1. The Modern and Postmodern Church – Part 2
The History of
Christianity
The Modern and Postmodern Church – Part 2
© John Stevenson, 2017

2. The Post World War II Growth of the Church
The Affluent Church
The Post World War II Growth of the Church
Baby boomers
Suburbanization of America
American Democracy Versus Communist Atheism

3. Why is Christianity experiencing new vitality in parts of the Third World yet declining in the West?

4. Second Great Awakening
Timeline
Jesus Movement
Second Great Awakening
American Civil
War
WW1
Vatican II
WW2
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
Machen
Darby
Billy Graham
Mormons
Millerites
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Darwin’s
Origin of the Species

5. A move toward religious unity
The Ecumenical Movement
A move toward religious unity
Christian Ecumenism versus Religious Pluralism.
Ecumenism and Vatican II.
Anathemas rescinded (1965)
Pope John Paul II visits Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church (1999)

6. How important do you think the visible unity of the church is, or should be?

7. How should the church reconcile these two values?
Truth
Unity

8. World Council of Churches
Formed in 1948
Made up of Protestant, Independent, and Orthodox Churches.
Political Issues.
Israel, Arab, and Palestinian rights
Support of Communist rebels
Facilitation of dialog between different denominations.

9. Called by Pope John XXIII
Vatican II
Called by Pope John XXIII
Continued by Pope Paul VI after his predecessor’s death in 1963
No Doctrinal changes
Celibacy & Birth Control Affirmed
Liturgy permitted in Common Language
Laymen encouraged to read Scripture

11. Francis Schaeffer
Established a Christian study center in L’Abri, Switzerland
Spoke on the issue of relativist thinking
Brought people to see Christianity as “true truth.”

13. Teresa of Calcutta Born Agnes Bojaxhiu in Macedonia
Born Agnes Bojaxhiu in Macedonia
Roman Catholic Nun in India
Felt a call to serve the poor outside the convent
Malcom Muggeridge: Something Beautiful for God
William Cook

14. Teresa of Calcutta Love begins at home with family and friends
Love begins at home with family and friends
Begin by loving the outcast you know
Love is not defined by extraordinary deeds, but in the daily giving of yourself to another
William Cook

15. A Theology of Liberation
Gustavo Gutierrez
A Theology of Liberation
1973
Notre Dame Professor of Theology
Salvation in terms of liberation from social and economic injustice
A Marxist approach to Christianity

16. Chuck Smith Founded Calvary Chapel Pentecostal Jesus People Movement
Born 1927
Founded Calvary Chapel
Pentecostal
Jesus People Movement
Rolling commentary style of preaching

17. Jimmy Swaggart
Jim & Tammy Bakker

20. In what ways have churches reacted to the “me” generation?

21. Self-Esteem Parenting
Narcissistic Children

22. …side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair (Pope Benedict XVI, 2008).

23. What are proper
limits to building
self-esteem?

25. The Mega Church Over 2000 attending Suburban areas
Functionally nondenominational
Something for everyone
One highly gifted spiritual leader
Scott Thumma, PhD

26. Leadnet.org

27. The Mega Church Initially attracted by…
Worship style
Senior pastor
Nearly 2/3 have been attenders 5 years or less
Many come from other churches, but 25% had not been in any church for a long time before coming
55% of attenders volunteer in some way
Leadnet.org

28. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities that the Church faces today?

29. Studied communication at Oral Roberts University
Joel Osteen
Motivational speaker
Studied communication at Oral Roberts University
Took over his father’s church
Prosperity Gospel

30. Oriented toward Postmodernism
Emergent Church
Oriented toward Postmodernism
De-emphasis on Doctrine
Openness to new ideas
Seeking Community
Participatory Worship

31. Shaping theology to suit culture
Emergent Church
Shaping theology to suit culture
Adapting methods to reach culture

33. “When I say I'm a universalist, what I really mean is that I don't believe you have to convert to any particular religion to find God. A I see it, God finds us, and it has nothing  to do with subscribing to any particular religious view.” – Spencer Burke

35. “It may be advisable in many (not all
“It may be advisable in many (not all!) circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish contexts.” – Brian McLaren

37. “The old paradigm taught that if you had the right teaching, you will experience God. The new paradigm says that if you experience God, you will have the right teaching.” – Dan Kimball

39. What makes you most hopeful about the future of the Church?