I recently finished reading Weird Church: Welcome to the Twenty-First Century (Pilgrim Press, 2016) by Beth Ann Estock and Paul Nixon. The book is an important read because it offers a fresh approach to the transition for Christendom to post-Christendom based on Spiral Dynamics alongside numerous examples of ways congregations are already innovating and how such innovations offer hope for the future.
The End
Christendom is over. There is no debate about that among those who take seriously the study of Christianity. Estock and Nixon argue that “seventeen centuries of Christendom reached an end sometime just before the year 2000” (295).
Furthermore they frame the current challenge in a way that should resonate with today’s congregational leaders:
Two towering realities now force us to face the full truth of the death of Christendom: First, the rise of a new generation of adults who are largely disengaged with Christendom-shaped church communities and, second, the rising “death tsunami” of the elders that have kept old-school churches in business for years after their time expired. By the year 2050, most of “church as we have known it” will almost certainly no longer exist (295).
The New Beginning
Far too many churches are still operating as if they don’t know about or won’t accept these two towers. Until leaders of these congregations, many of whom are among the elders, come to terms with this reality nothing will change. Unless the old framing narrative dies, any attempts at change will not yield the desired results. Death must precede resurrection.
So What?
Post-Christendom is not bad news; denying it, however, can be fatal on the congregational level.
If your congregation or any congregation you care about is in denial that we are living in a post-Christendom era, then it is essential that you do your part to help them move on to acceptance.