1. The Changing Face of Christianity Acts 15
Soong-Chan Rah
Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism
North Park Theological Seminary

2. Acts 15
Jerusalem Council
Animosity towards Gentiles
Changing demographics

3. The Changing Face of Christianity
“Typical” Christian from 1950?

4. The Changing Face of Christianity
“Typical” Christian in 2017?”

5. Western Christianity
“Over the past five centuries or so, the story of Christianity has been inextricably bound up with that of Europe and North America. Until recently, the overwhelming majority of Christians have lived in White nations, allowing theorists to speak of a ‘European Christian’ civilization.” The Next Christendom Philip Jenkins

6. Global Christianity
“Over the past century, however, the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted inexorably southward to Africa, Asia, and Latin America Christianity should enjoy a worldwide boom in the new century, but the vast majority of believers will be neither white nor European, nor Euro-American.” The Next Christendom Philip Jenkins

7. Global Christianity
1900 statistics: Africa 2% Asia 4% Europe 68% Lat. Am. 11% N. Am. 14% Oceana 1%
2005 statistics:
Africa %
Asia %
Europe %
Lat. Am %
N. Am %
Oceana %
2050 statistics:
Africa %
Asia %
Europe %
Lat. Am %
N. Am %
Oceana %
“White”: %
“Non-white”: 16%
“White”: %
“Non-white”: 60%
“White”: %
“Non-white”: 71%

8. The Next Christianity Emerging out of colonialism
Growth of Christianity in the non-Western world after the departure of the colonialists
A liberated theology
The rise of Pentecostalism
Overcoming Western guilt/shame of imperial/colonial missions
cf. Lamin Sanneh
translation of Christianity to the local culture
Increasing gap between Western and non-Western Christianity
Theological conservatism
Primary cultural system

9. Western vs. Global Christianity
“Perhaps the most remarkable point about these potential conflicts is that the trends pointing towards them have registered so little on the consciousness of even well- informed Northern observers. What, after all, do most Americans know about the distribution of Christians worldwide? I suspect that most see Christianity very much as it was a century ago – a predominantly European and North American faith.”
Jenkins

10. Ephesians Moment (Andrew Walls)
Social coming together of two very distinct and separate cultures in Ephesians
TWO Dangers:
Protect one’s own version of Christianity
Every view is valid – retreat into isolation
Intersection of Primary and Secondary culture

11. U.S. Evangelicalism
“The passage of the Immigration Reform Act in increasingly looks like the most significant single event of that much-balleyhooed decade.”
“[The U.S.’s] ethnic character will become less European and less White, with all that implies for religious and cultural patterns.”
Jenkins

12. U.S. Immigration
1965: Change in immigration laws 1965-present: Influx of non-white immigrants 2008: U.S. minority population about 33% 2011: U.S. birth rate – 50% minorities 2023: U.S. children – 50% minorities 2042: U.S. minority population more than 50%

13. New Immigrants and Christianity
“The new immigrants represent not the de- Christianization of American society but the de- Europeanization of American Christianity.”
“Above all, the new immigrants make it decreasingly plausible for Americans to think of Christianity as a white person’s religion And although it may not be apparent in many congregations, American Christians are increasingly people of color.”
- Stephen Warner

14. Spiritual but not Religious
20% of Americans identify in this category.
According to George Barna – 47% of Americans attend church on a typical weekend
“Head Counts” from church attendance show that 17.5% of Americans attend church on a typical weekend

18. Denominational Trends
Large or Growing Denominations
Baptist 64% white
Pentecostal 58% white
Smaller or Declining Denominations
Lutheran 96% white
Congregational/UCC 89% white
Episcopalian/Anglican 89% white

19. Boston’s Quiet Revival
1970: 300 churches
Many of these churches no longer exist
Current estimate: over 600
Mostly in the ethnic, immigrant communities
Over half of those churches hold services in a language other than English

20. Boston's Quiet Revival
88 new churches planted in a 10 year time period in the 80’s/90’s
50% are Spanish-speaking churches
25% are African or African-American churches
15% are Asian or Asian-American churches
Less than 10% are White churches

21. Boston’s Quiet Revival
: 98 new churches were planted
76 churches reported the language of worship
50% of those churches worship in a language other than English
Many churches with significant non-white population but with services in English

22. Acts 15:1 and 5
Certain individuals came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved”
Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

23. What is “Captivity”?
Captivity of the Church
When the church looks more like surrounding culture rather than the values of Scripture

24. Western Captivity of the Church
Individualism
Materialism / Consumerism
Racism / Cultural Chauvinism

25. Cultural Captivity
2 He called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury." 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins, and so that you do not share in her plagues And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore. Revelation 18 (NRSV)

26. Acts 15:2-4
2 Peter and Barnabas were appointed to go up to Jerusalem The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders to whom they reported everything God had done through them.”

27. Acts 15:7-11
7 Peter got up and addressed them God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them [Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

28. Unleashing the Gospel (Acts 15)
The importance of LEADERSHIP
preparing the NEXT Generation (Acts 6)
Diversity in leadership
Rejoicing in God’s WORK
What unites us as a Christian community?