There is much handwringing about the “state of the church” these days. I want to suggest that handwringing is a bit exaggerated.
I know the statistics. There are certainly many U.S. churches that are struggling and some that are closing.
But I can tell you something from personal experience on many a Sunday of guest preaching: There are plenty of successful churches right now. You just have to know where to look.
David Gushee
I want to describe three types of churches I am seeing. All can be described as post-evangelical. But they come to post-evangelicalism by different paths.
Evangelical exile churches
One path runs directly through evangelicalism. Let’s call these the evangelical exile churches. These are churches that began as evangelical church starts, perhaps decades ago. They were nondenominational or affiliated with church planting networks or part of growth-oriented denominations like the Vineyard churches. They built along evangelical paradigms and achieved significant numerical success.
But then their pastor and/or congregation became uncomfortable with some aspect of evangelicalism or their denomination’s stance — on women or science or politics or (quite often) on LGBTQ inclusion. Then maybe the pastor challenged one of these and the network or denomination pulled its support, or the church entered a discernment process and ended up breaking with the denomination, or the sponsoring group fired the pastor.
Often such churches experience painful splits as some members side with the conservative founders/sponsors/vision and others do not. Churches that survive the transition process toward, say, LGBTQ inclusion carry aspects of their founding evangelical DNA forward but then evolve something post-evangelical as the years go by after the transition.
Churches you might want to study of this type include Restore Austin led by Zach Lambert, Threads in Kalamazoo led by Rebecca Bell, and Reservoir Church in Boston led by Steve Watson. All are thriving today. All went through this transition.
Post-evangelical breakaway fellowships
A second path involves a discontented group within an evangelical (mega)church concluding they need to move forward into what we now call post-evangelical space. Again, there is usually some kind of dramatic push and not just a pull away. The LGBTQ issue often is at stake.
“There is usually some kind of dramatic push and not just a pull away. The LGBTQ issue often is at stake.”
Sometimes these friends create new fellowships or churches. This path is eased when a former megachurch pastor or associate pastor decides (or is forced) to leave megachurch space as well and ends up creating or shepherding a new fellowship.
I am thinking of Danny Cox, who has been leading the Detroit-area Open Table Collective since its founding. Both Danny and many of his members were formerly part of a Detroit megachurch. They have created an effective and innovative fellowship. Also in Michigan is Blue Ocean Church of Ann Arbor, ably led by post-Vineyard exiles Ken Wilson, now retired, and Emily Swan.
Denominational churches becoming post-evangelicalish
Twice this spring I have visited American Baptist churches in Pennsylvania that are led by post-evangelical pastors. These churches are North Hills Community Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, led by double-Mercer-graduate Jeremy Hall, and Baptist Church of West Chester, led by Evan Duncan.
Both churches are combining denominational heritage and post-evangelical vibes. Both are LGBTQ inclusive, in decisions that were made or just about made before Jeremy and Evan became their pastors. Both are proud of their ABC heritage and claim it, but both are attracting non-Baptists who appreciate (whether they know the term or not) the post-evangelical spirit and commitments of these churches.
Children everywhere
The seven churches I have named here are different in many ways, but in my experience they are also similar in some very important aspects:
- They are led by gifted, committed, respected pastors. Leadership still matters. And gifted pastors are still essential. Seminaries, we still have crucial work to do!
- They have resolved the LGBTQ inclusion issue in the affirmative, and it is not a matter of debate.
- They are swarming with children and young people. Children are everywhere. So much for the conservative worry that parents would never want their kids in gay-inclusive churches. Quite the contrary.
- They also attract middle-age and senior adults; the market for post-evangelical churches is multigenerational.
- They are finding workable financial paradigms, usually with rather lean facilities budgets, often involving sharing space with other faith communities and nonprofits.
- They are and want to be worshipful, biblical, theological, moral, passionate Christian communities. They are not “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” You can be passionate, serious Christians without being fundamentalist. Imagine that.
Next week in Boston, the Post-Evangelical Collective will gather for its annual summit. Hundreds and hundreds will be there.
This post-evangelical movement is real. It is gathering momentum.
Most importantly, it is being church for hundreds of thousands of people who were ecclesiologically homeless before these churches appeared. Thanks be to God.
David P. Gushee serves as Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, chair in Christian social ethics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and senior research fellow at International Baptist Theological Study Centre. He is past president of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Christian Ethics. He also is author of 30 books, including Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust; Kingdom Ethics; Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies; Changing Our Mind; and The Moral Teachings of Jesus.