Gospel ministry in post-Christian culture the Challenge for the local church

1. Gospel ministry in post-Christian culturethe Challenge for the local church Listening to the context

2. Double listening To the Mission Context • To the essence of the Christian Inheritance Two ears one mouth Use accordingly in mission Failure to enter the other persons world leaves us like the tourists who keep speaking louder in their own language

3. Globalisation and ‘Glocalism’ • Globalisation • Increasingly diverse cultures across the globe are subject to common global issues and culture • Consumerism and commodifcation, subjectivism, new communication, a reaction against these, Keppel ‘the revenge of God’. • Glocalism • These are not expressed the same in each locality but are present in most so one must both ‘think global but act local’ but also listen to the local expression of the global • One size does not fit all, there are no off the shelf solutions.

4. Post-community? In which community should church exist?

5. Post-modernity?Modernity toPostmodernity I tell my story I choose my beliefs truth as fact truth as experience I buy my identity The logic of consumerism

6. Post-Christendom? Church attendance 2005 76% of New Christians Come from 26% De-Churched finding faith today 1992 65% Non Churched This section of the population is older and decreasing over time 26% De Churched 9% monthly

7. Post-Christendom? Not just about church attendance • Grace Davie, - Believing without belonging and vicarious faith • But changing belief • Fading of occasional office • Decline in Christian identity • Stages in the decline of Christendom not a new way for it to persist

8. Belief in God

9. Infant Baptism C of E 2007

10. Church Weddings 2007

11. Christian Affiliation UK

12. Christian Affiliation 2001

13. Christian Affiliation

14. Builders (born 20s+30s) in 2005

15. Boomers (born 40s+50s) in 2005

16. Gen-Xers (born 60s+70s) in 2005

17. Gen-Yers (born 80s+90s) in 2015?

18. Post- Secularism? • Post-modernity - multi-faith in a post-secular age • Post-modern move from truth as fact to truth as experience - From universal truth to true for me may be different to true for you. • Rejection of objectivity for subjectivity • Personal belief re-enters the public square • Any and every belief …. All are equally unprovable • And so … • All of this much to the annoyance of Richard Dawkins……. and Christians? • Religion once more on the agenda but any religion with no way back to Christendom …..indeed is Christianity disadvantaged compared to the alternatives?

19. ‘Spiritual’ experience in 2000 Vs 1987 55% saw a patterning of events – up 90% 38% felt God’s presence – up 41% 37% had answered prayer – up 48% 29% felt sacred in nature – up 81% 25% the presence of the dead – up 39% 1987 48% report a spiritual experience - 2000 risen to 76% 25% the presence of evil – up 108% But what are they experiencing?

20. The ‘excluded middle’ • Paul Heibert • Many traditional religions have a sacred dimension about the Gods and secular dimension to do with the non-spiritual but also a middle ground of the superstitious and everyday spiritual. He saw this as missing from Christianity, • This area very much addressed by new spiritualities

21. Believe in the soul

22. Believe in an afterlife

23. Believe in restless spirits

24. Believe in Karma

25. Experience of fortune telling, Tarot, astrology, psychics, palmists

26. Australian Gen Y – like Britain? Rationalist humanist Non believing 14% Moral relativism, pick ‘n’ mix, truth in all religions but not just one, something ‘out there’ occult and paranormal experienced BUT open rather than committed or seeing as important Includes neo pagans and followers or frequent participants in the esoteric/occult growing shrinking ‘new spiritual’ 23% Religious 17%

27. Japan Britain

28. Consumer Christianity?

29. Consumer Christianity? • God the cosmic therapist? • Cruise liner – or Battleship? John Wimber • Church shopping? • Looking for what I get out of it • Looking for the one that does things my way • Buying religious product? • Baptisms & weddings • Rosaries • Retreats • Christmas Carols

30. Network theory and small churches • Culture formed through relationships • Those around us raise us with views like theirs • We tend to follow these unless we also form relationships with those of different views • In a multi-cultural setting this can lead to loss of challenging relationships • But minority opinions are kept out and taboos that make such views embarrassing or offensive are employed • Reversing the Christendom picture?... • In some cultures very hard now for Christians to enter other networks unless they keep faith quiet. • Danger Christians create a protective ghetto that may protect Christians but kills mission • Ghetto tends to reinforce negativity to the church • But also danger that those in the world lose their faith • We need confident supported Christians who can enter other networks for effective mission

31. Gospel ministry in post-Christian culturethe Challenge for the local church Listening to God in the history of mission

