I was never much of a student of history but I have loved the study of generations. In that study, I see that we do tend to repeat history over the generations. As this chapter walked through these 20 year timeframes, it is easy to see the influence of the culture on the church. I have obviously been a part of the 20 year cycle where they church being more "for the outside, not the insider" (p 69).
As you look at the chart on page 71 and the assumptions on page 72, are there any that stand out to you?
Stephen.
ReplyDeleteWow, there is a lot of history packed into this chapter. Makes sense - most of it. Very interesting and informative.
Not much to say here - a lot to take in. While I feel that we are "denominational" and only recently (compared to time frame stated by Mancini) catching a little of the New Permission wave (casual, music variations, small groups, etc.), I am not so sure that we, SLLCS, fall solidly into either "era."
I can definitely relate to the metric of "body count" as a measure of effectiveness...along with contributions.
While history does repeat itself I found in interesting to learn how Churches change in response to the social circumstances/stressors of their time. I’m still wondering and hoping a faithometer will surface. In the meantime, I ask myself how are we doing addressing our modern day circumstances/stressors: COVID, political segregation, black lives matter, etc.
ReplyDeleteWould addressing these stressors provide a pathway to the Upper Room?
Paula
This was a great lead in to the next chapter Paula. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me as I read this chapter was the parallelism to the Strauss-Howe Generational Theory ("The Fourth Turning" by Will Strauss and Neil Howe) that details the interface of 4 archetypes of generations and their relationships to each other and current global periods in the US and world history. (If you're looking for a shorter primer on the topic, check this link out: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/strauss-howe-generational-cycle-theory/ )
ReplyDeleteAdding another layer to the onion, Phil Visher (Holy Post Podcast) has a video on "What is an Evangelical? A Brief History on Evangelicalism in America" where he talks about the Modernist-Fundamentalist Divide and how it shapes our understanding of the church in America today. https://www.facebook.com/PhilVischer/videos/2848264785454405/
As I read this chapter, my brain was trying to overlay and reconcile these ideas into some unified understanding of our history to help explain what we're seeing. The smoke coming out of my ears means it hasn't all clicked yet, but it's still churning. Mancini and Hartman state, "This book predicts the paradigm of the next twenty years..." and I'm curious to see how it compares and contrasts with the Strauss Howe theory predictions for the next generation.