Category: Church
Are Millennials Joining High Church Traditions?
Gracy Olmstead has written the latest edition of an article that is in danger of becoming a meme amongst traditionalist conservatives: Millennial Christians are, apparently, converting to high church traditions en masse. Rebecca Van Doodewaard, Jeremy Tate, and Scot McKnight have also discussed this issue recently...
The Invisible Anglicanism of CS Lewis
If you spend any length of time interacting with contemporary writing about CS Lewis, you’ll discover one thing almost instantly: Lewis has become a theological Rorshach test for his readers. This was one of the dominant themes of the many...
Beyond Eclectic Christianity
To say that I come from a mixed background is an understatement. I was raised in the Independent Christian Church movement, discipled in a rising megachurch run by one of the current promoters of Radical Christianity, and have enjoyed close...
Debate, Inquiry and Learning to Tell the Difference
Someone sent me Rachael Slick’s commentary about growing up in the home of an apologist and asked for my comment. There’s almost no way to do so, though: it’s her testimony and so is inevitably one-sided, and the portrait she...
Women Bishops, N.T. Wright, and Douglas Wilson
I am thrilled to introduce Brad Littlejohn to Mere-O’s readers. Brad is a D.Phil. candidate at Edinburgh, working with Oliver and Joan O’Donovan. He’s one of the sharpest young theologians I have read. I commend the below to you, not all of...
Beauty and Power in Church Architecture
Last month, I began to build the case that Evangelicals possess an aesthetic that is reasoned, deliberative, and theologically informed. Contra the critics who charge that beauty is neglected in Evangelical circles, I find the comeliness in multipurpose worship centers...
What Mormons Can Teach Evangelicals About Church Architecture
Last month I had occasion to visit Utah. (Twice, in fact.) While driving around the state, I took note of the culture constructed by the religion of a certain presidential hopeful. As you might imagine, the number of Mormon “stake centers”...
Joel Osteen and Reality TV
On November 29th, TMZ reported that “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett will be teaming with Joel Osteen, pastor of America’s largest church, for a primetime network show in 2012. Burnett told TMZ, “The premise of the show is that ordinary people will...
Required Reading: Hauerwas’ ‘Resident Aliens.’
Pick up any popular-level article on college-age church attendance or attend any church growth webinar, and you’ll almost assuredly find some hip, church growth expert bemoaning the “church’s” failure to retain its young adults. With latte in hand, we’ll be...
Voluntarity, Variety, and the Young Reformed
I want to offer something between an addendum and a counterpoint to Matt’s excellent guest post at Ben Simpson’s blog. He rightly describes how, in late modern society, membership in social institutions and social structures have become radically voluntary. Online...