- Tony speaks about “mainline churches.” Are you familiar with this term? The Encyclopedia of Religion and Society offers this definition:
“Mainline" churches thus may include the following bodies, listed according to denominational "family" and specific self-naming: Baptist (American, National, Southern), Catholic (Roman), Christian Churches-Disciples, Episcopal, Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran, Missouri Synod), Methodist (African Episcopal, Christian, United), Orthodox (Greek, Russian, some other "Eastern"), Presbyterian, Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ.
If you are feeling really scholarly, you can read an article from Christianity Today entitled “Turning the Mainline Around.”
2. What critique of preaching in mainline churches does Tony offer? Think about the churches you have attended in your lifetime and the various preachers you have heard. What critiques would you offer? How important is the quality of preaching to you?
When I was in seminary, the new President of the seminary, Maxie Dunnam, (an excellent United Methodist preacher) stated churches wanted their pastors to be good preachers. When he said that, it struck me because I had been bemoaning the fact that a student could graduate from seminary and have taken only one course (three semester hours) in preaching! So, someone could graduate from college with a BS in Mathematics, enroll in seminary and graduate three years later having preached a total of two complete sermons in his or her lifetime. I firmly believe that God equips those whom he calls and I am NOT saying that only formally trained preachers are worth listening to, however, I think such a crucial skill deserves a bigger slice of the curriculum pie. My preaching professor encouraged me to express my thoughts to both President Dunnam and the Provost. Dr. Dunnam (who had previously been the pastor of the 6,000 member Christ UMC in Memphis) wrote me and thanked me. He stated that he was going to address this issue and work to give preaching more prevalence. The Provost wrote to state that every division in the seminary wants more time for their area of study and that if every area got all the time they wanted, students would be in seminary for much, much longer than 3 years. I discovered the difference between a preacher and an academic that day.
3. “It has long been said that eleven o’clock [or 8:00, or 9:30] on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in American life.” What do you think about that? Do you think we should try to change that? Do you think we CAN change that?
4. “There is evidence that the division over how to respond to homosexuals in the church is likely to bring about church schisms (splits) on a scale that will redefine the structure of American Christianity for a century to come.” Do you agree with this statement?
5. Tony references the success of Willow Creek and Saddleback (Rick Warren, author of Purpose Driven Life, is the pastor) churches, stating “the success of these churches is dependant upon having a membership that is empowered and enthused about winning friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members to Christ through personal evangelism.” How does that “sit” with you? Do you long for your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members to know the love of Christ? What does the word “evangelism” mean to you? What gut reaction do you have to it? Do you think of yourself as an evangelist? In the next paragraph Tony states “There is, within evangelicalism, a theologically prescribed expectation that every member be a missionary. (emphasis mine.) Are you a missionary?
