Where to begin?<\/p>\n
When attempting to digest and assimilate such a grand work as Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s<\/i> by David Bebbington, the oft-repeated phrase \u201cdrinking from the firehose\u201d comes immediately to mind.\u00a0 A history work of this magnitude could easily provide the primary text for an entire undergraduate term!\u00a0 It should occupy space on the desktop rather than the bookshelf, easily accessible for quick reference, for church historians on either side if the Atlantic.\u00a0 So, where to begin?<\/p>\n
Of the several observations competing for preeminence, I will lean into one \u2014 the Holy Spirit guides the progression of Jesus\u2019 church, regardless of geography.\u00a0 In other words, it is not mere human trends that create similarities of thought across the body of Christ, it is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit impacts the thinking of sincere theologians on a level far greater than any peer or school of thought ever could.\u00a0 This being the first time I have given a serious look at the progression of the church in modern times outside of the borders of the U.S. (typical Americo-centricism I know\u2026), it was interesting how similar the developmental arc of the church (especially in Holiness\/Pentecostal circles) was on both sides of the Atlantic.\u00a0 Even in the absence of modern telecommunications and internet technology, common streams of thought and theological innovations seemed to emerge simultaneously as Evangelicalism proved itself to be a legitimate expression of church.\u00a0 Especially \u201cSpirit-filled\u201d Evangelicalism.\u00a0 While print literature was available and placed in circulation, and \u201c[p]assing visits\u2026 by two ministers from California, Frank Maguire, an Episcopalian, and Larry Christenson, a Lutheran, helped establish a charismatic nucleus in London,\u201d1 the development on two different continents was similar and pervasive enough as to most certainly be the result of a shared divine experience rather than one of human strategy.<\/p>\n
These charismata were being embraced not only among the backwoods, impoverished, uneducated Pentecostals, but in the highest of \u201chigh church\u201d as well.\u00a0 Once there was a recognition that some new, shared experiences were being had, \u201ca steady stream of American literature and personnel did much to expand and consolidate the British movement\u201d2 but it would not be fair to say that one nation\u2019s church leaders learned from the other (in an academic sense), they were simultaneous movements, initiated by the same Holy Spirit, on two continents.\u00a0 This fascinates me and is causing me to consider, in amazement, at how Jesus stewards HIS church in the earth.\u00a0 It seems to me that the \u201cmutation\u201d3 in the church global which we now refer to as the \u201cthe charismatic movement\u201d was becoming a fully-formed, meta-species that could be found across all brands of church, Protestant, Anglican, Catholic notwithstanding.\u00a0 Could it be that this multi-continental movement provided impetus for unity in the body of Christ?\u00a0 A functional polemic to the narrative, so fraught with fraction, that had marked the church in previous generations?\u00a0 I think so.\u00a0 I hope so.<\/p>\n
I am reminded once again of the words of Christ while gathered around a campfire with his disciples in the area of Caesarea Philippi: \u201cI<\/i><\/b> will build MY <\/i><\/b>church and the gates of hell CANNOT prevail against that<\/i><\/b>!\u201d\u00a0 Jesus is under no obligation to restrain the gates of hell against anything of human creation, only his own\u2026\u00a0 I am reflecting on how I need to, once again, re-align myself with HIS plans, His ideas, HIS CHURCH<\/i><\/b>, and find my best place of contribution there.\u00a0 If he can guide the simultaneous forward progress of new revelation and thought across at least two continents (undoubtedly more) I think he can reveal to me my place in the grand scheme.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. D.W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s<\/i> (London: Routledge, 1989) 231-232.<\/p>\n
2. Ibid. 232.<\/p>\n
3. Ibid. 248.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Where to begin? When attempting to digest and assimilate such a grand work as Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s by David Bebbington, the oft-repeated phrase \u201cdrinking from the firehose\u201d comes immediately to mind.\u00a0 A history work of this magnitude could easily provide the primary text for an entire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12,506],"class_list":["post-4076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bebbington","tag-dminlgp5","cohort-lgp5"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4076"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4077,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076\/revisions\/4077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}