Progressive Christianity

Its strange but I've always had this feeling that I don't fit with Christians and the organised Church. There have been times I've felt at home but this is pretty rare.

One of the things I wanted to do this year was explore "Liberal Theology". The Evangelical/Pentecostal that where peers and mentors automatically bushed them off. It has been impossible to have an informed conversation.

I once had at Ranges a person try to tell me that Rob Bell was a heretic. When asked if that person had read any of his book they said no. I suspect this is the same as my peers and mentors in regards to "Liberal Theology". An opinion without been informed.

My first book and only book on the list was 'Honest to God', by Robinsion. I found it honest by writen at the peak of Christainity. I believe we are now in a 'Post Christian' society, where the church is not a dominant institution.

Then of all things I came across Marcus Borg, "The heart of Christianity" in the Cowes library. This book certainly clarified a lot of areas of liberal theology. A lot of the ideas are well thought through. One prophetic moment as I see it was in the Cowes medical clinic while reading "The Heart of Christianity". A lady from no where came up and said I was on the 'right track'. MMMmmm I think that God interacts with the work, not intervenes and this was one of those times....

The publishers of 'The Heart of Christianity' where a group belonging to 'Progressive Christianity'. I had never heard of it before. I've come to understand that 'Progressive Christianity' is different to 'Liberal Theology'. Liberal Theology had its roots in the enlightenment, where textual criticism was the result. Much of the supernatural and mystery dissappeared. "Progressive Christianity still has a high regard for textual criticism but there is room for 'mystery'. This is a very simplifed explanation and could be expanded upon for sure.

My friend over in the West Nathan Hobby drew to my attention that the ABC's 'Spirit of things' Two podcasts on 'Progressive Christianity'.
Part 1
Part 2

Both surprised me by the size of the movement in Australia. There is also an Victorian web page
Hope you enjoy....

Christian Marketing

One of my favorite blogs 'Seth Godin's Blog' has written a post 'Think like me agree with me", while it is fundamentally a marketing blog there are numerous implications for Christians....

When you're trying to sell your idea, it's natural to assume that the people you're selling to think the way you do. If you can only show them the facts and stories that led you to believe what you believe, then of course they'll end up where you are... believing

The problem, of course, is that people don't always think like you.

Yep this is the same as Christians who do evangelism or mission. They don't realize that the world has moved on to looking at all things in a pluralistic manner including spirituality.

Seth goes on to give two work a rounds, the first is::

The challenge doesn't lie in getting them to know what you know. It won't help. The challenge lies in helping them see your idea through their lens, not yours. If you study the way religions and political movements spread, you can see that this is exactly how it works. Marketers of successful ideas rarely market the facts. Instead, they market stories that match the worldview of the people being marketed to.

This is a hard option because it involves incarnational mission. Really understanding who you are reaching, through their eyes.

And the second::

[There's an alternative, one that you might want to think hard about: perhaps you should only market your idea to people who already think the way you do. After all, you're not running for president, you don't need a majority. Screen people by their behavior (what they read, what they buy, how they act) and only tell your story to the people who will embrace it. That's a lot easier to do that than it's ever been before.]

I think this is where Christianity is currently stuck. Its easier to market your church and brand of Christianity to Christians. It is easier to sell to existing Christians than do the hard work converting new followers in a pluralistic society. What happens is sheep stealing. The majority of church growth comes from existing churches.

Sheep photo credits brew ha ha's