By: Kyle Chalko on January 12, 2018
Bebbington in his book Evangelicalism in Modern Britain lays out a clear history of the rise, spread, and splintering of evangelicalism in Britain. While I have studied a decent amount of church history, most of my evangelical church history that I’ve studied has been more focused on the USA. How ethnocentric of me. Bebbington shows,…
By: Chip Stapleton on January 12, 2018
Usually, as I start planning out a blog post, my biggest hurtle is narrowing my focus enough so that my engagement with the topic is thorough, but not dissertation length. That struggle seemed to be multiplied exponentially this week as I found myself marking a paragraph almost every page of How (not) to be Secular:…
By: Trisha Welstad on January 11, 2018
Who really wants to be named as an Evangelical today? The term comes with so much baggage from centuries of history and is a challenge to define in mainstream culture, as it often tends to categorize a very specific demographic having little to do with the origins of the movement at all. The word ‘Evangelical’…
By: Greg on January 11, 2018
We were a couple of hours from deciding if there was possible way for us to stay in China. When we met on monday night, I was exhausted, worried and frustrated with government officers and the individuals who enjoy holding the answers and the power. Our family visas expired the next day (Tuesday) and that…
By: Kristin Hamilton on January 11, 2018
“There’s no undoing the shift in plausibility structures that characterize our age. There’s no undoing the secular; there’s just the task of learning how (not) to live – and perhaps even believe – in a secular age.” – James K.A. Smith (11) “The REAL problem with Millennials is that they have to live with the…
By: Jean Ollis on January 11, 2018
Bebbington’s renowned efforts to define Evangelicalism – including tenets of conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism – (interestingly terms not even recognized by spellcheck) and pay homage to a “neglected” British sect are comprehensive and enlightening.[1] I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t admit that England’s very own John Wesley – and his creation of…
By: Mark Petersen on January 11, 2018
Evangelical and evolution are not two words normally found in a single, complementary phrase. Indeed, one typically finds them fiercely opposed. But a careful reading of D.W. Bebbington’s Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A history from the 1730s to the 1980s will encourage the consideration of how the evangelical movement has shape-shifted over the centuries. Understanding…
By: Jason Turbeville on January 11, 2018
I could be labeled a religious, conservative republican and an evangelical. Most people who read that would automatically assume the worst about me. It is one of the reasons I chose to come to George Fox University, I would have the opportunity to be stretched. I would not be in the same circles I have…
By: Mike on January 11, 2018
David Bebbington’s Evangelicalism in Modern Britain analyzes history, environment, and culture to show how Britain and English-speaking churches were changed by the evangelical movement. The lasting evangelical themes of this book are Bebbington’s tetralogy of the Bible, cross, conversion, and activism. I see connections between Bebbington’s “lived religion” and the Armor of God (AOG) lived…
By: Katy Drage Lines on January 11, 2018
I begin this post by recognizing it is actually the first of a two part series, reflecting on Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age. Well, really, this first part is more of a reflection on reflections of Taylor’s work, while I envision the second post to focus more on Taylor’s thesis itself. I hesitate to analyze…
By: Dave Watermulder on January 11, 2018
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, churches of every stripe were getting ready for the big day. The sanctuary was decorated, special services were added, pageants were rehearsed, the choir filled in nicely, and preachers sought to say something meaningful on a night that is called holy. And one of the questions that hung…
By: Lynda Gittens on January 11, 2018
James Smith, How (Not) to be Secular In the Introduction, Author Smith shares several points of views from other secular age authors. For example, Author Julian Barnes, of the book “Nothing to be Frighten of”, has a few quotes: “I don’t believe in God, but I miss him” (5) making reference to his missing…
By: Jim Sabella on January 11, 2018
I own a field guide on mushrooms, one on birds and one on rocks and minerals, but I don’t have one on living in the secular age. How (Not) to be Secular by James K. A. Smith is what its author calls “a field guide” on Taylor’s A Secular Age. [1] While A Secular Age asks…
By: Stu Cocanougher on January 11, 2018
I serve at a multi-staff church in Fort Worth, Texas. One of my roles that I have is to develop evangelism strategies for our church. As I review and evaluate plans, strategies, and programs that have to do with leading people to Christ, a word that often comes up is the word “secular.” This week…
By: Dan Kreiss on January 10, 2018
Recently I passed a local church, you know the type…..or maybe you don’t because you don’t live in the South. (For those of you not from the South or familiar with the full breadth and depth of the term let me help you. The South is not a geographic direction or location but, rather a…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on January 10, 2018
“even as faith endures in our secular age, believing doesn’t come easy. Faith is fraught; confession is haunted by an inescapable sense of its contestability. We don’t believe instead of doubting; we believe while doubting. We’re all Thomas now.”[1] Is this all there is? A question some ponder daily and one that some only reflect…
By: Jay Forseth on January 10, 2018
If Evangelicals are are into conversionism (the belief that lives need to be changed), activism (the expression of the Gospel in effort), biblicism (a particular regard for the Bible), and crucicentrism (a stress on the sacrifice of Christ) [1], then I am one of them! If Evangelicals hang their hats on justification (the forgiving of…
By: Mary Walker on January 10, 2018
If Taylor is right, it seems to suggest that the Christian response to such converts to unbelief is not to have an argument about the data or “evidences” but rather to offer an alternative story that offers a more robust, complex understanding of the Christian faith (p. 77).[1] Coming fresh from our study of…
By: Jennifer Williamson on January 10, 2018
Last summer, as a nod to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, our mission organization offered a workshop series on the Reformation at our Annual Conference. I was invited to participate in a panel discussion representing France—the others on the panel were American missionaries who served in other European countries…Germany, Austria, Greece, Latvia, Romania, etc.…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on January 9, 2018
On a recent trip to California, I went to a Christmas Eve service to a church boasting an impressive 15,000 members and growing. The multiple sites, large facilities, and talented staff were impressive. Sitting in the huge auditorium amongst a throng of people, the pastor’s greeting was confusing as he mentioned he didn’t appreciate the…
