LEADER TIMES WEEKEND RELIGION ARTICLE FOR
June 24, 2006 by: Wm. H. Scarle, 813-835-0129
Once in a while I read a book which is significant enough to recommend to Pastors and to congregational leaders. David F. Wells' "ABOVE ALL EARTHLY POW'RS - Christ in a Postmodern World" is one of those books. Wells is the Andrew Murch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. This particular volume is the final book in a series of five in which he interacts with the culture of our postmodern world. I have read the first and the last.
There is a need to understand what is happening around us, and the culture changes since the 1960's have been overwhelming. For those of us who work with philosophic and theological change there are no great surprises in the deterioration of social systems and moral life both in Europe and America. Dostoyevsky said it long ago - If there is no God, everything is permissible.
Wells discusses all of this, but he goes beyond to show how the characteristics of the modern world effect the church, along with the theoretical factors. He shows the impact of religious and ethnic pluralism, the rapid development of information systems, the commercialism and merchandizing of everything, the proliferation of secular "spirituality" and the rise of innumerable psychological and therapeutic answers to modern feelings of emptiness and inadequacy. How will the Church respond to this very different scene?
Wells is particularly concerned with the evangelical church, the Christian community which consciously holds to an orthodox theology. This community had a significant rise in influence in the 1970's. They have not gone down the path of Enlightenment thinking that the more liberal segment of the church have taken. They have not denied the supernatural, and they have largely kept to the teaching laid out in the Bible. Nevertheless, modernity has taken a toll on the evangelical church of which Wells believes they are largely unaware. It is here where the book is particularly useful.
Wells is conscious that the choices available to our modern society to make us happy - all the way from cult cures, to spa treatments, incursions from the East like yoga and transcendental meditation, to a multiplicity of new religions - have made the evangelical congregations feel like they need to "sell" the church in a field of powerful competition. He says, "The fact is across a broad spectrum of church life, enormous effort is now being invested in making the Church seem desirable for reasons that have nothing to do with worship, biblical knowledge, or service. Investment specialists, entertainers, and inspirational gurus make the rounds."
Wells is also concerned about the new "seeker" mentality that is so influential in contemporary church life. He reflects a concern of the George Barna research group. There is a "false premise upon which this marketing is based . It is treating sinners as customers and that is bringing into the Church the insipid commitment and ignorance which has so alarmed Barna."
Wells suggests that in playing to the culture the Church is doing the exact opposite of what people really want. The culture has offered them very little beyond technology. What people are asking for is a real alternative to the meaningless and empty world that surrounds them, and a Church faithful to the revealed Word of God can offer that. This is why conservative churches grow, if they can stay out of the trap. Wells is not an easy read, but you will find the effort worth while. (Bill Scarle can be contacted at ravscarle@verizon.net). END-whs
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Kees Haak, TU Kampen NL
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