After World War II, conservative Protestants fled oppressively liberal mainline denominations and formed parachurch mission boards, seminaries, and publishing houses, as a matter of survival and faithfulness. As they did so, however, they downplayed their ecclesial differences to the point that establishment Evangelicalism forgot there really was anything important about baptism, the Lordâ??s Supper, or, sadly, the Church itselfâ?¦.
Now, after a half-century, we see Evangelical parachurch institutions and ministries almost indistinguishable in their broadness from the mainline institutions for which they were created as a conservative alternative. The Call hits exactly on some of the reasons for this: a hyper-confident Evangelical movement that thought it could win the world to Christ apart from his Body. Inasmuch as the Call directs us to reconsider the Kingdom communities of our churches, as opposed to databases of donors, we should listenâ?¦.
At the end of the day, the â??Ancient/Futureâ?? Evangelicalism is a natural extension of American Evangelicalismâ??s besetting sins of faddishness and consumerism. Thatâ??s the reason it is fanned (as so many Evangelical winds of doctrine are) by publishing houses. This project comes to us just as Evangelicalism is in the throes of an infatuation with the so-called emerging church, which is also fueled by publishing houses (the sellers of youth ministry curricula) and which is also enamored simultaneously with postmodern cynicism, egalitarianism, doctrinal flexibility, and ancient-seeming worship…
The emerging worshipers and the ancient futurists want to borrow some of the trappings of a time when Christianity was countercultural (dark rooms and candles simulating catacombs, for instance) while embracing primary aspects of contemporary cultural libertarianism (including feminism and pluralism)â?¦.
If the Ancient/Future Evangelicals wish to counter this culture, they will be forced to do so in more than the generalities theyâ??ve outlined. To take on consumerism, do you dare take on the dual-income family structure of contemporary Americanism? To take on the â??culture of death,â?? do you dare speak bluntly about welcoming the gift of children, about the personhood of the embryo, about the way in vitro fertilization turns a child into a means?
To speak against â??civil religion,â?? do you dare call for public prayers in the name of Jesus? To speak against â??political correctness,â?? do you dare say that only in Jesus Christ is salvation found, thus fueling the evangelism of the world religions, including the Jewish people?
Russell D. Moore â??Listen Closelyâ?? â?? Responses to Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future
