Pagan Christianity #2
These ideas put forth by George Barna and Frank Viola are not new on the scene. They have been touted by many in the “House Church” and “Unchurch (Relational Church)” for years. Off the top of my head I can remember Gene Edwards book Beyond Radical, and Mark Strom’s book Reframing Paul. It is also a regular discussion by some of the leaders in these movements like Frank Viola, Wayne Jacobson and others. Yet why do they bring it up? Why are they attacking traditions, leadership, formal doctrine and the like? This I think is what church leaders need to be thinking about when addressing these issues.
I remember back in 1996 when I was writing my senior thesis on the House Church Movement being surprised at the anger and resentment that was in the movement against what they called the “traditional church.” This is often even greater in those who turn away from any “formal” church gathering.
I think this anger often roots itself in either two causes. First, those who have difficulty with authority. This can be rooted in our cultural ideas, unsubmissiveness, or past hurt. These people what their Christianity to be comfortable, and defined by them. Which fits so well in our day and age. The second group make me sad. They are usually the ones who were genuine seekers for God, but had the unfortunate experience of being a part of a church which didn’t center itself on Christ and the Gospel. When they found things to be empty of meaning (because no one could tell them why they did the things they were doing), and disappointed because no matter how hard they worked they never found the freedom and joy of the gospel. Until they left the church. This group then mixes up what is really a doctrinal issue(gospel understanding), with a structural issue (how we meet).
So instead of going and gathering with other believers in listening to a pastor preach a sermon, they gather around their iPod and listen to a podcast. Instead of having doctrine define one group from the other, divisions are on structure and form. Under the banner of being “Biblical” two thousand years of Church History is ignored. Not everything that comes out of this arena is entirely wrong. Many of our churches have sold out to the commercialism and materialism of our culture. The problem is that their solution is just as driven by the pragmatism and relativism of our culture as those they decry as evil.
I think that most of us would agree that traditions do not carry the weight of scripture. They can be set aside or taken up. Yet, both of these should be done with caution. Holding onto traditions that have no meaning can be a distraction from the gospel, but casting off traditions without regard is arrogant and separates us from the historic church. Yet our culture is arrogant when out of its ignorance and worship of the individual it disregards and despises history and institutions. Sadly, many of our churches are not any better. It is no wonder that this group is growing.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:37 pm
The sequel to “Pagan Christianity?” is out now. It’s called “Reimagining Church”. It picks up where “Pagan Christianity” left off and continues the conversation. (“Pagan Christianity” was never meant to be a stand alone book; it’s part one of the conversation.) “Reimagining Church” is endorsed by Leonard Sweet, Shane Claiborne, Alan Hirsch, and many others. You can read a sample chapter at http://www.ReimaginingChurch.org. It’s also available on Amazon.com. Frank is also blogging now at http://frankviola.wordpress.com/
October 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Thanks for writing this.