sharing the gospel in a "spiritual but not religious" age
Post on 17-Oct-2014
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A presentation I presented to a group of clergy through Grand View University's Center for Renewal.Please note primary sources section at end of presentation.TRANSCRIPT
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Sharing the Gospel in a “Spiritual but not Religious” Age
Pastor Brian Beckstrom, Wartburg College
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How to engage?Pastor Lillian Daniels Dr. Diana Butler Bass
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Where the Cross Meets the
Dream catcher
Brian McLaren “A New Kind of
Christian” (1992)
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Where are We?
0204060
2009 Princeton Research Associates Pollhttp://www.psrai.com/filesave/
0904%20ftop%20w%20methodology.pdf (Accessed 5/8/12)
% of US Population
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Defining Terms
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Word Association Exercise
What do you think of when you hear the word “Spiritual”?
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Word Association: “Spiritual”Source: Diana Butler Bass, “Christianity after Religion”
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Word Association Exercise
What do you think of when you hear the word “Religious”?
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Word Association: “Religious”Source: Diana Butler Bass, “Christianity after Religion”
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Spiritual vs. Religious: What’s the Difference?
http://benaiah.mischenko.com/pinacoladahappyhour/archive/i-love-jesus-but-hate-religion/
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Spiritual vs. Religious: What’s the Difference?
“They (the public) have essentially substituted the word “religion” for institutional religion and “spirituality” for lively faith.”-Bass, Pg. 71
“this newly defined construct (institutional Religion) is contrasted with the spiritual, which refers to the personal, the affective, the experiential, and the thoughtful.”- Kenneth Pargament “The psychology of Religion and Spirituality. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion Vol. 9, No. 1.
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Defining Terms:Spiritual
“Personal (but not necessarily private) beliefs and experiences that provide a sense of meaning and connection to the divine.”
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Defining Terms
Religious“Public beliefs and practices expressed communally within an organized religious setting.”
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History
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A “Christian” Nation? Perception: Americans
have always been peculiarly “religious”.
Reality. 1600’s: only 1/3 belonged
to a Church. Revolutionary War: > 15%
Sources: Robert Fuller “Spiritual but not Religious: Understanding Un-churched America. Roger Finke and Rodney Stark “The Churching of America”.
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The Distant American God
Puritanism: An “Authoritarian” God.
Enlightenment rationalism: a “Distant God”. Deism: God the “watch
maker”.
Left Americans craving a more “spiritual” connection to God.
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American Concepts of God
The Authoritarian God (31%)
The Benevolent God (23%)
The Critical God (16%) The Distant God (24%)
Source: Paul Froese & Christopher Bader, “America’s Four Gods” (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010)
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Reactions Historical Examples.
Astrology. Divination. Occult. Mesmerism. Swedenborgianism Transcendentalism
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The Rise & Fall of Modern Evangelicalism
Fundamentalist/Modernist Split (late 18th/Early 19th Century) Modernists: Biblical
Criticism, Social Gospel.
Fundamentalists retreated from modern life.
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The Rise & Fall of Modern Evangelicalism
The re-emergence of Evangelicalism: A more public form of conservative Christianity. (circa 1940-1950)
Golden Age for Evangelicals: 1970’s-1980’s. Moral Majority. Religious Right.
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The Rise & Fall of Modern Evangelicalism
Backlash against Evangelicalism.
Numbers declining since 1990’s, particularly with young adults. 1986: 26% Now: 15%
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The Rise & Fall of Modern Evangelicalism
Evangelical growth/Mainline decline Birth rates.
Reality: American Christianity is in decline across the theological spectrum.
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The Mega Church Anomaly
Nondenominational (Evangelical) Megachurches still growing.
Overall percentage of Christians in US continues to decline.
Where are they coming from?
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Where are We?What’s your context?
How long have you been there?What are the biggest changes you’ve noticed?
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Where are We?
0204060
2009 Princeton Research Associates Pollhttp://www.psrai.com/filesave/
0904%20ftop%20w%20methodology.pdf (Accessed 5/8/12)
% of US Population
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American Religious Trends:1990-2009The Rise of the None’s• The fastest growing
religious affiliation in the US is “None”.• 1990: 8%• 2009: 16%
Source: Newsweek Article, “The End of Christian America” April 3, 2009
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American Religious Trends
0102030
The Rise of the None’s (Source: Diana Butler Bass “Christianity
after Religion” )
Percentage of US Population (2011)
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A Sign of things to Come
25-30% of young adults are “none’s”.
Only 25% attend worship weekly.
40% never pray.
Source: “2012 Millenial Values Survey”, Public Research Institute http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/04/millennial-values-survey-2012/ Accessed: 5/8/12.
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Reaching OutHow do we share the Gospel in a “Spiritual but not Religious” age?
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Two America’s?
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What’s missing in American Christianity?
Faith has become impersonal & isolating. Personal experience Participation Graciousness
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Changing QuestionsSource: Bass, “Christianity after Religion”
Modern question: What do I believe?
Contemporary questions: How do I believe? Why do I believe?
Discipleship & Spiritual Formation.
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Reaching Out The Missional
Church Resources:
Craig Van Gelder: “The Ministry of the Missional Church”.
Alan Roxburgh “Introducing the Missional Church”
ARE (Kelly Fryer).
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Best Practices Spiritual Practices
Personal: Prayer, Reflection, Study, Meditation.
Communal: Service, Friendship, Worship, Hospitality, Lectio Divina.
Resources: Brian McLaren “Finding our
way again”. Richard Foster: “Celebration
of Discipline.” Diana Butler Bass:
“Christianity for the rest of us”.
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Best Practices
Catechumenate.
Resource: Paul Hoffman: “Faith
forming Faith”.
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Best Practices Participatory
worship Resources:
Dan Kimball: “Emerging Worship”.
Robert Webber: “Ancient-Future Worship”.
Mark Pierson: “The Art of Curating Worship”.
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Conclusion
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Primary Sources Robert C. Fuller, “Spiritual but not Religious:
Understanding Un-churched America”. Oxford Press, 2001.
Diana Butler Bass, “Christianity after Religion”. Harper One: 2012.
Robert D. Putnam & David E. Campbell, “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us”. Simon & Schuster, 2010.
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Dwelling in the WordActs 8:26-39