An Examination of the Influence of Selected Modern Innovations on Evangelical Ecclesiology and Soteriology
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Please HONOR the copyright of these documents by not retransmitting or making any additional copies in any form (Except for private personal use). We appreciate your respectful cooperation. ___________________________ Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) P.O. Box 30183 Portland, Oregon 97294 USA Website: www.tren.com E-mail: [email protected] Phone# 1-800-334-8736 ___________________________ ATTENTION CATALOGING LIBRARIANS TREN ID# Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) MARC Record # Digital Object Identification DOI # Dissertation Approval Sheet This dissertation entitled AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF SELECTED MODERN INNOVATIONS ON EVANGELICAL ECCLESIOLOGY AND SOTERIOLOGY Written by CHRISTOPHER EDMOND LAWSON and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry has been accepted by the Faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary upon the recommendation of the undersigned reader: _____________________________________ Bill J. Leonard _____________________________________ Kurt Fredrickson Date Received: January 28, 2016 AN EXAMINATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF SELECTED MODERN INNOVATIONS ON EVANGELICAL ECCLESIOLOGY AND SOTERIOLOGY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY CHRISTOPHER EDMOND LAWSON JANUARY 2016 ABSTRACT An Examination of the Influence of Selected Modern Innovations on Evangelical Ecclesiology and Soteriology Christopher E. Lawson Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2016 The modern innovations that make possible the virtual pastoral presence of the multisite church movement reflect contemporary illustrations of a consistent pattern found within the history of American Evangelicalism. Such innovations were evident in the modernity of eighteenth century missionary efforts in India, to the nineteenth and twentieth century tools of revivalism found in the ministries of Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday and Billy Graham, as well as the innovation at the heart of certain technologies that undergird the ecclesiology and soteriology of 21st century Evangelical churches. This dissertation explores those innovative dynamics. It will be organized around five chapters along with an introduction and conclusion. It begins by outlining a series of significant examples through which innovation expanded the scope and activities of the modern missions movement. These technologies include modes of global travel, the translation of the biblical texts into the vernacular, and the globalization of gospel work in new native lands, each providing resources for shaping theology and praxis in American Evangelicalism. As the Puritans settled in the New World, they benefited from their new religious and geographic environment to create a unique identity that fostered an expectation that modern innovation would be leveraged to help sinners experience the Divine and unite with local congregations. This revivalism, marked with the basic American principle that all social organizations are based on voluntary choices and relationships, fostered denominational competition that forced many church leaders to leverage modern innovation in an effort to attract new believers. This change of method also changed the Evangelical message; in particular, conversion became normative and new methods became the tool for bringing about this increased local church engagement. As contemporary Evangelical communities embraced these new tools, it did so in ways that had dramatic impact on the nature of Evangelicalism in America. Content Reader: Bill J. Leonard, PhD Word Count: 299 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: INNOVATION AS METHOD ......................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: THE FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM AND INNOVATION AS METHOD ................................................................... 36 Chapter 3: INNOVATION AND THE MORPHOLOGY OF EVANGELICAL SOTERIOLOGY ..................................................................... 48 Chapter 4: BELIEVING CHURCH AND ADAPTING ECCLESIOLOGY ................... 96 Chapter 5: CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION AND INFLUENCE ...................................................................................................... 120 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................. 150 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 159 iv INTRODUCTION Evangelicalism, as a subculture of American Protestantism, has prospered and been a majority voice of New World Christianity almost since its inception; but, as we are now deep into to the twenty-first century, Evangelicalism finds itself in crisis. According to recent research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life entitled, “Nones on the Rise,” nearly 20% of all Americans claim no religious identity.1 This nearly 46 million people included 13 million who are self-described atheist or agnostics (6%) and 33 million who claim no particular religious affiliation (14%). In comparison, both the National Association of Evangelicals and a similar study by the Pew Forum claim approximately 26% of Americans self-describe as Evangelical,2 meaning there are nearly as many unaffiliated Americans as there are Evangelicals. In his focused examination of the Pew study, James Emery White puts this rise in perspective: “Consider that the number of nones in the 1930s and ‘40s hovered around 5 percent. By 1990 that number had only risen to 8 percent.”3 Many would argue that this is no big deal. It would certainly be true that religious affiliation ebbs and flows in American life. Drops in church attendance and disillusionment with faith are often revitalized by periods of awakening or renewal. In fact, a central theme of the narrative of American history is the religious movements. Yet, there are many who are concerned by 1 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, “Nones on the Rise,” www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise (March 28, 2014). 2 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, “Religious Landscape Survey,” http://religions.pewforum.org/affiliations (March 28, 2014). 3 James Emory White, Rise of the Nones, The: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated (Ada, MI: Baker Book, 2014), 16. 1 these trends. Commenting on this trend over the last decade, Christian Smith, Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, remarked that, while it is not a “sea change,” it is a “long term distancing of some from an association with religious faith and practice, which is significant.”4 The truth is that many churches are seeing it as a monumental shift in the way Americans regard the Church and its role in the public square. In response, churches are changing their methodology through a series of new innovative practices in an effort to reach the nones. But these new methodological approaches are not actually new. From the trading company clipper ships that carried eighteenth century missionaries to foreign fields, to the high definition projectors that launched the contemporary multisite church movements, modern innovation has directly and indirectly impacted the ecclesiology and soteriology of Evangelical churches, creating opportunity and distraction for their identity and ministry. The modern innovations that make possible the virtual pastoral presence of the multisite church movement reflect contemporary illustrations of a consistent pattern found within the history of American Evangelicalism. Such innovations were evident in the modernity of eighteenth century missionary efforts in India, the nineteenth and twentieth century tools of revivalism found in the ministries of Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham, and the technologies that undergird the ecclesiology and soteriology of twenty-first century Evangelical churches. For the purposes of this work, the use of the term innovation denotes unique technological and 4 Christian Smith, Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 145. 2 cultural developments that have shaped how the faithful encounter social, theological, and interpersonal norms. This project provides one of the first explorations of a series of historic tributaries, which serve as a precursor for the use of modern innovation. The use of these modern innovations has directly and indirectly impacted the ecclesiology and soteriology of Evangelical churches, creating opportunity and distraction for their identity and ministry. On any given Sunday upwards of 25 million Americans worship in Evangelical, Protestant churches in the United States.5 Historically the Evangelical movement is one of the most powerful political, religious, and social constituencies in American society. This work assesses the use of innovation as a tool for developing a unique Evangelical ecclesiology and soteriology. Throughout American history, the unique nature of these characteristics has not gone unnoticed. In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville noted, “Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention.”6 De Tocqueville, a French thinker and