Walter Rauschenbusch advanced the social gospel from a position of wealth and privilege. Washington Gladden at least tried to build a bridge between Protestantism and the working class poor; the same can’t be said for Rauschenbusch. The real-time separation existing between poor, working class people and social Gospel aficionados is a reality with which few supporters openly wrestle. Relevant connections between social gospellers and the people to whom they ministered were very rare, indeed. The only social connection shared between Rauschenbusch and the people he served was the act of ministry itself. Rauschenbusch was neither poor, nor working class. He was a member of the white, male clergy. He was inundated with unspoken authority and power. These supplied him with more than a little prestige and position, for his day. This does not mean, however, the social Gospel was a complete failure. People were unarguably served by Rauschenbusch and other social gospellers, in spite of their superior social positions. Read More
Monthly Archives: March 2007
Day Leaps the Social Gospellers’ Gap
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
I picked up a copy of The Forgotten Ways by Emerging Missional Church (EMC) thinker Alan Hirsch. So far, it stands out as one of the best missions reads I have picked up in quite some time. It’s right up there with Stetzer’s Planting Missional Churches. Yes, it’s a stand out, and unarguably so. Hirsch’s work is both readable and seriously focused upon detail(s). Basically, the book is an accessible but scholarly read/analysis of the state of contemporary missions. It makes one think, to say the least.
Hirsch begins by asking the following questions (to call them thought-provoking would be a serious understatement!):
“How did the number of Christians in the world grow from as few as 25,000 one hundred years after Christ’s death to up to 20 million in AD 310?” Read More
InTransit: A Small Group Resource by Threads
I will soon be reviewing what looks to be ‘a must have’ small group leader resource called ‘InTransit’ from LifeWay’s new young adult imprint, Threads. You can bet that I’ll be diving into the kit - which includes a member book, DVD, and CD - as soon as it arrives at my front door! ‘Till then, a little bit of info from the Threads site will have to do!
Here’s the quick & official run down re: the resources available:
Tired of Waiting? InTransit by Mike Harder: Do you ever feel like you are waiting for real life to begin? InTransit looks at three truths about waiting as it traces the lives of David, Jesus, and Joseph—who were promised great things concerning their lives and waited, sometimes painfully, to see God’s promises come to pass. Read More
A Stanley Hauerwas Weekend Reader
Having completed the majority of assigned historical readings in my independent study of Anabaptist Theology, my wise theology professor saw fit to expose me to Stanley Hauerwas works.
Stanley Hauerwas is United Methodist theologian, Christian Ethicist, and Professor of Law. Hauerwas’s work is characterized by a dedication to non-violence, anti-nationalism, and a serious disregard for Biblical interpretations and/or the hermeneutic methodologies of the liberal left and fundamentalist right. He’s all about the Gospel. It is a dedication that resonates. His mentor was Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder; thus his Anabaptist tendencies in the UMC setting. So, this weekend, I’m reading Unleashing the Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America, and The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics. I’m a little shy of halfway through each, at this point. So far, I’m saying a lot of “Hallelujahs!” Hauerwas hits the mark often, and sometimes pretty bluntly too (his thoughts on ethics are really making me think). The following are a few excerpted examples of his accuracy in the aforementioned texts: Read More
The Anabaptist Approach and Expressed Uniqueness
The Anabaptist approach to the Bible is historically Christocentric, and staunchly so. Christocentrism is still the hermeneutic of choice. I believe this dedication to Christocentrism has everything to do with the expression’s uniqueness. Anabaptism is different from Catholicism and most Protestant expressions. Too, Anabaptism seems to me to be a much “fuller” expression of that toward which contemporary Evangelicalism merely points, especially in this present USAmerican context of very, very tired red & blue religious discussion(s). There is an alternative! Anabaptism! Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, Brethren in Christ (my pond), and Hutterites carry on the historical tradition of trekking toward something, or someplace, well beyond Christendom, and for good reason too. There is something incredibly sacred there … Read More