In this issue we consider pastoral ministry in relation to the evangelical quest for "The Next Big Thing." Inevitably, that thing’whatever it turns out to be’is based on youth culture and the modern fascination with celebrity. According to our opening interview with Professor Thomas Bergler, it may be that the evangelical church itself created the […]
Thomas Bergler is associate professor of ministry and missions at Huntington University and senior associate editor for the Journal of Youth Ministry. He has taught youth ministry for twelve years and is the author most recently of The Juvenilization of American Christianity (Eerdmans, 2012). Please begin by explaining how the whole idea of "youth," "youth […]
Fewer people are pursuing marriage today than ever before, and those who do are waiting longer to get married. In 1960, 59 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds were married compared to just 20 percent in 2010. In 1960, the median age for entering marriage was in the early 20s; today it's nearly 30. As marriage […]
Evangelicals are paying more attention to the church now than they did in the twentieth century. Much of this comes as more and more Christians tire of pragmatism and historically unprecedented "seeker" strategies in the church. It is a sign of health that a number of books now line Christian bookstores on the doctrine of […]
"Don't make promises you can't keep." We use this little proverb as a reminder of how costly our words can be. Making a promise means you have to perform what is necessary to fulfill it. After we stroll through the narratives of Genesis, adorned with the gems of God's promise, it is easy for a […]
If there is one thing that marks out this present age it is the quest for The Next Big Thing. One can see it all around in the wider culture: there is a whole genre of TV programs dedicated to finding the next pop star; companies like Apple make their money by constantly reinventing the […]
I love what Charles Spurgeon said about John Calvin. He very sincerely agreed with his theology but he wouldn't follow the man himself. He believed Calvin pointed people to the gospel of Jesus Christ, so he grew from his teaching and preached the doctrines of grace to his church, but he didn't desire to be […]
Rummaging around in evangelicalism's spiritual garage, we find a number of old "Next Big Things" cluttering up the works. 1970s: Homogeneous Church GrowthHomogeneous church growth is pioneered by Donald McGavran (missiologist and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary): "People like to become Christian without crossing racial, linguistic, or class barriers. …The world's population is a mosaic, […]
September 2003 marked a turning point in the development of Western civilization. It was the month that Adbusters magazine started accepting orders for the Black Spot Sneaker, its own signature brand of ‘subversive’ running shoes. After that day, no rational person could possibly believe that there is a tension between ‘mainstream’ and ‘alternative’ culture. After […]
With four children and two parents with pack-rat proclivities, spring cleaning has by necessity become a year-round activity. You never know when you'll need the odd thing, but you don't want to take the time to evaluate its value. So you accumulate a garage full of clutter. Much the same can happen in the storage […]
What is the chief end of man? "The chief end of man is to glorify ourselves, thus immortalizing our name and to reach Elysium." Not the answer you were expecting? That's probably due to the fact that I was quoting from The Homeric Shorter Catechism, a fictional document created by my daughter Sydney as part […]
The late Michael Spencer (aka The Internet Monk) once wrote an article for these pages in which he gave advice to the parents of "Alex," a teen who doubted his faith. Spencer's main point: Don't distract Alex with anything that will hide Jesus as the center of Christianity. Ministers, parents, educators, and friends have a […]
Niccolo Machiavelli's infamous book The Prince is a staple of Western political thought. Its pragmatic descriptions of a suave and ruthless ruler maneuvering by whatever means he desires to achieve his ends has scandalized and intrigued readers since its composition in 1513. Yet, as history shows, Machiavelli the man was a far more complex (and […]
Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, London, was once a bustling public space for soapbox speeches. Today, there are rarely more than fifteen or twenty people gathered in that corner of the park at any one time, mostly cranks and unsuspecting tourists. Television and Internet have changed the public square tradition as every city's "Speaker's Corner" […]
Pastor as Ultimate Need-Meeter:The pastor is a sensitive therapist/social worker, understanding the congregation's needs and meeting these needs in extraordinary ways. Even the best versions of this model need to beware: only Christ is truly heroic and able to do for people what they really need done. Pastor as Entrepreneur: The church exists to support […]
