Oh Lord, won't you buy me...
(Tim) What's the connection between denominations, denominationally-affiliated Christian liberal arts colleges, a denomination's church planting demographics, and Mammon?
When Mary Lee and I were first married, we joined a church newly planted by the Reformed Church in America (RCA) in Madison, Wisconsin. Soon after arriving there, I saw a denominational flier thumb tacked to the church bulletin board that explained the denomination's church planting demographic vision. It said something like, "We have done studies of our denomination's constituency and find that RCA church plants do best in upper middle class, highly educated neighborhoods and communities."
Our small congregation of 75 or so was filled with souls who fit the RCA church-planting mold much better than Mary Lee and I. Three who stand out were Del Smith, Senior Telecommunications Counsel at Jones Day; the philosopher Keith Yandell; and the historian of science, David Lindberg. Of course, our church building was on Madison's far west side and included several who lived in Shorewood Hills.
Do you ever find yourself wondering if what Jesus said is still true today--that those who would follow Him must deny ourselves and take up our crosses?
Years ago I saw a cartoon that pictured...
a man sitting at a bar with a drink in his hand, announcing to the bartender: "I had a happy birth, a happy childhood, a happy adolescence; I married happily; I'm having a happy middle age; and I'm looking forward to a happy old age and a happy death." It could be written by any of our denominations' church planting agencies or college presidents, couldn't it?
These thoughts after running across this press release issued yesterday by Christian liberal arts Houghton College upon the occasion of the celebration of their 125th anniversary:
HOUGHTON, N.Y. —Houghton College welcomed back thousands of alumni, friends and parents this weekend to commemorate 125 years of “Celebrating the Journey… Transforming the World.”
Festivities began on Thursday with the naming of the Campus Center Lounge in honor of Robert Van Dyk, class of 1975. Van Dyk has been a supporter of campus projects that directly impact the student body including the fitness center and Java 101.
A ceremony was held on Friday morning celebrating the opening of Houghton’s new Business Investment Center. Equipped with a 24-foot-long stock ticker streaming the latest quotes, LCD screens showing market commentators and their predictions, and four dual-screen trader stations presenting market research results the Investment Center serves as trading room, a classroom and a study area for Houghton business students.
The Founder’s Day Convocation included multi media presentations highlighting the past 125 years of Houghton’s rich history. During the convocation Wilson and Eleanor Greatbatch were awarded the Houghton Medal and Paul Young, Houghton College professor of psychology, was recognized as Alumnus of the Year.
On Friday afternoon 39 alumni participated in panel discussions reflecting on their professional journeys. Areas of discussion included creation care, medicine, law, business, communication and cultures, service and justice, ministry, research and development and education.
In the evening the Ortlip Art Gallery celebrated the works of Houghton College Art Alumni in a reception for the exhibit, “Celebrating the Visual Arts." Following the art reception James Barcus, class of 1959, presented a lecture. The evening concluded with a celebration and fireworks on the Quad.
Saturday highlights included the grand parade, alumni house renovation kick-off and a festival on the Quad, which included a Ferris wheel, games and rides. The College Choir, comprised of alumni and current students, presented a concert on Saturday night, followed by a birthday cake celebration and Spot.
125th celebration activities concluded on Sunday with a joint worship service at Wesley Chapel.
"Transforming the world" through panel discussions of "creation care," exhibits "celebrating the visual arts," and twenty-four foot wide stock tickers? It could as easily be Gordon, Wesmont, Wheaton, or Covenant, couldn't it?
Sadly, this press release communicates all too well the vision of our denominational church planting agencies and liberal arts colleges.
As Pink Floyd put it, "Money, it's a hit; don't give me that do goody good..."
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The Reformed faith has always prided itself on its intellectually rigorous presentation of the Gospel message; it is probably the most intellectually thorough of the Christian traditions. As a result, when you present the Gospel in that way, you tend to attract people who relate to that intellectual rigour; which might explain why RCA/PCA churches look the way the way they do. Birds of a feather ...
I grew up in the Pentecostal tradition, the near-complete opposite of the Presbyterian one - I don't think I am being unfair. We never had any trouble in planting churches in the not-so-well-off areas; intellectualism was, if anything, avoided like the proverbial plague. The amount of energy this particularly revivalist approach brought to things, well now, that did connect with people. Horses for courses, perhaps?!
Yeah. Just what someone going into the business world needs for their soul. An encouragement towards a love of money...
Ross may be correct that Reformed theology attracts rigorous thinkers--a quick look at Calvin's Institutes would confirm that for sure--but I'm not convinced that the ordinary reading of Calvin would persuade us that our efforts at evangelism, discipleship, and church planting ought to be planned by a marketing consultant.
But what do I know? I'm just a fundamental Baptist with some Reformed tendencies. :^)
Put more directly, while there are certain appeals that certain denominations have to certain groups, I don't that excuses any one from applying Matthew 28 in their Jerusalem, Samaria, and world. This gentile, for one, is awfully glad that Peter listened to the Holy Spirit and not the marketing consultants when told to visit the Roman officer.
I thoroughly disagree with Ross. If you look back at the history of Reformed churches, such is not the case. The conversion story of Abraham Kuyper in a Calvinist peasant congregation is more the norm. Orthodox Reformed churches tend to draw from among the not many wise, not many noble...
I suggest Ross gives voice to that which we WANT to be true.
And I say all of this as the pastor of an unusually affluent PCA church --with all the problems that affluence brings.
The truth is: some of the more committed Reformed believers I have known, who have great Biblical wisdom and moderate Christian temperaments, were not among the educated and affluent.
Hi Ken, my comments were an attempt to provide an explanation for the problem in Reformed circles, as Tim saw it, of affluence in church membership - and how that seems to lead to PCA church planting efforts being focussed on 'people like us'. The counter-example from Pentecostalism I can personally vouch for. Others' comments on the social 'mix' of the PCA, and how it has arisen, would be welcome.
And Bike, I suspect that my comments on the Pentecostals would also be the case for the Fundamentalists, but wd value your insight on this.
Some fundamentalists for sure, though I'd like to believe it's changing for the better--thinking a bit more than the stereotypes at least. And I hope that neither camp continues to descend to "designing" their churches around marketing surveys.
Put not too gently, it's the way GM designed cars during the 1980s and 1990s, and....well...market share speaks for itself, doesn't it?
Well, I'm reasonably familiar with Fundamentalism, and I really doubt that either they or my Pentecostal friends would design their churches around marketing surveys, demographics, or any other of the horrible marketing buzzwords. I have my own views about where Fundamentalism will appeal, and why, but these can keep for the meantime.
In the meantime, perhaps the real question is, who is doing church planting in a way which we could point to as good-practice or even best-practice?
I remember some PCA members commenting on dubious dealings within the denomination (its own organizations refusing to disclose where contributors' money was going, and like things); I also remember an outsider from another Presbyterian denomination (more fundamentalist-oriented) who digressed from his topic momentarily to discuss the PCA, that he loved and appreciated it, and admired some of its men, but would not dare join to worship with it because it had become a weird mix, as he saw it, because of liberalism within it.
Actually it's one of the reasons I like Bayly blog: I appreciate that these guys aren't afraid to be frank, and for biblical contention, even hostile towards things that should not be treated as if we should carefully consider on whether or not we should beware the leaven. I think they're often not averse to attacking what should be, even if it is the PCA, in order to contend against that which should not be in their ranks and called "Christian", and their views seem to be aligned with the PCA's [graceful, fair, Christian] critics.
Keep up the good warfare guys! Fight the good fight of faith.
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