32. Jesus, mission and other faiths • The Vision of the kingdom of God (cf Luke 5-8) • Radical values of inclusion leading to transformation and reversals of status – the sinful, the unclean, women, the non-Jew ( in spite of Jesus claim to only be sent to the ‘lost sheep of Israel’) • The use of parables • Making disciples who will make disciples • The parable of the sower (Luke 8) followed by sending of The 12 (Luke 9) and 72 (Luke 10) as Jesus has been sent (John 17) (apostolic church). To make disciples in all cultures (Matt 28) • Weakness and vulnerability the marks of the missionary • Sent to be the guests of those they are to witness amongst • Becoming as servants and children (Mark 9) • The small things leading to great change – mustard seed and yeast in dough

33. Crossing culture - The Early Church • In Jerusalem • The Pentecost Sermon to Jews Acts 2 • The Jerusalem church Acts 4 • The Hellenists – fresh insight & Persecution • In Judea and Samaria • The dispersal of the Hellenists • Philip – the Samaritans & Ethiopian Eunuch Acts 8 • To the ends of the earth • Peter and Cornelius Acts 10 • The Church in Antioch Acts 11 • The Gentile mission from Antioch

34. Paul does ‘double-listening’ • Acts 14 – Lystra • After healing a crippled man the crowd think Paul and Barnabas are Hermes and Zeus. • Paul reasons from nature not scripture to explain his faith….and struggles to communicate • Acts 17 – Athens • Paul goes round the temples learning about Greek belief – we see the results in his address to the Areopagus. • He debates with the philosophers in the market place….and struggles to communicate – they call him a ‘spermalgos’ – someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about!

35. Paul’s two sermons Jesus is the expected messiah who will fulfil the prophets and law He was killed as a sacrifice but rose He has been appointed judge and we must now change the directions of our lives We are all searchers after God The God of the universe doesn’t live in temples That God has set a day to judge the nations so we must now change the directions of our lives The judge will be Jesus who was raised from the dead Jews …….and…….Greeks? Mission in Christendom is like Jewish Mission

36. Mission: shift to Christendom • Early Church incarnate in local culture • Greek Church - Paul uses poetry to Zeus • Roman Church - Jesus as Orpheus • Coptic Church - the image of Isis becomes Mary • Celtic Church - Jesus the Druid (Columba) • Germanic Church - the Heliand • Christendom one faith one empire • The Saxon Church and the war band • Synod of Whitby - the date of Easter; monks hair • Mission ends within empire, • becomes conquest beyond it • Modernity evangelism recovered in Christendom • Individuals called to belief in a Christian country • Aimed at intellectual conviction and crisis conversion

37. Gospel ministry in post-Christian culturethe Challenge for the local church Embodying God in today’s world

38. A new Reformation? Eternal Gospel ? 400 BC 600 AD 1500 AD 2000 AD Early Church ? Judaism Christendom Reformation Changing expression – David Bosch ‘Transforming Mission’

39. Mission in Christendom Mission (abroad) Cultural export Vs Inhabiting local culture Evangelism (at home) Calling people back to ‘the national faith’

40. Learning from foreign mission • “Do not call people back to where they were (they never were there) • Do not call people to where you are, as beautiful as it may seem to you • But travel with them to a place neither of you have been before” Vincent Donovan – ‘Christianity re-discovered’

41. Changing Mission? From: sharing the Gospel in “come to us” mode To: Exploring Church in “go to them” mode Church Missions To boldly go where no church has gone before Courses ‘Seeker’ Services

42. From individuals to all creation sin New creation creation salvation Individuals saved All creation saved Restoring the whole story of salvation

43. God’s Mission & God’s Kingdom • The transformation of people linked to the transformation of creation – Romans 8, 2 Cor 5 • Reconciliation as a reversal of the fall • Humanity restored to God’s image as missionary to creation • Social transformation linked to evangelism • Any Gospel that does not proclaim and seek to bring about God’s Kingdom fails to understand Jesus and God’s mission • Any Gospel that does not set people free from sin will never achieve social transformation

44. Three levels of mission community wider community halfway meeting space Christian community

45. Who are on the way? Bounded set ? Or..

46. Who are on the way? Bounded set ? Or…….Centred Set?

47. Who are on the way? Bounded set ? Or…….Centred Set?

48. Lessons for sharing faith • People increasingly come to faith through experience rather than changing thinking • Many people want to grow spiritually and will take support in this seriously • Sharing faith is welcomed. Telling others what they share is wrong simply closes the conversation • Most people aren’t interested if Christianity is true but if it is inspiring and life changing • In the internet age everything is public be consistent • We need to know how we will handle issues of gender, the environment, evil, other-faiths • Avoid Christian language like sin, salvation, redemption etc people don’t understand it or misunderstand it – but we still need to talk about them but with different words • We need to live as if what we say really does work • Remember God transforms people not Christians

49. Resources

50. Evangelism is….. • Not getting people to Church ………………..….…….. but getting people to be Church • Not taking God to people ………………………………… but seeing what he is already doing in their lives • Not first about getting people into heaven …………… but getting heaven into people • Not saving people from the world ..………………….. but allowing God to transform them as part of a plan to transform the world also Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven