Rev Bill

I am reading the book 95 Theses For The Church by Ben Johnson and am finding it to be a provocative look at the situation the church faces today. As I read the book, I hope to post my thoughts — and hopefully folks will respond and we can have a conversation about these ideas.

Here are Johnson’s first 5 theses:

1. “To manifest the Presence of God in our time,the church must respond
to it’s changed context. ”
Culture has changed dramatically in a short number of years — but in many cases how the church does ministry has remained the same. How can the church change it’s style of ministry to reach the current culture — while remaining true to the message of salvation through Christ?

2. “The church today stands at the end of an era — a new day lies before the church.”
The church no longer has the “favored status” in the world that it once had. How can the church respond to this — and find new ways to reach people for Christ?

3. “The church ministers in a rapidly changing culture and if the church does not adapt it’s message, strategy, and structure to these changes it will fail in it’s mission. ”
The church must communicate the message of Christ in a way that the minds shaped by the changing culture can hear it.

4. “The church seeks to carry out it’s mission in a “post Christian” world wherein the presuppositions that have supported the Christian world view, values, and style of life no longer dominate the US culture.”
For centuries the church depended on support from the culture for it’s mission and growth. Now that is no longer the case. How does the church respond to this — and find new ways to carry out it’s mission despite this?

5. The society in which the church ministers is “post Constantinian”, which suggests the church has no favored position with the government and the social structures.”
Society — and the government– do not support the church in the way it was supported for cnturies after the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the “state religion” . What are new things the church must do to present Christ to a society that does not support the church as it once did?

I welcome your comments and discussion. I hope to continue to post these “theses” as I read and think about them.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.