring what this new awakening is. That must wait for another post.

Background

My brother from another mother, Scott, is a part of a class in his church looking at the state of morality in American Christianity. They are asking such questions as “Is it declining? Is it just different? If it is in decline, when did the decline start?” This class was mentioned on the Rocky Mountain Religious Ride a couple weeks ago and I spent some time answering these questions and more.

As an aside, I should mention that I am prone to spoonerisms and other issues when speaking spontaneously. For that reason, I usually avoid it. Many times I hear myself and wonder,“DID I REALLY SAY THAT?” because I am unable to hear how it sounds to the audience until I hear it later. When I do communions or lessons, I spend a lot of time rehearsing the actual lesson and what I’ll say to prevent all manner of strange utterances.

For example, I mentioned on one show the effect of my father on my faith. What I meant to say was that I was grateful for his influence and constant instruction. When my life gets sour, his groundwork during my earliest years provided a foundation of faith that is always there. What I actually said on the radio made it sound like my father didn’t know what he was doing and that I wished it had been done differently.

I really am a terrible spontaneous speaker and not much better as a spontaneous writer. Editing helps make this site easier to read, but there are still issues of missing words, odd grammar, and a host of other things. I really should’ve been a math teacher – reading and writing is such a big pain for me.

I framed my answer in the historical perspective of the Great Awakenings. These awakenings are marked times of revival and spirituality. I contend that the SecondThird Great Awakening was the last one of any great national effect. This was the one the brought about reforms in our society like caring for the mentally ill, reforming the prison system, establishing women’s rights, creating public elementary schools for children, etc. Political and social activism was on the rise and the effects are still felt today.

Warning! History Follows
On the Ride, I said the Second Awakening and in my earlier post, I repeated the error. I was confusing the Second and Third Awakenings. The Third is associated with the Social Gospel, not the Second, although the Third was built on the principles of the Second. To oversimplify it, the Third was different from the Second in that the Third Awakening dealt with issues of poverty as more of a focus. The Second Awakening was instrumental in founding the Restoration Movement family of churches (Look up Barton Stone, et. al.) The third was more about social reform through denominational groups and some parachurch organizations. Consider that the Salvation Army gained prominence during this time, as well as the YMCA. On the theoligcal front, Dwight Moody started up his activities in Chicago after the Civil War.

I didn’t consider the Third for some time because this time period marked two tragic events: the Civil War and the removal of many rights established during reconstruction. It’s hard to imagine the Civil War occuring in the middle of a national revival. It’s also hard to imagine that the Holy Spirit would inspire politicians to repeal the rights of former slaves established during Reconstruction. Still it’s hard to ignore the lasting impact of Dwight Moody, settlement houses, and others. So, I’ll stick with the Third for now.

New Awakening

Talking about the moral state of American Christianity sparked a connection to a great hope that I have. I call it an Awakening because it fits with the description that others use. I understand that many use it as a warning that their pet cause will one day become the norm in the rest of the Christian world. One example I’ve found says the next great awakening will redefine biblical giving because the Bible doesn’t speak about weekly contributions. Other examples seem to believe that we’re in a new awakening already. Saddleback has an article on their website asking if it’s already begun because the spiritual depth of conversations has increased. I’m sure that if I kept looking, the notions of the Next Awakening would range from the truly bizarre to the mundane. It is possible that I am a big kook for my vision of the future.

So be it.

Basic Ideas

• Major religious efforts now are not the foundation of some great revival.
• What our children are doing now will shape Christianity in the future.
• The Next Great Thing will be very different from what is happening now.
• (as an aside) I will probably not like it much when it happens.

It’s Not Happening Now

I’ve mentioned a few things that the New Awakening will not be. As I said, sometimes an idea comes by shading out what the idea isn’t. It’s a negative space way of thinking that is more inductive that deductive. Unlike some others, I start by believing that it is not happening now. Here’s some of the major trends happening now and why they’re not ‘it’.

The Megachurch Phenomenon

Saddleback has certainly gotten the attention of many. Joel Osteen has the largest congregation in the US. The Potter’s House of TD Jakes continues to grow. Even my city has a large church of thousands and a Willow Creek type church of a couple thousand. In urban areas, there’s bound to be one or more of these large churches. Most of them have grown by thousands in recent years and promote programs for every kind of activitity.

They are not working well. A megachurch tends to grow only as large as the lead minister can effectively handle. Beyond that point, the church seems to plateau, and in some cases decline. The primary failure of these and likeminded churches is that they are only focused on growing one congregation. There can be all kinds of outreach programs, they can have wonderful small groups, profound teaching and instruction. Yet, it is all designed to grow just the one congregation.

Rather than plant another Lakewood, Osteen and company go on the road and broadcast on TV (Over 92% of American households can see Lakewood’s Sunday morning service). Potter’s House in Dallas (not the same of Potter’s House ministries) is only one congregation. Saddleback has a P.E.A.C.E. plan to engage communities all over the world and, of course, the Purpose Driven series of products to help a congregation, regardless of doctrine. Willow Creek has an association (not a denomination). Still, is there a Saddleback in Illinois? Is there a Potter’s House in Georiga? How about Lakewood North in New York? At least Saddleback and Willow Creek are involved in other congregations, but there’s no planting. This doesn’t seem sustainable over time.

The Church Emerging Will Continue to Do So

I must confess that I love listening to Brian McLaren speak. I enjoy his articles, too. Reading any of the websites from the canon of Emergent Church Leaders will provide thought-provoking content. I even understand a reluctance to say what you are by talking about what you are not. More than anything, I enjoy the non-answers to questions reminding me of so many English papers I wrote and graded over the years. It all sounds and tastes so very good. It’s like mental doughnuts. Mmmm. doughnuts.

At the end of the argument, though, there is only new ideas of how to do church. I know, it’s also about engaging the culture and demonstrating a new hermenuetic. (I can use larger words, too.)The books and articles sound so profound and compare interesting ideas together. However, my experience thus far with the Church Emergent, is that there is no large personal change. A Christian of any tribe becomes like the culture around them in order to speak to them. It appears to be preoccupied by how much a Christian can be a member of his or her culture and still be a Christian. I still contend that as ‘aliens and strangers’ on this world, Christians are more members of their own culture trying to reach out to the fallen cultures around us. If the Churh Emergent had been around for any of the previous Awakenings, I do not believe they would have been agents for social change. The next awakening will involve social change. As such, that pretty much leaves this movement out of it.

A Denomination Will Not Fix All Our Problems

At this point in America, a denomination means very little. There was a time when being a part of a specfic group helped others know what you personally believed. A person was a Methodist, a Baptist, a Congregationalist, or any of a number of other things. It’s not that a person would believe that their group was the only one to correctly interpret the Bible as much as a reflection of how a person understood God, Jesus, church, salvation, and other spiritual matters. Over time, however, a recurring problem arises from a denominational name: history. In this point in time, the easiest way to escape a problematic history is to make up a name. Most of the largest churches in America have no obvious ties to a denomination. Even Kip McKean has done this twice in an effort to make something new.

Rick Warren will tell you that he renamed the church in order to make it more seeker-friendly. Even if history isn’t a problem, it doesn’t appear that folks are interested in a typical name. Names like Community Church, Family Church, House of Prayer, Church of New Beginnings in Christ, etc.

Hate to do it, but more later….