Bruce Reyes-Chow is a consultant who served as founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church, until May of this year, and was the former moderator of the General Assembly of the 2.3 million member PCUSA. He recently wrote a piece about what Progressive Christianity is for Patheos‘ new Progressive Christian portal. In the article, he suggests:
“You might be a progressive Christian if . . .”
- You can be described, but not defined . . . The Progressive Christian often confuses staunch liberals and conservatives with the unpredictability of her conduct and the openness of her perspective.
- You are more than a party platform . . . The Progressive Christian might be pro-this or pro-that, but he is rarely tied to any set platform.
- You are not just waiting for the other side to get over their idiocy . . . The Progressive Christian will always honor the idea that community only grows if she is open to the possibility that she might be just as wrong as the other side thinks she is.
- You believe God can and does speak through disagreement . . . The Progressive Christian, even in the most difficult of disagreements, trusts that the other is discerning the movement of the Spirit just as faithfully as he is.
- You seek the highest common denominator . . . The Progressive Christian, by directing energy towards finding common ground on bigger issues seeks to build trust and make real the ever elusive idea that we can”agree to disagree.”
- You find God’s inerrant truth in a non-literal understanding of Scripture . . . The Progressive Christian claims the Truth of God is revealed in Scripture, but that it is a truth that must be wrestled with, unpacked and never used as a weapon.
- You bear with the battles . . . The Progressive Christian knows that there are times to engage in passionate and righteous interactions, but she is not defined by the polemics nor does she determine her worth by the existence of the fight.
- You appreciate the person over position . . . When engaging in theological discussion over tough issues, the Progressive Christian values the complex personhood that she experiences with the other over and above the rightness or wrongness of the position being discussed.
- You choose the middle . . . The Progressive Christian, often accused of being soft, sees the “middle” as a place to model a new and faithful way of being church regardless of the arrows fired that are fired from edges.
- You do not demand loyalty . . . The Progressive Christian can live with the idea that loyalty to a position or a person can easily turn into idolatry and that being open to true dialogue with and being gracious towards people who disagree is not a sign of weakness, but an expression of strength.
So What?
Progressive Christianity is difficult to characterize. In Reyes-Chow’s words, “the ‘progressive’ adjective can exist across the theological spectrum, but holds together people who are looking at moving the church into new ways of being church.”
- Do you find Chow’s list to be a helpful tool for constructing your understanding of what makes someone a Progressive Christian? Why or why not?
- What item(s) would you add to his list? Remove from it?
- What is the best definition of Progressive Christianity that you have encountered? What is your own definition?