Vision

Prof. Harvey Cox, former Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard University, recently published a book on changing contours of Christianity since it began. 

In The Future of Faith he calls  0-400 AD the Age of Faith, where Christians were most interested in faith in Jesus, the risen and ascended Lord. 

He labels 400-1900 AD the Age of Belief, where Christian faith was categorized, systematized and institutionalized.  Much of the mainline church in North America still operates in this model.

He portrays 1900-present the Age of the Spirit, where Christian faith as presented in the Age of Belief connects less with society than the desire for an experience of God, sometimes called spirituality.

What does this mean for the church in 2010, living in the Age of the Spirit?

World Change

Did you know?

Diana Butler Bass showed this video at the conference as one example of the significant changes in our society.


We discussed what it means to be the church in a world that is changing so quickly.



 

Faith Change

Church Change

Pastor Bill Easum, was a keynote speaker at the conference.  Among other resources he showed a graph of the membership of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, which clearly showed steady decline since about 1960.  He asked participants to consider one belief that he holds:  “God cares about all people, but does not care whether the Presbyterian Church lives or dies.”  He extends this to any other mainline church, saying at its roots Christianity is not an institution but a passionate movement.

Phyllis Tickle wrote “The Great Emergence”.  She argues that the Church undergoes a “rummage sale” every 500 years or so.  The last were the Great Reformations in Europe, which eventually led to, among other churches, the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

A long range planning committee of the Presbyterian in Canada hosted a conference in May 2010 to help transform, recharge and refresh Christian witness in Canada.   Churches were asked to prayerfully consider, given the challenges in mainline churches and stated desire in our society for meaningful spirituality, how best to shape their witness and mission in the future.  Rev. Greg from Briarwood attended and has been presenting some material from the conference to the Session as we look to our 51st year and beyond.


We’re looking for feedback on the ideas presented below. 

Diana Butler Bass points out in A People’s History of Christianity and in Christianity for the Rest of Us  that the mainline church holds many rich and ancient traditions, which we are called to offer in new and accessible ways.  She coins the phrase, “retraditioning.”

Fuller presentation by Phyllis Tickle (4 parts).  This includes her view on how mainline churches are restructuring and will continue to do so in the future.

Archbishop Rowan Williams on The “Fresh Expressions” movement in the Church of England.